Editor’s note: This article, as well as part one from last week, discusses topics covered at greater length in a new streaming-video training series, “Enhancing and Sustaining Lean Improvemen

I was teaching a class and asked participants to create a control chart of an indicator that was important to them. A lab supervisor presented me with a chart on the number of procedures her department performed and told me that it wasn’t very useful.

I started out my day with a quick chat with a colleague about a client project she is working on. It concerns calibration, and I could hear the tone of a righteous lecturer creeping into my voice.

Manufacturers today report that their biggest challenge is satisfying customers who demand more detailed product information. For larger companies with many suppliers and remote locations, this is an important issue.

“For every person who will say yes, there are 20 who will say no. For a positive response, you must find the 21st person.”
—The Theory of 21