Tag Archives: Innovation

Toyota Understands Robots are Best Used to Enhance the Value Employees Provide

Posted on April 8, 2014 by John Hunter

Toyota has always seen robotics as a way to enhance what staff can do. Many USA executives think of robotics as a way to reduce personnel. Toyota wants to use the brainpower of employees to continually improve the organization. Toyota … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged continual improvement, engineering, Innovation, Japan, lean manufacturing, managing people, Manufacturing, overpaid executives, respect for people, technology, Toyota, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Comments Off

Taking Risks Based on Evidence

Posted on November 14, 2013 by John Hunter

My opinion has long been that football teams are too scared to take an action that is smart but opens the coach to criticism. So instead of attempting to make it on 4th down (if you don’t understand American football, … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Creativity, Data, Innovation, Management, Psychology | Tagged Creativity, evidence based management, experiments, fear, Innovation, leadership, Psychology, risk, sports | 3 Comments

The Art of Discovery

Posted on April 18, 2013 by John Hunter

Quality and The Art of Discovery by Professor George Box (1990): Quotes by George Box in the video: “I think of statistical methods as the use of science to make sense of numbers” “The scientific method is how we increase … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Data, Innovation, Management, Process improvement, Quality tools, Science, Statistics | Tagged control chart, curiouscat, Data, evidence based management, experiments, George Box, Innovation, learning, Process improvement, quote, respect for people, Statistics, technology, webcast | 4 Comments

The Components of Genius

Posted on March 19, 2013 by John Hunter

Wonderful poster, by Grant Snider, on the question: what is genius. Related: Comic About Programers – You Have to Find What You Love To Do – Marissa Mayer Webcast on Google Innovation – Interruptions Can Severely Damage Performance

Posted in Creativity, Fun, Innovation | Tagged Creativity, Innovation | 1 Comment

Accept Taking Risks, Don’t Blithely Accept Failure Though

Posted on February 13, 2013 by John Hunter

For discussion by ASQ’s Influential Voices this month, Paul Borawski looks at Risk, Failure & Careers in Quality. There is a bias toward avoiding the possibility of failure by avoiding actions which may lead to failure or even any action … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Management, Systems thinking | Tagged ASQ Influential Voices, Innovation, poka yoke | 4 Comments

Customers

Posted on December 12, 2012 by John Hunter

Customer focus is critical to succeed with management improvement efforts. Few argue with that point, though my experience as a customer provides plenty of examples of poor systems performance on providing customer value (usability, managing the value stream well, etc.). … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, Management | Tagged curiouscat, Customer focus, customer service, Deming, gemba, Innovation, management, quote, Systems thinking, value stream | 11 Comments

New Deadly Diseases

Posted on August 29, 2012 by John Hunter

Management and the economy keep evolving. Many good things happen. In the last decade the best things are probably the increased deep adoption of lean thinking in many organizations and the adoption of lean and Deming methods in software development … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Economics, Innovation, Lean thinking, Management, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged Creativity, curiouscat, Deming, executive pay, Innovation, John Hunter, lean management, lean manufacturing, overpaid executives, Systems thinking | 12 Comments

You’ve Got to Find What You Love

Posted on October 5, 2011 by John Hunter

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Education, Fun, Innovation, Psychology, quote | Tagged Career, Creativity, Education, Innovation, inspiration, intrinsic motivation, jobs, Joy in Work, motivation, Psychology, respect for people, Software Development | 9 Comments

The Need to Improve Management While Building Organizations Fit For Human Beings

Posted on September 29, 2011 by John Hunter

[embedded video link broken, so that code was removed but you can watch the video by following this link: Gary Hamel: Reinventing the Technology of Human Accomplishment. I agree with Gary Hamel that we need to adopt new management strategies. … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Deming, Innovation, Management, Respect, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged Deming, Innovation, Lean thinking, management, management history, respect for people, Toyota Production System (TPS), webcast | 2 Comments

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Deming, IT, Management, Process improvement | Tagged Creativity, Customer focus, Innovation, internet, Systems thinking | Comments Off