4 Steps for Small Daily Investments
What do you do when one of those little fires pops up? It’s not a big deal, it’s just a small problem. Put the fire out, move on to what’s next. After all there are many important projects to complete. But of course, before you get to them, another fire
Read MoreSolve your own darn problems
I was recently at a dinner meeting with a few people surrounding an event I was supporting, and at the table was both a young, aggressive, smart individual contributor from a large company and a 30+ year experienced general manager who knew his way around the flagpole. We got into
Read MoreHelping Make A3 Work, Part 4 (of 4)
This is my last in the 4 part series on A3 problem solving. I’ll be answering more questions on a webinar hosted by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers which I hope you’ll check out and join. On to our final questions. Q8. Is there software that can help me with
Read MoreHelping Make A3 Work, Part 3
I am continuing on with more Q&A about the problem solving process of A3, popularized through the use at Toyota and an effective coaching and development tool. So onto the questions. Q5. What is the best way to start? I think it is best to start on a problem that
Read MoreHelping Make A3 Work, Part 2
Last Friday I started posting some Q&A on the transformation of problem solving using A3 methods. This is in support of a webinar I am leading on the topic. Here we continue to the Q&A. Q3. What advantages does A3 have over other problem solving methodologies? There are some advantages
Read MoreHelping Make A3 Work, Part 1
On December 15th, I’ll be providing a webinar on the topic of A3 problem solving. I’ve been spending a good amount of time lately helping leaders from various organizations improve their lean thinking by utilizing A3 problem solving. In the following few blog posts, I’ll answer some of the common
Read MoreTo Standardize, or to Not?
A frequent question that I get is how far to take standardization. This is particularly true for multiple locations. Then the question becomes how far do you go to standardize from site to site. As with anything, to key to avoid getting lost in questions like this is to get
Read MoreAre you stupid or something?
This is the thought process behind the reactions from managers more often than the words are actually spoken. Even if it were true, does that thought process help you improve? Does it help them? No, it just deteriorates the situation. Of course Forrest Gump had the ultimate response: “Stupid is
Read MoreHow Smart Leaders Talk About Time
How do you talk about time? Time is like money. We invest both time and money. We spend both time and money. We should (although most do neither) budget time and money. We waste both time and money. The only difference between them is that I can always get more
Read MorePut Down That Tool
This article was originally published by JFlinch on Oct 15, 2009. What tool should I use for solving this problem? What’s the right tool? There are many tools in the toolbox of lean for problem-solving and process improvement. When an organization teaches people to use the tools, there is often
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