Monthly Archives: February 2008

Renting Toys

Posted on February 21, 2008 by John Hunter

That kids get tired of many toys long before the toys are worn out is not a recent revelation Those frustrated by this waste surely number in the millions in the last few decades alone. Some attempts to reduce the … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Management | Comments Off on Renting Toys

USA Spent $2.1 Trillion on Health Care in 2006

Posted on February 20, 2008 by John Hunter

The percent of GDP spent on health care in the USA increased again in 2006 – to 16%. Health care spending reached a total of $2.1 trillion, or $7,026 per person in 2006, up from $6,649 per person in 2005. … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Economics, Health care | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Popular Mechanics: Made in the USA

Posted on February 19, 2008 by John Hunter

Five American Manufacturers Doing It Right America’s manufacturing sales stagnated at the $4 trillion mark in the late 1990s. But then something surprising happened. America started selling again—finding more customers for tractors, steel, plastics, knives and medicines than ever before. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Management, Manufacturing | Comments Off on Popular Mechanics: Made in the USA

Software Supporting Processes Not the Other Way Around

Posted on February 19, 2008 by John Hunter

Rental Car IT What was funny about that exercise were the looks we got from the no nonsense King of IT: “Of course, we want things to be simple and flexible — why are you bothering to tell us this?” … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, IT, Lean thinking, Management, Software Development, Systems thinking | 10 Comments

Innovation Strategy

Posted on February 18, 2008 by John Hunter

Six Principles for Making New Things by Paul Graham The answer, I realized, is that my m.o. for all four has been the same. Here it is: I like to find (a) simple solutions (b) to overlooked problems (c) that … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Innovation, Management | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Samuel Adams Acts Like a Good Neighbor

Posted on February 17, 2008 by John Hunter

Some people think business is only about making money. I agree with Dr. Deming that the purpose is much larger than that. Even if you take a view similar to mine though, it is not often companies intentionally help those … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Creativity, Management | Tagged , | Comments Off on Samuel Adams Acts Like a Good Neighbor

Management Improvement Carnival #29

Posted on February 15, 2008 by John Hunter

Mark Graban is hosting Management Improvement Carnival #29 on the Lean blog, some of the highlights include: Standard Work for Managers = Go to Gemba (Joe Ely, Learning About Lean) “Get to the workplace. Look. Listen.” Designing What’s Right for … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Comments Off on Management Improvement Carnival #29

Don’t Use Performance Appraisals

Posted on February 11, 2008 by John Hunter

I like to continue to push for some things that might not seem achievable to many. It is too easy to accept that things have to stay the way they are. Several of Dr. Deming’s list of Seven Deadly Management … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, Respect | 5 Comments

New – Different – Better

Posted on February 8, 2008 by John Hunter

Comment on New or Different? by Matthew May: So don’t worry about new and different. Ask yourself: Is this clearly better than what’s out there now? And if you think about it, that’s a question you should never stop asking. … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Innovation, Management, Process improvement | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Using Books to Ignite Improvement

Posted on February 7, 2008 by John Hunter

Recommended Reading From an Employee-Owned Company [the broken link has been removed] Soon after, another Web Industries employee picked up “Kanban Made Simple,” a guide for adopting Kanban, Toyota Motor Corp.’s just-in-time manufacturing process by John M. Gross and Kenneth … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Lean thinking, Management | Tagged , , | 5 Comments