All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
MSNBC.com: Officials and leaders in Texas are already pushing Toyota to commit to expanding the yet-to-open San Antonio truck plant. “‘We have some 2,700 acres down there,’ Esmond explains. ‘I can assure you us Toyota folks are not very good…
wisbusiness Here are a few case studies of smaller firms using lean for growth. This work was done with the Wisconsin MEP program, part of the national network of state and federally funded lean consulting groups. I like how the…
This is not a news article, but an expansion of a posting I sent to the NWLean message group. A poster had asked about implementing standard work and someone raised the concern (I’ve heard it from operators) that standard work…
Super Fast Pizza not just about a quick buck Here’s an update on Super Fast Pizza (link to earlier article). Is this a “lean” pizza concept? At the least, it’s a creative shaking up of the normal pizza value stream…
IndustryWeek : Brandt On Leadership — Invasion Of The Profit Snatchers: John Brandt writes “What being a CEO does mean is taking care of No. 1. Greed is good (again). And running a company is less important than running a…
Newsweek: International Editions – MSNBC.com Last week, I asked about Toyota’s CEO Fujio Cho — is he not a “business superstar” ala Jack Welch and other “cover boy” CEO’s? This week’s Newsweek international edition features Toyota on the cover, and…
Industrial Distribution I often see references to “what’s next after lean?” I saw two this past week, including the article linked to above. I have to chuckle, because are we ever “done” with lean? Toyota certainly is not done with…
Many interesting comments here from someone who worked directly for/with Taiichi Ohno. He comments on developing workers who can think — TPS being the “Thinking Production System.”
Click for Article This past year has been a good one for new lean manufacturing books. I haven’t read this one yet, so I can’t give it a personal recommendation, but I’ve heard many good things. Has anyone read this,…
Beware the product death cycle | CNET News.com: This article raises some interesting questions about the role of quality in today’s marketplace. It argues that quality standards have definitely gone downhill, at least in consumer products, but the market is…
Toyota Won’t Raise Prices to Help Rivals There was a surprising headline yesterday that said Toyota *was* considering raising prices to “help” Ford and GM. Here is a link to an Auto Blog discussion of that. According to the Wall…
USATODAY.com This article, although about CEO’s, made me think about leadership styles and lean. Whether a CEO or not, do the most effective managers always try to be in the limelight? Is the typical mindset one that managers do everything,…
