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Wed, 02/21/2024 - 12:01
Continuing on the theme of value stream mapping (and process mapping in general) from my article “Where is your value stream map?”, I outlined the typical scenario: The map is built by the continuous improvement team, and they are the ones primarily…![](/sites/default/files/editorial_images/support310.jpg)
Mon, 10/23/2023 - 12:03
This all happened nearly three decades ago. Since then, the company has been through a series of mergers and acquisitions. Thus, the only thing I can be certain of is that things are different today—at least I hope so.
It was Tuesday afternoon of a…![](/sites/default/files/editorial_images/WormsPic310.jpg)
Wed, 10/19/2022 - 12:03
Once again I’m going through old files. Looking back at my notes from 2005, I believe I was thinking about nailing these points to a church door somewhere in the company. That actually isn’t a bad analogy because I was advocating a pretty dramatic…![](/sites/default/files/editorial_images/centaurinstructs640_0.jpg)
Tue, 05/12/2020 - 12:02
Training Within Industry (TWI) job instruction is built around a four-step process titled “How to Instruct.”
Steps two and three are the core of the process: • Present the operation • Try out performance
I want to discuss step three: Try out…![](/sites/default/files/editorial_images/order640_0.jpg)
Tue, 04/21/2020 - 12:03
Sometimes I see people chasing their tails when trying to troubleshoot a process. This usually (though not always) follows a complaint or rejection of some kind.
A few years ago I posted “Organize, Standardize, Stabilize, Optimize” and talked in…![](/sites/default/files/editorial_images/bendedknee640_0.jpg)
Wed, 11/06/2019 - 12:03
I was sitting in on a conversation between a continuous improvement manager and the operations manager the other day.
The operations manager was asking for help developing good leader standard work.
The C.I. manager was responding that she had…![](/sites/default/files/editorial_images/runners640_0.jpg)
Thu, 10/17/2019 - 12:03
The idea of doing the little things consistently over time is a powerful one that we often overlook in our hurry to show a spectacular result this week. We don’t get results from the big action we are taking today. We get results when business-as-…![](/sites/default/files/editorial_images/forklift_640.jpg)
Wed, 03/06/2019 - 12:03
The spring and summer of 2000 were a long time ago, but I learned some lessons during those months that have stayed with me. In fact, the learning from that experience is still happening as I continue to connect it to things I see today.
I was a…![](/sites/default/files/editorial_images/collaboration520_60_0.jpg)
Tue, 08/21/2018 - 12:03
During a TED talk, Amy Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, talks about “How to turn a group of strangers into a team.” Although long-standing teams are able to perform, our workplaces today…![](/sites/default/files/editorial_images/startsmall520_0.jpg)
Wed, 05/09/2018 - 12:02
A couple of weeks ago I posed the question, “Are you overproducing improvements?” and compared a typical improvement “blitz” with a large monument machine that produces in large batches.
I’d like to dive a little deeper into some of the paradoxes…