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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Go execute the CI plan!
Hello out there, and happy belated Thanksgiving to you! Before I start the actual blog, I wanted to tell you all that I am very thankful to be an American. I had family in town over Thanksgiving, and we cooked and ate like there was no tomorrow! As I was sharing the food and laughs with family, it just
Money from honey: Africa lean project generates results
I recently wrote about my trip in August to Zambia in Africa. I was visiting with my friends John and Kendra who have been working in Zambia for the past 10 years and in Congo the previous 25 years. Their work is centered on setting up indigenous economic development to give Zambians a sustainable livelihood
Improvements must be generated, implemented on a daily basis
I heard a radio interview some time back with Neil Sedaka. If the name is no longer familiar, he is probably one of the most successful songwriters of all time. His songs, more than 1,000 of them, (while not all are my favorites), are performed by many different and famous artists. How does he write?
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
