Whirlpool, Sealy, and the Nike Factor
7 August 2006
Two stories caught my eye last week which helped demonstrate the dichotomy in lean thinking today. The first was Whirlpool's announcement that th…
More Adventures in Customer Service
5 August 2006
Several months ago I told you about several customer service adventures I had recently experienced. Some good, some bad, some exceptional, and even o…
Toucan Sam to the Rescue
1 August 2006
I wonder if the marketing whizzes at Ford read the NAM/McGladrey report on success factors for manufacturing companies, where the #1 best practices wa…
Forget Bankers... Think About Lean
31 July 2006
NAM, The Manufacturing Institute, and RSM McGladrey just published a 62 page report on The Future Success of Small and Medium Sized Manufacturers. We…
Next Stop: Africa
28 July 2006
I can almost feel the consternation in the outsourcing think tanks at the strategy departments of narrow-minded companies and consultants all over Nor…
There's That Innovation Word Again...
26 July 2006
Apparently every serious business article these days must include the word "innovation". So I guess it's about time I wrote something s…
Listening to the Vocal Minority
25 July 2006
How much do you know about how employees view your improvement programs? I just came across some interesting links to Bill's post on Dell getting…
Where's Ralph?
22 July 2006
Telecommuting and the virtual office have been around for many years. Oftentimes the barriers to implementing telecommuting are managers so short-sigh…