Category Archives: Lean thinking

Dr. Deming Webcast on the 5 Deadly Diseases

Posted on August 26, 2009 by John Hunter

The W. Edwards Deming Institute has posted Dr. Deming’s 1984 video on the 5 deadly diseases of western management. Lack of constancy of purpose Emphasis on short term profits – “creative” accounting, focus on quarterly profits Annual Performance Appraisals – management by objective, management by fear Mobility of management – [see Toyota for a great example of a company that operates on different principles – where the leadership has been with Toyota for decades] Running a company on visible figures … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Economics, Lean thinking, Management, Performance Appraisal, Popular, quote, webcast | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Baking in Quality to Software Development

Posted on August 15, 2009 by John Hunter

One of the reasons my organizations switched to Ruby on Rails for software development was the great integration with automated testing. We always wanted to have good test coverage on our software applications (which are web applications – some used only inside our organization) but didn’t actually find the time to do so. Since we adopted Ruby we have been doing much better in this regard. It isn’t just the switch to Ruby, of course, but the switch to Ruby … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, IT, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools, Software Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Don’t Hide Problems in Computers

Posted on August 11, 2009 by John Hunter

Making things visible is a key to effective management. And data in computers can be easy to ignore. Don’t forget to make data visible. Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston recently hosted Hideshi Yokoi, president of the Toyota Production System Support Center and wrote this blog post: Together, we visited gemba and observed several hospital processes in action, looking for ways to reduce waste and reorganize work. It was fascinating to have such experts here … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, IT, Lean thinking, Management, Quality tools, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bogus Theories, Bad for Business

Posted on August 6, 2009 by John Hunter

The Wall Street Journal has a book review of The Management Myth by Matthew Stewart. The book flushes out the ideas Matthew Stewert explored in a previous article in the Atlantic about the failure of management to mature as a discipline. Mr. Stewart quotes Bruce Henderson, the founder of the Boston Consulting Group, who describes consulting as “the most improbable business on earth” and who goes on to ask: “Can you think of anything less improbable [sic] than taking the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Science | Tagged , , , , , ,

Lean Manufacturing Webcast from India

Posted on July 28, 2009 by John Hunter

This lean thinking webcast from India actually does a pretty decent job of providing an overview (for a business TV channel) even if they get some things a bit confused. The discuss TQM in India preceding lean which is an accurate view in my opinion – quality management shared many lean principles. They even talk of lean at Ford doing lean first. But they get the decades for that a bit off. They seem to mash together the “quality is … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, India, Lean thinking, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS), webcast | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Akio Toyoda’s Message Shows Real Leadership

Posted on July 26, 2009 by John Hunter

Speech by Akio Toyoda Since the birth of Toyota, the company’s philosophy has always been to “contribute to society.” … “Contributing to society” at Toyota means two things. First, it means, “to manufacture automobiles that meet the needs of society and enrich people’s lives.” And second, “to take root in the communities we serve by creating jobs, earning profits and paying taxes, thereby enriching the local economies where we operate.” … Toyota has overcome many challenges during its seven decades … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, quote, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The Trouble with Performance Reviews by Jeffrey Pfeffer

Posted on July 6, 2009 by John Hunter

The Trouble with Performance Reviews [the broken link was removed] by Jeffrey Pfeffer Managers don’t like giving appraisals, and employees don’t like getting them. Perhaps they’re not liked because both parties suspect what the evidence has proved for decades: Traditional performance appraisals don’t work. But as my colleague and fellow Stanford professor Bob Sutton and I pointed out in our book, Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management, belief and conventional wisdom often trump the facts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Performance Appraisal, Respect, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Toyota Develops Thought-controlled Wheelchair

Posted on June 30, 2009 by John Hunter

Toyota has developed a thought-controlled wheelchair (along with Japanese government research institute, RIKEN, and Genesis Research Institute). Honda has also developed a system that allows a person to control a robot through thoughts. Both companies continue to invest in innovation and science and engineering. The story of a bad economy and bad sales for a year or two is what you read in most newspapers. In my opinion the more important story is why Toyota and Honda will be dominant … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Innovation, Lean thinking, Management, Science, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Building a Great Workforce

