Thanks, Cliff
22 October 2005
If you're like me, you probably know John Ratzen as Cliff Claven, the beer sodden mail man who held up the end of the bar on Cheers for many years…
Upgrading In The Desert
21 October 2005
Bear with me here - this is a story with a happy ending. It just starts out like the same old nagging about manufacturers who spend so much time grov…
And You Thought Martha Was A Crook
20 October 2005
That Delphi, GM and Ford are struggling to deal with 'legacy costs' - the cost of guaranteed paychecks and health care coverage for retired an…
Why Delphi Is Important
19 October 2005
One more sad story out of Detroit really doesn't mean much. The Delphi bankruptcy is actually one of the auto industry's lesser crises at the…
Delphi - Even Lean Manufacturing Can't Prevent Bankruptcy
18 October 2005
Over the last several months we have written several posts on the problems with the U.S. auto industry, specifically GM and Delphi. Last May we discus…
Where Is Marketing In All of This?
18 October 2005
A senior manufacturing manager was telling me the story of his company's initial move down the lean path, and how it began at an annual company of…
Made In Shanghai
5 October 2005
Most folks in the U.S. have never heard of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). They will. SAIC has a joint venture with General Motors…
Lean Government - Reduce Size, Pork, or Waste?
30 September 2005
The Gemba Panta Rei blog has an interesting post on lean government, specifically discussing the successes at the postal services in Denmark and Canad…