Blogs

I posted this question on LinkedIn and received numerous responses, and while each one furthered the discussion, there were also many differences between them. Some I believe were wrong, and some were just a different perspective. I think this is an important note in its own right because we often

Many processes are linear. They occur with defined steps in a defined order. You would traditionally improve a linear process utilizing a process map, or value stream map, to map out the flow and then start taking the waste out. Quite a bit of continuous improvement has been achieved in

The language and names that we select and use matter. They help add context or perspective to the object or task and can affect the accessibility of ideas and connection between ideas. For example, when Starbucks started scaling, they used different words for drink sizes, from Tall to Grande to

The Wall Street Journey released their inaugural Management Top 250, a list of the best managed companies. It is based on the research of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, releasing a much larger list and their scoring in this table Amazon tops the list, followed by Apple and

We often hear “we cannot manage what we cannot measure”.  I think the better way to say it and approach improvement is that you cannot manage or improve what you cannot evaluate. As you are looking to improve something you need to ask how you are going to understand what

When people talk about a lean journey, they say the word “journey” as if they understand it will take time to change a culture, however their behavior often reveals they don’t have the relentless patience will actually take to create change.  We talked about the effort required to changing a

There are connections in every organization.  Some are easily seen while others are not. But, look closely and you will find them.  In the recent column I wrote for IndustryWeek I examined the waste that often occurs in these connections.  It is in these connections, in the margins, that there

Theoretically, each higher-level of management should be increasingly long-term focused. That certainly includes the role of the board, who with their role on shareholder value and governance, must ensure that the short-term doesn’t crowd out the long-term. CGMA summarized two surveys assessing boards and the barriers to strategic oversight. Their

Learning what works and what doesn’t work is driven by experimentation, real-world trials that inform us about cause and effect. How do we improve the ability to experiment? By reducing the cost, the effort, the friction required to test what works. As we continue my effort to de-jargonize (ok, that’s

In the flow of a manufacturing plant, the bottleneck should often be the most valuable, or at least most expensive asset. We actually should be designing our processes around that fact, and then ensuring there is no unnecessary waste in the process that affects that bottleneck. In the Theory of