I have been immersed in the lean world for more than a quarter century.

How do we get smart? I was first asked this question while sitting in on a call with a small manufacturer who supplied parts for automotive manufacturers. With all the buzz around “smart manufacturing,” this manufacturer wanted to join the movement.

Have you created a vision? You might be excited about it, but are others? Does your vision inspire, motivate, and guide decision making?

For growth-starved Western entrepreneurs, the Chinese market is appealing.

Editor’s note: Read episode two in the Respect for People series here.

In principle, the mountaineer’s work is simple: “To win the game he has first to reach the mountain’s summit,” said George Mallory, who took part in Britain’s first three attempts on Everest during the 1920s. “But, further, he has to descend in safety.”

More often than not, an effective implementation of operator-led visuality produces a 15- to 30-percent increase in productivity on the cell or departmental level, beginning with the implementation of the “visual where” (or, as our trainers like to call it, 5S on ste

Ask any manager at a large organization why the purchasing department matters, and the first factor he will mention will probably be costs. But cost control, though a core competency, is far from the only way purchasing affects firm performance.

This story was originally published by Knowable Magazine.

From carrying food in from the field, to shipping processed products, to assembling a supermarket display, packaging matters.