The Middle Seat – WSJ.com Quick story here, not so much about Lean but about customer service and general incompetence. The WSJ shares data about how complaints about the Transportation Security Administration have jumped: “Complaints to the TSA about security…
by Dan Markovitz Without realizing it, James B. Stewart, the SmartMoney columnist for the Wall Street Journal, touched on the value and power of hansei (reflection) in yesterday’s piece (available for free here). Commenting on the recent ouster of Merrill…
How GM Handles a Hit: Build Fewer – WSJ.comWelcome to new readers from the MoneyCentral MSN blog. To explore more about “Lean,” visit the main page of my blog or click on “What is Lean?” in the left column. The…
Merrill Lynch ousts CEO O’Neal – Boston.com I don’t pretend to know the first thing about investment banking other than it’s a lucrative career. I might get accused of kicking a guy while he’s down, but “retiring” investment CEO’s get…
Together We Innovate The WSJ has a Saturday report section on business and innovation, including the article I’ve linked to here (which can also be found here for free). Lean and a focus on process and standardized work is sometimes…
In Shift, Auto Workers Flee to Health-Care Jobs – WSJ.com: This story caught my ear, first, when I heard it on the Wall Street Journal This Morning radio show (XM channel 167), even though the host had a bit of…
Autoblog.com report This is surprising — Toyota’s top U.S. executive, Jim Press, who had been the first American named as a Toyota corporate director, is leaving to take a top sales and marketing job at Chrysler. Does this mean Tom…
The Middle Seat – WSJ.com: Here’s an example of the every day use of the word “lean” that, unfortunately, means just about the exact opposite of what we mean with “Lean Manufacturing” or the Toyota Production System: “Just like airport…
Small Jets, More Trips Worsen Airport Delays – AOL Money & Finance Here’s a free version of an article that originally appeared in the WSJ last week. Going back to the book Lean Thinking, Womack and Jones talked about their…
China’s Chery Car: Safe At Any Speed For U.S. Market? – CNBC.com I had a number of readers email me this crash test video of a Chinese car sold in the Russia market. One reader asked what Chrysler was thinking…
Case of the Vanishing Airport Lines – WSJ.com This article made me think of Lean in the sense that Alaska Air radically rethought the passenger check in process and achieved some dramatic results: In Anchorage, the airline expected a 20%…
I was completely stunned by the WSJ headline this morning that announced Bob Nardelli, formerly of GE and Home Depot, is going to be CEO at Chrysler. Many of the actual industry experts were stunned too, so don’t feel too…