A recent company meeting revealed what management called a “handoff problem.” The sales team would close deals, then toss them over the wall to the service team, which would promptly fumble the relationship because they didn’t understand what had been promised or why

In manufacturing, the term connected worker has quickly gone from emerging concept to executive mandate. As companies grapple with turnover, skill gaps, and increasing complexity, the urgency to modernize frontline work has never been clearer.

Most negotiations have an opening bid. That bid becomes the anchor that the rest of the negotiation centers upon. If you’re good at setting anchors—and avoiding being anchored to a number you won’t like—you’ll get more out of your negotiations.

Imagine this: A production line hums along smoothly. Operators clean and check equipment between cycles to spot problems before they snowball. No scrambling. No surprises. That’s what autonomous maintenance looks like.

Small to midsize manufacturers are facing mounting pressure from unpredictable supply chain disruptions.

In October 1989, my company hosted Total Improvement Process Week, one of the most productive experiences of my career.

It’s called “work” for a reason. Most days we’re able to “work” through it and find enjoyment in what we do. But occasionally we’re faced with a grind that saps our strength and threatens to derail us.

In this article I’m looking at the notion of organizational purposes in light of cybernetic constructivism. The ideas here are inspired by giants like Stafford Beer, Spencer Brown, Ralph Stacey, Werner Ulrich, Russell Ackoff, and Erik Hollnagel.

The plant manager’s day started perfectly. The production schedule was optimized, the teams were aligned, and the shift was running smoothly. Then, a critical pump on Line 3 failed.

Quality initiatives rarely fail because of bad tools. They fail because people don’t adopt them.