Author Archives: John Hunter

Improved Web Search

Posted on January 14, 2006 by John Hunter

In my recent post on improving Google one suggestion I made was: Let me remove web sites from my default searches. Today while using Yahoo they provided this option (named “block” by Yahoo). Good. Using Yahoo Search I can now block site that hide content behind pay, or registration, walls and spam sites. Obviously it would be better if they blocked the spam sites themselves but this is a useful feature for those that sneak through. I would also prefer … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Google

Public Management II

Posted on January 12, 2006 by John Hunter

Public Management-The Bush Administration II by Paul Soglin: Since that time, John Hunter posted a comment in reference to W. Edwards Deming: Newt Gingrich is also a supporter of Deming’s ideas: “I’m a disciple of Edwards Deming. I really believe in a culture and system of quality.” Any time I find myself in the company of Newt Gingrich, I become a little concerned, especially since he tends to bounce around and not ‘drill down’ to learn how things work. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Public Sector, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Lean Consumption

Posted on January 12, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean Consumption [the broken link was removed] by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, Harvard Business Review. An excellent article on the topic of their book: Lean Consumption. The Principles of Lean Consumption The concepts underlying lean consumption boil down to six simple principles that correspond closely with those of lean production. (For more on these principles, see our book Lean Thinking.) Solve the customer’s problem completely by insuring that all the goods and services work, and work together. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Customer focus, Lean thinking, Management | Tagged

Lean at NUMMI

Posted on January 11, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean at NUMMI (site broke the link so I removed it) by Patrick Waurzyniak , Manufacturing Engineering. An article well worth reading. NUMMI’s production system is patterned closely after TPS, which is constantly changing and being updated, notes Gonzalez-Beltran. The pillars of TPS are the waste-reduction techniques of Just-in-Time production, bringing inventory to where it is needed and at the right time, and also jidoka, which provides machines and operators the ability to detect abnormal conditions and immediately stop work … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged ,

Leading Lean: Right Tool, Right Problem, Right Thinking

Posted on January 11, 2006 by John Hunter

Leading Lean: Right Tool, Right Problem, Right Thinking [the broken link was removed] One look at the kanban card in light of lean thinking helps those using it understand how and why it works, because they see it and understand it as a request, not a card. It is a method to connect a customer to a supplier. But most companies implementing kanban systems are not successful at getting the users to understand how and why the tool works. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Quality tools | Tagged

Customer Service is Important

Posted on January 10, 2006 by John Hunter

Double Trouble, Don Oldenburg, Washington Post: Digging into the details, Stevenson, a mechanical engineer, did a double take at what looked to him like a double charge. Verizon was billing his sweetie for the local plan, for the new regional plan and also for a la carte services that are included in the regional plan. Sorry, wrong numbers! He called Verizon to complain. “The customer service representative said that they knew they’ve been having an issue with their system double-billing,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

How Not to Convert Equity

Posted on January 10, 2006 by John Hunter

CNNMoney is not exactly intellectual discussion of economic and investing issues but normally it offers fairly good material for the large number of people. Especially those who really don’t want to read Warren Buffett or Brad Setser [the broken link was removed]. Still the following quote in their article, Cashing in on hot real estate is just wrong: They also have one extremely valuable asset: a house in the now trendy Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles that’s worth $1 million, … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, quote | Tagged , | 1 Comment

10 Stocks for 10 Years Update

Posted on January 9, 2006 by John Hunter

In April of last year I posted on 10 stocks for 10 years. At that time I also setup an fund through Marketocracy, which allows for 3rd party tracking of investing results. See the results so far on Marketocracy’s site [the broken link was removed]. Thusfar the portfolio is up 20%, in under 9 months (versus 13% for the S&P 500 for the same period of time. The 10 stocks didn’t meet the diversification requirements for marketocracy, at the time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Google, Investing | 3 Comments

Agility vs. Six Sigma

Posted on January 8, 2006 by John Hunter

My response to the agilemanagement list: I agree with David Anderson [the broken link was removed], in this thread [this broken link was also removed], as well as pretty much everything else actually. If I understand his writing correctly I am probably a bit more critical of how Six Sigma is actual practiced, but that is fairly minor difference of opinion. I have posted a couple item on managing innovation You manage processes, such as thinking up a new way … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Management, Process improvement, Six sigma | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Public Sector and Deming

Posted on January 7, 2006 by John Hunter

In, Public Management-The Bush Administration, Paul Soglin, former Mayor of Madison Wisconsin, quotes one of Deming’s 14 obligations of management: W. Edwards Deming’s point number ten is, “Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the workplace.” In looking for online background on Deming thinking in Madison I came across this explanation of Madison’s start [the broken link was removed], on the US Department of Labor site: Madison’s quality improvement efforts began after then-Mayor James F. Sensenbrenner and his staff were exposed … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Public Sector, quote | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lean and Six Sigma in India BPO

Posted on January 7, 2006 by John Hunter

Via Panta Rei, Business Process Outsourcing, Meet Value Engineering [the broken link was removed], Measure for Measure [the broken link was removed] Dedicated Six Sigma, Lean and Reengineering teams continuously spot and improve processes for Genpact as well as its customers. Supported by 500-plus Six Sigma Black Belts and Master Black Belts, 150 Lean Coaches, these teams have implemented 400-plus breakthrough improvements, 3,000-plus Kaizen improvements that enhanced productivity by 6-8 per cent year-on-year. Genpact shares these benefits with customers,” says … Continue reading →

Posted in India, Lean thinking, Six sigma | Tagged ,

Improve Google

Posted on January 7, 2006 by John Hunter

In response to a post by Matt Cutts: Is there a new product or feature that you wish Google offered? Is there anything on the web that annoys you because there’s not a useful product that does exactly what you need? Is there an extra feature of Gmail, AdWords, Google Maps, AdSense, Google News, or another product that you wish we offered? I can think of a lot of new features or products that I’d like to have, but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Google | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award

Posted on January 4, 2006 by John Hunter

W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award [the broken link was removed] from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Graduate School. The award honors W. Edwards Deming for his 22-year association with the Graduate School, USDA as a mathematics and statistics faculty member and curriculum chair. Award Eligibility: The W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award is presented annually by the Graduate School, USDA to a federal government unit or department that has successfully completed an innovative and impressive employee development … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Public Sector | Tagged , ,

Management Lessons from Terry Ryan

Posted on January 4, 2006 by John Hunter

Management Lessons from Terry Ryan: Humility, Stability & Personality from Management by Baseball: competitors in any endeavor figure anything easy must not be a very important differentiator (bass-ackwards of course, but the erroneous mental algebra is that if it was important and easy both, everyone could/would do it and since they’re not doing it and it’s easy it, therefore, must not be important. Goofy but widespread thinking. As long as Ryan and his team make this seem like luck or … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Innovation, Management, Psychology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lean Manufacturing in the Middle East

Posted on January 2, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean Manufacturing Interview of Mohammed Ajlouni, Managing Director of Jordan Specialized Vehicle: How should you work with your suppliers in a truly lean environment? In a truly lean environment, suppliers are partners. They will be expected to supply the required material, the right quality, the right quantity, at the right time, every time. To be able to do this, suppliers have to learn how to take the waste out of their processes. Indeed, many companies have to teach their suppliers … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing

Glacier National Park photos

Posted on January 1, 2006 by John Hunter

I have posted photos from one of my most enjoyable days from last year: photos from hikes in Glacier Waterton International Peace Park Me on the top of the Bear’s Hump trail in the park, Waterton, Canada. A great, very steep trail.

Posted in curiouscat.com, Fun, Travel photos