I drove into a townhouse complex the other day and found a sign that said 9.5 miles per hour (mph) is the speed limit. My first thought was I am going to just go 10 mph. This triggered me to think about one of my favorite topics, visual controls. I…
No Comments + Read MoreAt a recent trip to one of my favorite stores Costco I came across an interesting problem that you might also have in your business. Their checkout cashiers were rated on three factors: 1) How quickly they scan 2) How many customers they scan in an hour [minimum of 50]…
No Comments + Read MoreHere are some statistics on why employees leave a company: 25% of respondents reported leaving employers because of ineffective leadership22% cited poor relationships with their managers21% said their contributions were not valued Source: http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimComment?id=26632 We see all kinds of issues related to company culture. Employee retention is not only a…
No Comments + Read MoreThinking Thursday is a day to think about something besides lean, business improvement, six sigma, or the usual items discussed. Sometimes topics can relate to the business world and other times it’s just plain fun. I love it when I see the news and they ask a question to a…
No Comments + Read MoreI was having a conversation the other day on Twitter with @LeanBlog and @flinchbaugh talking about St. Luke Hospital System’s Lean efforts that were publicized. The article is a just a press release that is pretty much just bragging. Fellow Lean practitioners will attest that Lean is about serving the…
No Comments + Read MoreOccam’s razor states that the simplest solution is usually the best solution. Occam’s razor is in full effect with business problem solving. Do not over complicate a solution. I worked at a plant that assembled computers from computer parts that can be found off the shelf. The factory that was…
No Comments + Read More90% of consumers trust peer recommendations*Only 14% trust advertisements** *Source: July 2009 Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey **Source: “Marketing to the Social Web,” Larry Weber, Wiley Publishing 2007 Why not spend more time on building customer satisfaction instead of spending time and money on advertisement?
No Comments + Read MoreWiki Wednesday is where we have 1 topic and several thoughts on the topic from Lean practitioners. “What do you standardize and how to you figure out what to standardize; how much is too much?” Please leave your thoughts on the comments section. Here are some thoughts to get you…
No Comments + Read MoreI few weeks ago I wrote an article on why being the best still isn’t good enough talking about how a medical practice that is in the top 2% of the country still had room for improvement. The issue is that there is no motivation to change but as…
No Comments + Read MoreOnly 1 in 5 employees go the extra distance to help a company succeed. There is a common myth money motivates people. The reality is that motivating employees without money is actually better and sometimes easier. So what are the factors that motivate employees? In 2008 Businessweek had an article…
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