Posted on April 13, 2009 by John Hunter

How P&G Finds and Keeps a Prized Workforce by Roger O. Crockett “We actually recruit for values,” says Chief Operating Officer Robert McDonald. “If you are not inspired to improve lives, this isn’t the company you want to work for.” … The P&G strategy starts on college campuses. The Cincinnati company dispatches line managers rather than human resource staffers to do much of its recruiting. … For the few who get hired, their work life becomes a career-long development process. … Continue reading →

Posted in Career, Customer focus, Deming, Innovation, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Importance of Making Problems Visible

Posted on April 2, 2009 by John Hunter

Great, short, presentation webcast by Jason Yip showing the importance of making problems visible. Anyone interested in software development should watch this, and it is valuable for everyone else, also. Great visuals. Related: Future Directions for Agile Management – Agile Software Development Slideshow – Leading Lean: Missed Opportunity – Information Technology and Management – Curious Cat Micro-financiers – posts on project management – Toyota Institute for Managers

Posted in IT, Lean thinking, Management, Software Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jeff Bezos Spends a Week Working in Amazon’s Kentucky Distribution Center

Posted on March 28, 2009 by John Hunter

Photo of Jeff Bezos during the 2005 O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference by James Duncan. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, is working for a week in Amazon’s Kentucky distribution center. I hope, and based on his past, I believe, that he is going to the gemba (Genchi Genbutsu) to learn more about how Amazon operates. That would be great. He worked on wall street and understands the fake constraints they attempt to put companies (you must focus on short term profits, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Creativity, Customer focus, Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, quote, Respect, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

NUMMI, and GM’s Failure to Manage Effectively

Posted on February 25, 2009 by John Hunter

Gipsie Ranney recently sent me an article on her thoughts on NUMMI and the current problems with the Big Three car makers to post to the Curious Cat Management Improvement Library. NUMMI is the plant that Toyota and General Motors run together as a joint venture. The article is excellent. The answer to a question asked by someone else on the tour was stunning to me. The person asked what kind of computerized inventory system they had at NUMMI. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing, quote, Respect, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Zara Thrives by Ignoring Conventional Wisdom

Posted on February 18, 2009 by John Hunter

Zara Thrives by Breaking All the Rules Many U.S. apparel retailers are choking on slow-moving inventories as consumers hold back on spending. But Spain’s Inditex, whose Zara chain pioneered cheap chic, is zipping ahead. The $13.8 billion company, which is closing in on Gap (GPS) for the title of world’s biggest clothing retailer, has nearly quadrupled sales, profits, and locations since 2000 … Wages are higher at Inditex—its factory workers in Spain make an average of $1,650 a month, vs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged , , ,

Lean Thinking in Minnesota Government

Posted on February 8, 2009 by John Hunter

The Office of Governor Pawlenty issued a press release on Minnesota’s Drive to Excellence effort: Increased Quality via Lean Continuous Improvement Reform – The State has adopted “Lean Thinking” as its preferred process improvement tool. So far, 18 agencies are actively involved, with 302 staff members participating in 38 Kaizen improvement events. These events have yielded significant improvements in the delivery of state government services, from issuing duplicate birth certificates to processing State Soldiers Assistance requests. … The Drive to … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Public Sector | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Cost Cutting is Much Different than Waste Removal

Posted on December 30, 2008 by John Hunter

Cost Cutting is Much Different than Waste Removal by Jim Womack The very last thing to consider is the one thing managers seem to embrace most readily: cost cutting. This means leaving out steps and features that actually create value from the perspective of the customer and removing employees who are actually needed to get the job done right using the current process. The hope, usually wrong, is that the customer won’t notice. This last expedient is the one I … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Lean thinking | Tagged | 1 Comment

Honda has Never had Layoffs and has been Profitable Every Year

Posted on November 25, 2008 by John Hunter

Engineers Rule, 2006 Longtime auto analyst John Casesa, who now runs a consulting company, says, “There’s not a company on earth that better understands the culture of engineering.” The strategy has worked thus far. Honda has never had an unprofitable year. It has never had to lay off employees. … The lean and compact Fukui, like all of his predecessors, is an engineer who started in R&D and later ran the subsidiary. While other auto chief-executives-to-be were punching keyboards in … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Respect | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments