Monthly Archives: February 2007

Seven Steps to Remarkable Customer Service

Posted on February 20, 2007 by John Hunter

Once again Joel Spolsky spins a great post with, Seven steps to remarkable customer service. Read it. It’s crucial that tech support have access to the development team. This means that you can’t outsource tech support: they have to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, IT, Management, Process improvement, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

More Positive Press for Toyota Management

Posted on February 19, 2007 by John Hunter

via NY Times Magazine on Toyota, a very good article: From 0 to 60 to World Domination Certainly the most obvious example of Toyota’s long view is the Prius hybrid. I don’t think so, that is an example of their … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Management Articles, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Comments Off on More Positive Press for Toyota Management

What Job Does Your Product Do?

Posted on February 19, 2007 by John Hunter

Finding the Right Job for Your Product* by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony, Gerald Berstell and Denise Nitterhouse (available online for a limited time only). The article has a very simple point. Customers buy your product or service to … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management, Management Articles, Process improvement | Tagged | 12 Comments

SWAT Raids – Systemic Failures?

Posted on February 18, 2007 by John Hunter

I have mentioned Reddit (an online community that is highly skewed toward software engineers who are a bit irreverent) before: Dell, Reddit and Customer Focus. The site highlights stories voted up by the community and so the makeup of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #5

Posted on February 16, 2007 by John Hunter

New Directions, Bad Lean Strategies and Leading Lean by Jamie Flinchbaugh – “Throughout my travels, I continue to be frustrated with the lack of creative thinking that is going into lean transformation strategies… When you begin convincing yourself that you … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Comments Off on Management Improvement Carnival #5

Toyota Institute for Managers

Posted on February 15, 2007 by John Hunter

The ‘Toyota Way’ Is Translated for a New Generation of Foreign Managers [the broken link was removed] “For Americans and anyone, it can be a shock to the system to be actually expected to make problems visible,” said Ms. Newton, … Continue reading →

Posted in Management Articles, Toyota Production System (TPS) | 2 Comments

Kaizen Online

Posted on February 15, 2007 by John Hunter

Kaizen, That Continuous Improvement Strategy, Finds Its Ideal Environment by Hal R. Varian Kaizen doesn’t just mean a business should keep trying new things. Rather, it refers to a disciplined process of systematic exploration, controlled experimentation and then painstaking adoption … Continue reading →

Posted in IT, Management, Management Articles, Software Development | 1 Comment

Scientific Thinking – the Modern Way

Posted on February 14, 2007 by John Hunter

“Scientific thinking” the modern way [the broken link was removed] by Bill Harris: What does this all mean? It simply means that Fisher’s designed experiments give us better and faster means to extract insight from tests on system dynamics models … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Management, Science | 1 Comment

Danaher – Lean Thinking

Posted on February 14, 2007 by John Hunter

A Dynamo Called Danaher [the broken link was removed] DBS, as it’s called, is a set of management tools borrowed liberally from the famed Toyota Production System. In essence, it requires every employee, from the janitor to the president, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Sustaining Lean Momentum

Posted on February 13, 2007 by John Hunter

Sustaining Lean [the broken link was removed]: “It is an unfortunate fact that most companies are unable to sustain the gains made during their lean journeys,” said Andy Carlino, Lean Learning Center partner. “In fact, less than 37 percent of … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles | Comments Off on Sustaining Lean Momentum