#Kaizen & The Leaky Rowboat TAGS: address | boat | consulting | continuous improvement | eradicate | event | far side | ignore | kaizen | leaky | lean blitz | mindset | operations | problems | row | sports | stopgap You’re in a rowboat that has sprung a leak and is taking in water. You’re rowing your now-leaky rowboat to shore but a couple miles away. What are your options? …Continue reading →

Penn State University and Violation of Mission Statements TAGS: accreditation | allegations | blitz | consulting | culture | fbi | fixing | football | freeh | health | integrity | jerry sandusky | joe paterno | leadership | lean | louis | mid-atlantic | middle states commission on higher education | mission | ncaa | operations | penn | philosophy | principle | problems | process | scandal | sports | state | toyota way | university | vision | website | well being Penn State University continues to suffer the consequences of misplaced priorities. Not only have severe sanctions been applied to the university by the NCAA but now the accreditation status of …Continue reading →

Roger Clemens and System Failure TAGS: answers | asleep | baseball | blitz | braun | bud | buster | career | culture | dollars | drugs | enhancing | espn | first | fix | juror | league | lean | litigate | major | mistrial | money | olney | operations | ped | performance | play | principle | problems | process | public | quality | roger clemens | ryan | selig | six sigma | sports | steroids | stop | tax | time | toyota way | trial | widespread Yesterday former major league pitcher Roger Clemens was found not guilty on all counts of perjury with respect to the accusation that he lied to and obstructed Congress about his …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #5 – Identifying Problems TAGS: 5 | andon | baseline | blitz | comparison | engines | error | fix | human | implementation | jidoka | judgment | lean | lights | mechanical | operations | perfect | principle | problems | process | production | quality | scenario | service | six sigma | soon | sports | standards | stop | system | toyota | way As previously posted, the fifth principle from The Toyota Way: “Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time.” In order to stop and …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #5: Stopping to Fix Problems TAGS: better | blitz | broken | car | cheaper | culture | easier | five | fix | lean | light | operations | principle | problems | process | repair | six sigma | sports | tail | tape | temporary | toyota | way It really pains me to see cars tape up body fixtures like broken tail lights. It looks so tacky AND fails to provide suitable coverage and protection. Sure, it’s a …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #3: “Pull” Systems TAGS: baseball | basketball | blitz | concession | continuous flow | excess | floor | footprint | handler | hats | ideal | interval | inventory | jugs | kanban | lean | material | metrics | minimum | multitask | operations | operators | overproduction | perishable | principle | problems | process | pull | quantities | refrigerator | reorder | safety stock | six sigma | space | sports | stands | state | stock | surface | sweet baby ray's | system | toyota way (This is the fourth post looking at the 14 lean principles of The Toyota Way.) The third lean principle of The Toyota Way is a follow-up to the second lean …Continue reading →

Super Bowl XLVI, NBC Production, and the Blame Game TAGS: autonomous management | blitz | blurred | brian | bruce springsteen | christopher | delay | duct tape | eradication | five whys | fix | flipping the bird | gesture | halftime | input | international | janet jackson | language | lean | m.i.a. | madonna | mccarthy | mccloskey | national football league | nbc | nfl | obscene | operations | output | paper planes | paul mccartney | picture | prevention | problems | processes | recording | six sigma | sports | super bowl | superstar | temporary | variation | video | vulgar | wardrobe malfunction | xlvi Eight years after the infamous Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” the Super Bowl halftime show again gets attention for the wrong reasons. Joining Madonna as a guest singer on stage at …Continue reading →