Tag: WSJ

A New “Measures of Success” Giveaway; Workshops & 3 Takeaways From...

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First, an announcement... you can enter to win one of three eBook copies of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More. Unlike...

Humble Leaders are the Best, Says Lean and now the WSJ

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This article from the WSJ caught my eye last week (might be behind their paywall): The Best Bosses Are Humble Bosses Organizations are making a push to hire and promote workers who lead effectively but don't seek the spotlight In today's post, I share some thoughts and related reading...

GE Gets a Lean CEO — From the Outside

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Jet lag, even well managed and planned for, meant I was awake early on a Sunday morning. Over breakfast, I read more about news from last week, that GE had fired their CEO John Flannery after 14 months and replaced him with a relatively new board member, Larry Culp. Culp is GE's first outsider CEO hire in their 100+ year history. So who is this guy and why did they hire him? Culp was CEO of Danaher, a company that's quite often held up as the best non-Toyota Lean company out there. And they're an American company. Danaher, through its Danaher Business System (DBS) approach, uses Lean as a business strategy in a way that's very different than Toyota. Danaher has acquired companies and brought DBS and Lean in as a way to turn around and improve those businesses.

How to Go From Analytical Wonk to “Process Improvement” Coach

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As you might know, I have always enjoyed baseball and like blogging about ideas and statistics that come from the sport. I loved this recent article from The Wall Street Journal and there are parallels to Lean and being an effective change agent: "The Data Wonk Who Became a Coach"

The WSJ Overgeneralizes about The “Japanese Model,” Not All Companies Are...

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Not all Japanese companies are the same. "Lean isn't easy" if you're a Japanese company. Toyota has created something special, since "Toyota culture" is not exactly the same as "Japanese culture." The WSJ says the "model is cracking." Do scandals involving quality and ethical lapses involving companies including those and Nissan tarnish Lean and the Toyota Production System? No. That's as silly as thinking the Wells Fargo banking scandal tarnishes Silicon Valley (although the Valley does enough to tarnish itself).

The Response to the Hawaii False Alarm Can’t End With Firing...

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Saturday, you might have seen the news about a "false alarm" push alert that was sent to many iPhones and other smart phones in Hawaii. An alert was also sent out over many TV channels through the Emergency Response System. Is the response one that focuses on blame and punishment? Or is it focused on understanding how systems fail and how to improve them to prevent future recurrence? How does this all apply to your organization?

Does Being Giddy With Knowledge About Wine or Lean Cause Problems?

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I enjoy "gemba visits" (of sorts) to wineries and vacations often focus on this walking, tasting, and learning. I usually read the wine column that's...

Is This a 5S Problem or a Broader Healthcare Leadership and...

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A few of you sent me this sad article from the Wall St. Journal:  "'People Are Dying Here': Federal Hospitals Fail Tribes."  I feel like I've some variation of this article and exposé many times over. Sometimes, it's some form of government medicine (active duty military medicine, the VA, or another country) or it's a similar sad story from the private healthcare sector (be it non-profit or for-profit).

Easier, Better, Faster, Cheaper… What’s Missing There?

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What if "easier" is less safe? Great question. It begs the question of why Safer isn't first in Shingo's list? Is it because safety is assumed to be such a fundamental pre-condition in the Toyota culture or the Lean approach? Safety is such a non-negotiable point that it doesn't need to be said?

What Reduced this E.D.’s Waiting Times? Sexy Technology or Process Change?

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This article in The Wall Street Journal caught my eye the other day: "Can Tech Speed Up Emergency Room Care?" But, it seems like the real story is process redesign, which is barely mentioned in the story...

Learning & Emulating Without Copying Blindly from Duke Hoops, Toyota, or...

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While I'm writing here about Northwestern men's basketball learning from Duke (without copying everything), the same ideas apply if you're Ford learning from Toyota or a hospital learning from ThedaCare.

Like Lean: An NFL Head Coach Gets Out of His Office,...

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...this WSJ article caught my attention: "The Coach Who Won't Leave the Locker Room." The sub headline is "Why Carolina Panthers' Ron Rivera has become obsessed with integrating himself into his players' personal workspace." An NFL coach is at "the gemba" during a game, of course...