WSJ.com – Mom, Apple Pie and…Toyota? Ford and it’s “Way Forward” leader, Mark Fields, have been trying to wrap the company in the U.S. flag and patriotism. “Americans really do want to buy American brands,” asserted Ford Executive Vice President…
A better tool to fight rising health costs? – The Boston Globe From a lean perspective, you have to admire any sincere efforts to help improve quality and efficiency in healthcare. As a country, we can’t afford double-digit cost increases…
AP Wire | 05/10/2006 | Toyota’s quarterly profit jumps 39 percent Quarterly business update on Toyota, including some executive changes. Just about the only recent trouble Toyota has encountered is a $190 million sexual harassment lawsuit filed last week against…
Register for Lean Webinar Click on the link above for more information. “You’ll lose the hard-won gains of a lean transformation unless you win the hearts and minds of people doing the work. Learn how leaders of lean transformations in…
USATODAY.com Sigh, another grand management pronoucement designed to dazzle Wall Street. From the article: “Chipmaker Intel (INTC) plans to slash costs in hopes of pulling out of its recent slump, CEO Paul Otellini said Thursday. Otellini, speaking to analysts in…
An email from a friend, he and his company will remain anonymous. “OK so it’s confession time. I’ve been reading your Blog fairly regularly here at work. We dabble in lean stuff here. Generally it’s frustrating reading an expert opinion…
ContraCostaTimes.com | 05/05/2006 | Consumers feel the sting at pump and elsewhere Post office wants to raise stamp prices – U.S. Life – MSNBC.com: I’m ticked off reading about “fuel surcharges” that many companies are tacking on to their prices…
Toyota’s North American CEO sued for sexual harrassment – Autoblog I guess today’s blog theme is CEO Shame. I’m surprised Bill Waddell hasn’t screamed about this yet on the Evolving Excellence Blog. Maybe he’s still working up a full head…
Vancouver Sun The doctors are complaining publicly in Vancouver. It’s a sad situation and I hate to nit pick or criticize. “At least once daily, during a peak in patient load, ‘the Emergency Department cannot handle the influx and has…
If you’re not a traveler, I apologize for my travel focus lately, but let’s see if there are still some lean lessons to be learned. I’m lucky with airports and avoiding long lines, typically. I fly out of DFW, which…
WILSONDAILY.COM: Merck tests method for better outputHere is an article about the first Merck site to implement lean. I’ve harshly criticized Merck’s announced lean efforts earlier, as it seemed focused on cutting jobs. November 2005: I’ll Bet That Merck’s “Lean”…
I saw a perfect illustration this morning of how unnecessary handoffs in a process can lead to errors. I visited a local coffee shop in Albuquerque and ordered a cup of coffee from the woman working the register. I asked…
