Laying Off Hands, Losing Brains
19 April 2011
Another day, another article that makes me want to bang my head against the wall. Thirty people at the Stark Manufacturing plant in Paris have been…
The Absurd Cost of Complexity
19 April 2011
Lean folks are naturally tuned to recognize unnecessary complexity, and most of us know the largest cost in a manufacturing operation is usually not t…
The Obliquity of Lean
17 April 2011
A few days ago The Wall Street Journal had a book review on John Kay's Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly. I'm typically mo…
It's Not a Zero Sum Game
16 April 2011
Here we are again, tax day. I'm always amazed by the people excited to receive a refund not realizing they've really just given the government…
The Lean Tortoise... and the Hares
10 April 2011
I had a couple of hours to think this morning thanks to running the Wine Country Half Marathon. Yep, 13.1 miles, which is nothing (ok, half) compared…
Project Management by Sound Bite
3 April 2011
Most of us decry the sound bite nation - brief burps of information on the news that do nothing to inform the masses about complex situations. The ove…
Embrace the Opportunity of Failure!
2 April 2011
Most people and organizations abhor and outright fear failure. Why? Failure can create an impetus for improvement like no other event. Last Thursday…
Radioactive Certifications of Waste
30 March 2011
No I'm not talking about the plethora of silly lean certifications - regular readers know that I believe only one, the AME/SME/Shingo Prize certif…