The Siren Song of Patent Protection
11 August 2011
The big pharmaceuticals, (notoriously inept) J&J, Pfizer, Merck, Glaxosmithklein and others are laying off left and right and chattering loudly ab…
It's Just Not Cricket
8 August 2011
in 1894 Bud Hillerich got serious about baseball bats and his father in law's woodworking company registered the name 'Louisville Slugger'…
The Case Against Industrial Policy
8 August 2011
Those who suggest the government should play a stronger role in directing manufacturing endeavors should pause when they look at this - the logo f…
It's Not Unions - It's Feel-Good Environmentalism
7 August 2011
A guy by the name of Harold Sirkin wrote a pretty good piece for Bloomberg Business Week called Made in the USA - and China. What is particularly impr…
Are You Kidding Me???
6 August 2011
Now let's get this straight: GM took $45 billion in tax breaks. It's stock is at the lowest point since the IPO which makes the taxpayers'…
The Others Are Starting to Get It
4 August 2011
Lots of great lean stories are cropping up - too bad few of them are in manufacturing management. And the stories aren't about superficial lean -…
Handguns, Mathematics and Supply Chain Management
31 July 2011
Guns and algorithms have a lot in common. Both are tools that, in the hands of the right person, can be powerful forces for good. Of course, in the wr…
Private Jets and the Simplicity of Production Scheduling
31 July 2011
Private aircraft have taken a beating recently, partly fair partly not. They can be written off as a "cost of doing business" just like innu…