Talking Turkey on Leadership
23 November 2008
How appropriate as we near the Thanksiving holiday that our favorite turkey, Jack Welch, gives us some pointers on leadership. In his regular Business…
A Visit to American Apparel
20 November 2008
Regular readers know that American Apparel has long been one of my favorite companies. I love companies that think outside of the box, ignore popular…
Those Dang Fasteners. Again.
19 November 2008
If you had a few billion riding on a project, what would you say if the following happened? Would you still be employed? May 2007: One of the smalles…
Did Lego Learn a Lesson? Did You?
18 November 2008
Over the past few years we've been chronicling a very expensive journey by Danish toymaker Lego. A hat tip to regular reader Peter for helping us…
The Myopic Misfocus of Labor Time Standards
17 November 2008
"The largest cost in business is not labor, material, or overhead... it's unnecessary complexity." Who said that? I did. I use it almos…
On the Road to Zimbabwe
16 November 2008
I promise one of these days I'll get off the topic of this ridiculous bailout of the Detroit Three automakers, but there are so many lessons of le…
Yes, Failure is an Option
13 November 2008
The post earlier this week on the proposed additional bailout of the Detroit Three generated the usual couple of emails suggesting I was a "right…
Lessons from Japan: Rapid, Disciplined Problem Escalation
12 November 2008
Note: Links to all of four Japan factory tour posts and the various lessons from those tours can be found here. One of the most memorable parts of my…