Chinese Refrigerator Maker Finds U.S. Chilly – WSJ.com: Here’s another case of where your bosses should NOT take manufacturing management practices from the WSJ. In an article about the Chinese refrigerator maker Haier and its founder, Zhang Ruimin: “He developed…
Cutback Cuisine – WSJ.com: If you’re a regular reader, you know I like to try to draw from non-traditional sources and industries. This article from WSJ caught my eye and made me think of some Lean concepts. As in many…
Analyze This: Hoaxer Haunts Earnings Calls – WSJ.com Some guy (not me) has been spoofing his way onto companies’ investor / analyst calls, asking questions about Lean and Six Sigma. He’s using a fake name and uses a lot of…
Networks Plot Course – WSJ.com As the entertainment industry works to recover from the recently-ended writers’ strike, the WSJ article featured a quote from a division of General Electric: “[the networks] are hoping to maintain some of the cost-cutting benefits…
A few short thoughts from today’s WSJ:‘Headwind’ Blows As Top Executives Navigate Trouble – WSJ.com As I was reading the first article, above, about executives blaming “headwinds” and macroeconomic problems for business woes, I thought, “Sure, there are economic problems,…
GM Expects Car-Price Rise – WSJ.com GM is raising prices: “In December, GM raised its prices an average of 1.5%…” This is great news if you’re an employee, stockholder, or fan of General Motors. This means market demand is strong…
Cubicle Culture – WSJ.com: Why Learn and Grow On the Job? It’s Easier To Feign Infallibility Free Version via CareerJournal.com In the Lean / Toyota Way mindset, we have the belief that we have to be open about our problems…
The Informed Patient – WSJ.com Good column in the WSJ today, as always, from Laura Landro. She writes about the need for patients to take an active role in their care and their own safety. I’ll try to keep with…
Can US Airways Pass Test of Time? – WSJ.com: Saw this about US Airways (LCC), an airline I used to fly a lot when I lived and it was just America West. The airline has struggled through its merger —…
Management Leaders Turn Attention to Followers – WSJ.com This article caught my eye, this idea that someone other than top executives might actually have some ideas. In “Followership,” a book being published this winter, Ms. Kellerman argues that a big…
Boeing Scrambles to Repair Problems With New Plane – WSJ.com Interesting article in today’s WSJ about the ongoing problems in bringing the new 787 “Dreamliner” to market. Sounds like a nightmare of a process. Look at the waste highlighted in…
Our Unsanitary Hospitals – WSJ.com That’s “Clean”, not a typo of “Lean.” Good column in the WSJ today by Betsy McCaughey, head of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths organization (link). She asks why restaurants and meat packing plants get…
