Yearly Archives: 2008

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

12 Stocks for 10 Years – Adding Danaher

Posted on February 5, 2008 by John Hunter

With Microsoft’s offer for Yahoo I am replacing Yahoo with Danaher in the 12 Stocks for 10 Years portfolio. Other stocks in the portfolio include Google up 137% since purchased, PetroChina up 132%, Amazon up 106% and Toyota up 44%. … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing | Comments Off on 12 Stocks for 10 Years – Adding Danaher

Improvement Through Designed Experiments

Posted on February 4, 2008 by John Hunter

The Rationale of Scientific Experimentation by John Dowd explains the value of designed experiments. Another difficulty in industrial experimentation is the existence of interactions. As has been stated, manufacturing processes are complex with many factors involved. In many processes these … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Deming, Design of Experiments, Management, Science, Statistics | Comments Off on Improvement Through Designed Experiments

Management Improvement Carnival #28

Posted on February 1, 2008 by John Hunter

Please submit your favorite management posts to the carnival. Read the previous management carnivals. Freedom = Success (And not the other way around) by Polly LaBarre – “we’re literally laboring under a myth (namely, time put in + physical presence … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Comments Off on Management Improvement Carnival #28