I’ve been reading The Birth of Lean, a collection of talks and interviews with the people who helped build the Toyota Production System. One passage stood out because it explains something I had never seen described this clearly: Toyota copied…
I’m looking forward to reading the new book by Uri Levine, the founder of Waze. It’s titled: Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs I hope to interview him on “My Favorite MIstake” because…
Burris has a new article on the Harvard Business Review website: “Employee Suggestion Schemes Don’t Have to Be Exercises in Futility” In my own work and travels, it’s hard to find anybody who has good things to say about suggestion boxes...
I’m a critic of traditional suggestion boxes since they are usually garbage cans for ideas. Boxes collect anonymous complaints (not good), and managers often ignore what’s in the box (not good either). I thought I had heard it all about…
There’s a funny cartoon over at ONEFTE.com about suggestions and employee ideas. The post is titled “Where good ideas go to die.” One time in a hospital, a heard a team member say that about their suggestion box. The cartoon…
I’m not sure if this poster was associated with the Training Within Industry program or not, but it’s a World War II era government propaganda poster. Is one suggestion (or implemented idea) really too much to ask? Why do most…
There was a question on the NWLean email list about suggestions, in the context of The Idea Generator: Quick and Easy Kaizen, reading in part: “My question is this; is the 2 suggestions per month per employee forced? Meaning do…
