Content by Bruce Hamilton
Senior MomentsDuring a <em>gemba</em> walk, a manager’s impact can be expressed in seconds
Wed, 05/20/2015 - 14:21
I was speaking last week with, Jen, a senior manager at a large manufacturer, and she commented to me, “I know it’s important for me to get to the floor, but the time involved for me and my staff to regularly visit two dozen different departments…Unreasonableness<em> Muri</em> happens when the team hears conflicting directions from infallible authorities
Tue, 04/21/2015 - 11:59
Sometimes we receive unreasonable and confusing directions, and sometimes we give them.
As in the short video clip below, even if the systems behind this confusion are sound and the motivations reasonable, when you put them together they can…The Emperor’s New Huddle BoardsTop managers must clothe themselves in honesty
Mon, 03/30/2015 - 17:00
After a one-day observation at a local company, I participated in a wrap-up meeting with the general manager and his team.
“We’ve been at this for five years,” the general manager said to me, proudly referring to his division’s lean implementation…Musical KataWe can make beautiful music together with the right mind-set
Wed, 03/04/2015 - 11:39
I sang baritone and sometimes tenor in the St. John’s Lutheran Church choir, according to the key of the hymn we were rehearsing and also depending upon who showed up for rehearsal. There were no tryouts for our choir; willingness to sing on Sunday…Artificial IgnoranceIs automation the tail wagging the dog?
Mon, 02/09/2015 - 12:47
For a few years—back in the early ‘80s—I fell prey to information automation fascination. I managed an IT department transitioning from a basic accounting system managed by an external service bureau to a batch inventory-control system to an order-…Dead See ScrollsTechnical problems are always easier to solve than people problems
Mon, 12/08/2014 - 00:00
I recently participated in the AME conference in Jacksonville, Florida, a terrific rally for manufacturing excellence with the tongue-twisting theme, “Strategic Success Through People-Powered Excellence.”
I had a small role on a keynote panel that…<em>Nullius in Verba</em>See for yourself
Mon, 11/03/2014 - 12:32
There was a time when it was unfashionable for managers to associate with front-line employees. Alluding to an old adage, I used to joke that you could not even lead the horse (i.e., the manager) to water, let alone make him drink. Division of…OverproductionLearn to recognize this hidden waste
Thu, 10/02/2014 - 13:05
A lthough I don’t wish to rub salt in the wounds of my beleaguered Red Sox, their meteoric rise from last place in 2012 to a World Series title in 2013 and subsequent plummet back to the cellar in 2014 underscores the problems with speculative…I’m Against It!When lean advocacy meets cautious objection
Wed, 09/17/2014 - 16:28
A recent viewing of a Marx Brothers film caused me to reflect on one of the questions I’m frequently asked: “How do you deal with people who are against lean?”
My stock response is to quote Shigeo Shingo’s advice that “99 percent of objection is…How We LearnExperientially!
Wed, 08/20/2014 - 13:56
While I am an unabashed proponent of learning by doing, I have a list of books that have been essential to me over the years as a framework for experiential learning.
Most of these books were written before 1990, and one of the most insightful,…