Our work should provide value to someone or something, otherwise why do it? When we build our personal kanbans, we’re building a board that drives us toward completing our work. But is that work worth doing?

For suppliers, one question comes up again and again in their distributor relationships: Should you treat your distributors like employees, or should you treat them more like customers? The answer isn’t always clear.

(MIT News: Cambridge, MA) -- Today’s 3D printers, in which devices rather like inkjet-printer nozzles deposit materials in layers to build up physical objects, are a great tool for designers building prototypes or small companies with limited product runs.