Business leaders always have to be on the lookout for the next thing that could make their core products and competencies obsolete. The decline of the whale oil industry, which unfolded over 30 to 40 years, is occurring in other industrial sectors at a much faster pace today. Continue reading…

As we’ve seen in recent months with the primary elections in the United States, political campaigns are always on the lookout for misstatements and communication gaffes made by their opponents that can be taken out of context and spread quickly via Internet forums and Twitter. Misinformation about your lean initiatives can spread just as quickly. Rumors are quickly perceived as fact, causing significant damage to leadership credibility and change momentum. Continue reading…

TBM recently launched a web-based, online lean assessment tool. If you haven’t had the chance to take the assessment yet, I hope you’ll consider doing so. I recently had the opportunity to conduct a lean assessment at a well-known consumer products company. This company has been on a lean journey for over 10 [...] Continue reading…

Culture change is an elusive goal for many companies but it can be achieved by focusing on a few basic key points.  While not necessarily easy, these key points are relatively simple.
One of my favorite reads on this topic is Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.  Mr. Lencioni has a model pyramid [...] Continue reading…

Most of us could get to work in half the time if we could just eliminate the stops and starts caused by traffic lights. Have you ever noticed how some drivers (or yourself) accelerate quickly then come to a quick stop at the next light or stop sign and then repeat the same process over [...] Continue reading…

In a recent blog I recommended that you audit your countermeasure effectiveness and provided a checklist. I have some additional advice about lean culture creation.
Let’s talk about homework…I never liked homework anyway! When I say that the best homework is no homework I mean that you (as leaders) should encourage associates to focus on [...] Continue reading…

I have spoken with a number of people about my blog on counter or counterfeit measures and I realize how often people miss the mark on this topic. Leaders misinterpret walking through an area and generating action lists for true countermeasure management. When you create a true countermeasure culture the benefits are synergistic. [...] Continue reading…

While culture tends to be an elusive subject, the definition I prefer is Larry Bossidy’s, “Culture is the behavior of our leaders, we get expect and what we tolerate.” In previous articles* I stated that a sustained lean transition is more about culture change than it is about tools. We need to change leader behaviors [...] Continue reading…

Have you seen the movie “Tin Cup”? The setting is a driving range that is located out in the middle of no-where. The owner is played by Kevin Costner, who is nicknamed Tin Cup. He ends up qualifying for and almost winning the prestigious US Open by enlisting the help of a psychologist and his [...] Continue reading…