Manufacturing improvement and the Rolling Stones
If you’re like me, you’ve listened to the Rolling Stones over the years. Their contemporaries, the Beatles, became more artistic and lyrical as they evolved. (”Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” as Jerry Seinfeld would say.) But for driving party music, the Stones, even after all these years, are still hard for
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Effective strategies for coaching and developing your employees
Performance coaching is not about disciplinary action, nor is it about accountability (although it may promote accountability in the long term). It is really about leadership development - teaching your team of supervisors, managers and leaders the skills and behaviors that are necessary to perform their
PDCA: Moving from the Plan (P) to the Do (D)
Hello, all you Lean Six Sigma people! I hope this blog finds you all doing fantastic! I have been working on a series talking about the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle as it relates to continuous improvement (CI). We have covered the planning cycle, and now it is time to do some real work after a short
Your CI list is long. Which projects should you pursue?
In my last blog entry, I talked very generally about the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act). In the first blog in this series, I wrote about how too many organizations get into the Do, Check, Act cycle without taking time to plan it out. We have covered the need to plan and the big picture process
Effective communication: Turn this weakness into a strength
Corporate leaders are trained in economics, strategy and a variety of other business skills. Few are trained in communication, yet experts agree that communication is one of the most important skills leaders should have on their list of competencies. To ensure successful communications within your
Are you a leader or are a manager? Do you know the difference?
Leaders who lead by example are mentors and role models, building business results through relationships and integrity. Before delving into the topic of Leadership Example, it is helpful to define leaders and leadership. Beginning with the root word of lead, Webster’s Dictionary defines lead as
Bringing the message of lean to Africa
I just returned from a trip to the country of Zambia in Africa. I was there visiting and helping some close family friends that are missionaries. John and Kendra are not typical missionaries. While they do have a very nice training center which is used for a Christian pastor school, family activities
Lean evolves: How to make the most of process improvement
Lean efforts used to be 100 percent directed at the shop floor. What we have seen recently is that lean is moving into non-traditional areas of business. A lot of our recent work has been in: maintenance, procurement, distribution, engineering, the office and even the company kitchen! A friend of mine
In the M&R business, good enough never is
About 15 years ago, I was fortunate to attend a conference where the keynote speaker’s focus was quality. This person was a successful entrepreneur and had built a top-flight company over the past two decades. The company’s success was based on making the best-quality, best-tasting cookie
How to accomplish a lean turnaround at warp speed
How can I accelerate a turnaround, or for that matter any implementation? I can’t wait; I have to do it NOW! The first item on your list is to stop running on overload. Remember, it’s not a matter of time but a matter of priorities. Define your goals and needs correctly, create realistic
