I’ve been reading the book Managing The Professional Service Firm by David Maister, which is targeted toward the management of professional firms: consulting, law, and finance for example. But, he has a concept that should resonate for any business: “Quality…
Here’s a flock of articles about the new Toyota San Antonio plant that opened last week: Off to an aggressive start (Houston Chronicle) Plant President Hidehiko “T.J.” Tajima said the goal was “to build trucks where they are sold —…
By Mark Edmondson, LEAN Affiliates Last week I had three unrelated yet similar phone conversations that you, an executive in pursuit of excellence, may find of interest. These calls had several similarities: – All are with experienced mid-level professionals (they…
My apologies for the delay in following through with posts from the EdNet / LEAN conference. Here’s a bit on one of the presentations from the conference that I’m sure will spur on some discussion. Randall Cook from Utah State…
I can’t think of an industry that could use lean or “process thinking” any more than the home contractor industry (ok, well maybe healthcare). I’m currently having a gas grill bricked in out on my back patio and I’ve been…
Last week I attended the joint meeting of LEAN (Lean Education Academic Network) and EdNet (Lean Aerospace Initiative Education Network) in Worcester Massachusetts. Here’s a link to the conference website: There were about 75 participants at the meeting and I…
I was able to have dinner at the famous Pizzeria Uno in Chicago on Friday. It had been too long since I’ve had really good Chicago stuffed pizza — REAL Chicago pizza, not the fake bready stuff that too many…
I know not everybody travels, so y’all might not be concerned about attempts to see lean (or NON lean) practices in the travel world. But, I travel almost weekly, so this is one “gemba” I see quite a bit. One…
For those interested in lean applications to education, there is an upcoming conference that you may want to check out. The conference is co-hosted by The Lean Aerospace Initiative Education Network (EdNet) and the Lean Education Academic Network (LEAN). The…
WSJ.com – Ford and Chrysler Show Dark Outlook For U.S. Car Makers I received an email from a blog reader, Jack, from Tampa FL. I assume he’s from outside the auto industry and he wrote: In light of Mr. Womack’s…
GE is famously known for their use of Six Sigma as a cornerstone of the company. “Six Sigma,” of course, refers to a statistical value of 3.4 defects per million opportunities. On their overview of Six Sigma, GE says: “Today’s…
One of the key tenets of the Womack and Jones book “Lean Solutions” is “don’t waste my time” (as a customer). Below is an NBC News story about how AOL wasted this customer’s time, a practice that is supposedly pretty…