Monthly Archives: March 2011

Innovation in Thinking and the Web

Posted on March 29, 2011 by John Hunter

Investing time and effort to attract “the right kind” of contributors to a news site He thought we needed to make the same shift with our users – instead of seeing having to engage with them digitally as a time-consuming and resource eating problem, we should be seeing our audience as an asset to the brand. Any online organisation that doesn’t include readers in the production chain is inherently inefficient. I agree. And I think this is a good example … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, IT, Management, Process improvement | Tagged , , , ,

Customer Focus and Internet Travel Search

Posted on March 24, 2011 by John Hunter

The internet should make finding airline flight information easy. Instead it is a huge pain. Hipmunk has taken on the challenge of doing this well, and I think they have done a great job. This video provides an excellent view of both web usability and customer focus. This is a great example of focusing on providing customer value and using technology to make things easy – which is done far to little at most companies. Related: Innovation Example (Farecast – … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, Innovation, IT, Management, Process improvement | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #126

Posted on March 21, 2011 by John Hunter

Mark Hamel is hosting the Management Improvement Carnival #126 on the Gemba Tales blog, highlights include: Data and Facts Are Not the Same. Matt Wrye’s Beyond Lean blog further echos the necessity of being gemba-based. Are You “Under New Management” Yet? Brian Buck of Improve with Me contrasts traditional versus lean leadership practices. Individual vs Team Performance. TWI Blog’s Bryan Lund explores how our industrial attention deficit disorder drives the flawed belief that (short-term) heroics trump the long-term application of … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival | Tagged | 1 Comment

Is Using the Words Resources or Assets When Talking About People the Problem?

Posted on March 17, 2011 by John Hunter

I don’t have any problem with the words resource or assets when discussing people (I know lots of people seem to get excited about those words). What I care about is behavior and organizational systems that embody respect for people. I have never seen much correlation between those and the use of the words resource and asset for discussing the role of people in organizations. Maybe others do see the correlation between the use of those words and bad behavior. … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Psychology, Respect | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Productivity Improvement for Entrepreneurs (and Everybody Else Really)

Posted on March 14, 2011 by John Hunter

The 3 Factors That are Limiting Your Productivity [the broken link has been removed] by Evan Carmichael Elimination is at the core of every successful business. You have to focus on what you’re really good [at], what drives your business forward, and what you’re legally required to do in order to stay in business. Everything else should be eliminated. … Just because everyone else does it or because you’ve always done it that way, it doesn’t mean you have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Management, Process improvement, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Management Improvement Carnival #125

Posted on March 10, 2011 by John Hunter

The Curious Cat Management Blog Carnival selects recent management blog posts 3 times each month. You may submit a link to the management Reddit to have it considered for inclusion in our carnival. More photos from Cypress Gardens, South Carolina. What Next? by David Ing – “The underlying problem is that it seems to come down to having to completely change the culture of an existing business. This can be done internally, and often is done by heroic souls today, … Continue reading →

Posted in Carnival, Management | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Learn by Seeking Knowledge – Not Just from Mistakes

Posted on March 7, 2011 by John Hunter

Being open to new ideas and new knowledge is what is needed to learn. Experimenting, seeking out new knowledge is even better. You can be successful and see an even better way to do things and learn from it. This seems the best way to learn to me – not to just learn from mistakes. Of course this means your goal has to be improvement not just avoiding more mistakes than before. Your actions are based on theories (often unconsciously): … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Creativity, Deming, Innovation, Process improvement, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Warren Buffett’s 2010 Letter to Shareholders

Posted on March 3, 2011 by John Hunter

Warren Buffett has published his always excellent annual shareholder letter. His letters, provide excellent investing insight and good management ideas. Yearly figures, it should be noted, are neither to be ignored nor viewed as all-important. The pace of the earth’s movement around the sun is not synchronized with the time required for either investment ideas or operating decisions to bear fruit. At GEICO, for example, we enthusiastically spent $900 million last year on advertising to obtain policyholders who deliver us … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Investing, Management | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Management Improvement Carnival #124

Posted on March 1, 2011 by John Hunter

The management blog carnival is published 3 times a month with select recent management blog posts. Also try Curious Cat Management Articles for online management improvement articles. Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret by Brad Isaac – “Think for a moment about what action would make the most profound impact on your life if you worked it every day. That is the action I recommend you put on your Seinfeld calendar.” Employee Engagement by Krista Ogburn Francis – “Meaningful work. Most people … Continue reading →

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