Content by Akhilesh Gulati
Radical ThinkingAre you positioned for natural selection?
Wed, 04/15/2009 - 10:21
Those best adapted to particular conditions will succeed in the long run. This idea was invented by Herbert Spencer in Principles of Biology (University Press of the Pacific, 2002) to describe Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection of living…
Don’t Think Logically!Use your imagination.
Thu, 10/23/2008 - 16:24
A physics exam question asked students to describe how they would use a barometer to measure the height of a skyscraper. One student who failed the test contested that his answer was correct. He was given a second chance to defend his position,…
Articulating the Business Problem“How to . . .”
Tue, 08/26/2008 - 22:00
"We have had a series of power outages even though we have central and local uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems. This disruption causes a loss of service to our customers. While we don’t necessarily lose data, it’s an irritant, and also…
Visual ThinkingSolve it with pictures.
Tue, 08/12/2008 - 22:00
Since one of the pillars of lean thinking is the visual workplace, why hasn’t problem solving in the workplace been taken to the visual level? Flowcharts are popular visual tools that can show what’s currently happening, what could be happening,…
No Practice, No Skill.Know-how as a perishable asset
Sun, 08/03/2008 - 22:00
Remember way back when you knew Newton’s Third Law, how to do long division, how to solve quadratic equations, and the difference between mean, mode, and median? As quality professionals, we’ve probably all had to learn these basic concepts at some…
Reconnecting Through Lean
Sat, 07/12/2008 - 07:51
A recent conversation with the general manager of a manufacturer that was in the process of implementing lean methodologies provided insights as to their ongoing results. He was excited about what was happening in his company. Initiatives in the…
Don’t Rein In Radical Thinking
Mon, 03/10/2008 - 22:00
As a manager, one might imagine being a rider atop a horse. You cannot expect to force the horse to win by constantly pulling the reins, neither can you expect to win the race consistently by pushing the horse beyond its capability. The rider needs…
The Quality of Waste: When Infrastructure Problems Become Energy AssetsA TRIZ perspective on waste heat reuse
Fri, 01/16/2026 - 12:41
In the world of quality and lean, waste is the enemy. We hunt for it in cycle times, inventory buffers, and defects. But occasionally, we encounter a form of waste so massive and literal that we fail to see it as a resource. A recent redevelopment…