Lazy Lean Guy Honest work needn’t be painful
Mon, 11/23/2015 - 11:23
In 1987, shortly after I became a manufacturing manager, the shop foreman at the time warned me about a young assembler. “Watch out for Michael,” the foreman said. “He tends to bend the rules. You may need to talk to him.”
In fact, I did watch… Burning Platform Next stop, The Twilight Zone
Mon, 10/05/2015 - 17:12
A favorite Twilight Zone episode that played during Labor Day weekend put me in mind of the stressful “push production” environment that many organizations still endure today.
In a technical sense, push production refers to launching orders into… Putting the Pieces Together We need to look at the whole pie
Tue, 08/11/2015 - 14:19
Summer is here and that means a family vacation to the beach, the boardwalk, and the Hamilton’s favorite pizza place. We all agree that Manco’s pizza is the best anywhere, but we differ on the reason why.
My brother, Geoff, thinks it’s the cheese—… Up, Back, and Around Learn to trust everyone on your team
Mon, 07/20/2015 - 13:35
Watching the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team take the World Cup on July 5, 2015, caused me to reminisce about my short-term coaching stint of a U12 soccer team.
Before becoming a coach, I hadn’t played soccer or even watched a game, but there… Precisely Wrong Remembering Eli Goldratt
Tue, 07/07/2015 - 12:03
June 11, 2015, marked the fourth anniversary of the passing of someone who, although not typically credited as a “lean” thinker, nevertheless had a profound effect on many lean implementers. Eliyahu Goldratt, or Eli, was an Israeli physicist whose… Shigeo Shingo’s P-D Ratio If ‘frenetic’ describes your work atmosphere, take the higher path to just-in-time production
Mon, 06/08/2015 - 14:37
The last few weeks for me have been all things Shingo, including a presentation at the Shingo Institute’s International Conference three weeks ago in Provo, Utah, followed by four days of Shingo Institute workshops at Vibco in Richmond, RI.… Senior Moments During a gemba 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 Muri 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 Boards Top 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 Kata We 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…