I was driving the other day, listening to the 1980s music channel on XM Radio. The DJ announced a song by Duran Duran and it really sounded like “Juran Juran,” reminding me of the quality legend Joseph M. Juran. It…
Listen: Episode #137 is a chat with Jerry Bussell, founder of the Jacksonville Lean Consortium. I’ve met and talked with Jerry many times through LEI, so I’m thrilled to finally get him on the podcast. Jerry is a retired Medtronic…
There has been a lot of buzz over last Sunday’s New York Times article “How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work.” (Free article). Editor’s Note: Why This Still Matters Today More than a decade later, this conversation is even…
This week, I’ve been reading and listening to a lot of articles about working conditions at the Foxconn facilities in China. These stories are primarily focused on Apple, but nearly any computer, gadget, or mobile device is made there, ranging…
Our guest for episode #136 is Paul Akers, President of FastCap and author of the book 2 Second Lean. Here, we are talking about the new book and how small improvements that save two seconds in your daily work can…
One of the most powerful thoughts in the book On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the Industry (by John Toussaint MD and Roger Gerard PhD) is the quote; “the ultimate arrogance is to change the way…
Mark’s Note: Today’s post is a guest post from a new blogger, Chad Walters. Chad and I share a strong interest in sports — me as a fan and Chad as somebody who is working to bring Lean thinking to…
As I wrote about after his death, I am appreciative of the products and services that Steve Jobs brought to the world. That said, some of his behavior, as reported in the biography written by Walter Isaacson (the simply titled…
As mentioned in Monday’s post with Podcast #131 (Paul Borawski, CEO of the American Society for Quality), ASQ had a contest where members could submit videos about the impact of Quality on their careers and lives. The page for their…
It’s always great to see stories in the major media outlets about engaging front-line staff in improvement ideas. Recently, we had a piece in USA Today that I blogged about and now we have one in the Wall St. Journal…
Friday night’s PBS program the Nightly Business Report had a nice feature on the use of Lean at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downer’s Grove, Illinois. The video is embedded lower in this post, but you can read the transcript here:…
My deepest sympathies to his family and those who knew him. Steve Jobs is certainly an American original and he’s the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford of our times, combined. Jobs’ products make my life easier, more fun, more productive,…
