We'll try a slightly different format for this third installment of our biweekly Carnival. To read the first two Carnivals, click here and here. Here are some of our favorite posts over the last couple weeks from our favorite blogs. If I've missed anyone, please let me know.
Starting off with the Lean-oriented blogs:
- A big welcome to Norman Bodek, who has started his own blog, Kaikaku. Norman is well known for his Shingo Prize winning books. His first post is on Kaikaku and Kaizen as the "twin sisters" that can drive world class competitiveness.
- Gemba Panta Rei has a great post on "genchi gembutsu", which means making decisions "on site with the actual things." Basically going to the gemba to make the decision on the spot instead of taking the time (muda) to create reports that can't show the entire story. They also chime in on the "are awards like Shingo muda?" discussion started by Bill Waddell at Evolving Excellence, buy asking if there should be an Ohno Prize.
- Mark Wroblewski's Got Boondoggle blog continues its ongoing series on standard work instructions by discussing the implications of file size. And he also adds to the "are awards muda" discussion at Gemba and Evolving Excellence by discussing the dangers of lean manufacturing awards.
- Luke Van Dongen at the Lean Manufacturing Blog has a post asking if the value of a process can be defined by its output. An interesting question when you stop to think about it, especially from the perspective of a customer. Mark Graban also writes about how the Air Force is trying to go Lean. There have been several Lean initiatives within the military, but to my knowledge this is the first force-wide commitment.
- Six Sigma Blog adds to the holiday cheer with a post on "Thanksgiving Design of Experiments"... what is the most effective way to pop your popcorn? On a more serious note they also have an excellent discussion on six sigma and the sales process.
- In Evolving Excellence Bill Waddell discusses the GM layoff announcement and issues associated with middle management in "Missing a Few Rungs on the Corporate Ladder." Evolving Excellence also turned one year old this month, which gave me an opportunity for some reflection.
On to more generic business improvement topics:
- The Be Excellent blog has a good post on how to get the most out of your organization's future leaders, with the top required characteristic being "visioning".
- Bud Bilanich's Common Sense Guy blog continues an excellent series on mentoring, with parts nine and ten discussing the power of personal stories of triumph and failure.
- David Daniels' Business & Technology Reinvention blog asks "are you renting customers" by focusing on price and not on creating lasting customer loyalty.
- Jon Strande at Business Evolutionist discusses the four major components of good product design.
- The Business 2.0 blog has a poll going on the "smartest company of the year."
- Business Pundit discusses a recent research report comparing different manufacturing strategies that favor competing on price or competing on innovation. The answer: innovation wins hands down.
- IdeaFlow also discusses the same report.
- Curious Cat has a similarly themed post on productivity improvement from R&D and innovation.
- Focused Performance has a short post on three bad habits that some people are positive attributes... like multi-tasking.
- High Performance Business has a post on the importance of attitude and being a positive force.
- Management Craft has a survey on best management conferences, and you know that our favorites are the ones on the left... the Association for Manufacturing Excellence annual conference and the Lean Accounting Summit. The blog also has a good post on "de-hassling", which ties right into the waste reduction activities of Lean.
- Managing Product Development has a post on project complexity and project risk.
- The NAM blog has a three part (and counting) series on manufacturers and Thanksgiving here, here, and here where they focus on manufacturers that help make the holiday happen.
- Phil Gerbyshak's Make It Great blog has a post on the lost art of interpersonal communication... something a lot of us could be better at.
- Random Thoughts from a CTO has a post on "delivering on your promises"... some great tips on creating win-win situations with your customers.
- Slacker Manager has a post on "the Drucker paradox"... why are his ideas so widely read but so rarely practiced?
I think that's a wrap for this Carnival!