In the month of July, the number of fatal medication errors jumps 10% in U.S. counties with teaching hospitals, according to David Phillips and Gwendolyn Barker of UC San Diego. Each July, medical residents get new or increased responsibilities for patient care at the beginning of the academic year. Source:…
No Comments + Read MoreYou may have heard of Kaizen which is incremental continuous improvement. It is a great way to make improvements consistently in any organization. The idea behind Kaizen is to just be a little better than before. Over time Kaizen can lead to significant changes. Another concept that doesn’t get talked…
No Comments + Read MoreA 1990 study concluded that a star performer is 85% more productive than an average performer in jobs of medium complexity (sales clerks, mechanics). A star performer is 127% more productive than an average performer in the most complex jobs such as insurance sales, account managers Source:Hunter, J. E., Schmidt,…
No Comments + Read MoreThe human brain can hold about 7 (+/- 2) pieces of information in short term memory.Source: Memory Article on Wikipedia Many of you may already know this fact but do you apply it to your work? How many items do you juggle at one time? Maybe 5-6 work items and…
No Comments + Read MoreI meet with a metal stamping company today and the CEO said something every interesting to me. He said “We don’t go after the high volume lower margin products like automotive, we go after what no one wants to do and we do that. The one who bid’s the lowest…
No Comments + Read MoreRoad deaths in India rose 40% in five years to more than 118,000 in 2008. Source: New York Times The New York Times sites poor planning and a surge of drivers as the factors for the rise. The lack of planning and proper driver’s education seems to be the root…
No Comments + Read MoreWhen first starting Lean companies tend to jump to the productivity piece but Lean is not about the processes but about the culture. Lean culture is the cornerstone to a Lean Business System. The aptitudes of communication, trust, and alignment are the building blocks to reach productivity. Communication:Studies of…
No Comments + Read MoreOnly 10% of cost-reduction programs sustain their results three years on, McKinsey research finds. Sales, general, and administrative (SG&A) costs are particularly unyielding: While manufacturing efficiencies have helped S&P 500 companies reduce the median cost of goods sold (as a percentage of revenues) by about 2.7 percentage points over the…
No Comments + Read MoreI came across an article that talks about how emotional intelligence is used in the implementation of lean. CIBA is specialty chemical company whose Italian office decided to go Lean. The main difference in their transformation that’s normally not done is the focus on the organizations emotional intelligence and…
No Comments + Read MoreSource: USC Marshal Business School Culture is defined as any values, assumptions, and artifacts (symbols, stories, texts, ceremonies, rituals, etc) associated with the company. How well the company adheres to culture and how well the company culture promotes growth, improvement and a suitable work place determines cultural strength. There is…
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