Yearly Archives: 2007

Toyota’s Partner Robot

Posted on December 6, 2007 by John Hunter

Latest robot in Toyota’s line showcases violin skills [the broken link was removed] But Toyota’s new robot played a pretty solid “Pomp and Circumstance” on the violin Thursday. The 152-centimetre [about 5 feet] tall white robot used its mechanical fingers … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Fun, Science, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #24

Posted on December 3, 2007 by John Hunter

Please submit your favorite management posts to the carnival. Read the previous management carnivals. Is it Scrum or Lean? by Jeff Sutherland – “A thoughtful analysis of the relationship between complex adaptive systems and Lean will show that both Scrum … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Comments Off on Management Improvement Carnival #24

Lean, Toyota and Deming for Software Development

Posted on December 2, 2007 by John Hunter

Mary Poppendieck on The Role of Leadership in Software Development, very nice 90 minute webcast: In this 90-minute talk from the Agile2007 conference, Lean software thought leader Mary Poppendieck reviewed 20th century management theories, including Toyota and Deming, and went … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, IT, Lean thinking, Management, Software Development, Toyota Production System (TPS), webcast | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Getting and Keeping Great Employees

Posted on November 29, 2007 by John Hunter

I am not convinced of the premise of The new war for talent: that there will be a great shortage of talent soon. But the article makes some interesting points. The Conference Board CEO Challenge of 2007 points out that … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Performance Appraisal, Respect | 1 Comment

Arbitrary Rules Don’t Work

Posted on November 28, 2007 by John Hunter

Procedurally Enforcing Workflow by Michael Salamon: UI gem, and a great reminder for the RIAA/MPAA: You can’t force people to follow directions they deem arbitrary. I bet if that gate spit out $100 bills people would use it. Why matters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Popular, Process improvement, Psychology, Respect | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Joy in Work – Software Development

Posted on November 25, 2007 by John Hunter

The wonderful cartoon in this link illustrates the all too common despair in work. Software programmers are more likely to really enjoy what they do. There are many reasons for this not the least of which is that they have … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, IT, Management, Psychology, Software Development | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Toyota’s Effort to Stay Toyota

Posted on November 22, 2007 by John Hunter

Toyota’s All-Out Drive To Stay Toyota “We are making every effort not to lose our DNA,” says Shigeru Hayakawa, president of Toyota Motor North America. … Just in case St. Angelo forgets any of his Toyota training, he has someone … Continue reading →

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

Insights from Jim Womack

Posted on November 21, 2007 by John Hunter

Jim Womack provides great insights in a recent interview, Thought Leaders — Lean On Me: All the Japanese car companies did the quality thing based on the Deming Prize criteria and so forth back in the 1960s and 70s. What … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management | Comments Off on Insights from Jim Womack

Management Improvement Carnival #23

Posted on November 17, 2007 by John Hunter

Please submit your favorite management posts to the carnival. Read the previous management carnivals. Assessing Results vs. Reflection by Mark Rosenthal – “Your plan for the year consisted of a designed experiment. ‘If we do these things, we expect this … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Comments Off on Management Improvement Carnival #23

3M Cuts Back on Six Sigma for Research and Development

Posted on November 14, 2007 by John Hunter

3M Shelves Six Sigma in R&D For the past two years, 3M Corp. has been giving back freedom and decision-making to its researchers following four years of Six Sigma mania under former CEO and Chairman W. James McNerney Jr. Six … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Six sigma | 2 Comments