Cost Subtraction March 29, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in customer focus, strategy.Tags: customer focus, strategy
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The Old Lean Dude (aka Bruce Hamilton) recounts that prior to the 1980s, nobody questioned price increases, but that when the 1980s rolled around, people began requesting price decreases. That meant a new way of pricing products, with the formula: Profit = Price – Cost. While many companies handle this through outsourcing and leveraging suppliers, other companies focused on small scale changes to handle price decreases.
For more from Bruce’s insightful article, please head on over to his blog.
Takt Times and Falling Sales: How to Respond? March 29, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, strategy.Tags: lean, strategy
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Michael Baudin, in response to a reader question about falling sales, explains at his blog that takt time is not just customer demand, but the division of production time by demand. Fluctuations in sales need to be distinguished from major changes, the latter of which needs addressing. A major downturn, for example, would mandate reducing production. Many people struggle with how to deal with lean implementation during lean economic times, and this adds an important point or two.
For Michael’s response at his blog, head on over here.
Culture vs. Strategy Is A False Choice March 29, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in culture, strategy.Tags: culture, strategy
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According to Bob Frisch at FastCompany, the growing trend in business literature has been that culture is a greater determining factor in success than strategy. But Bob contends that this is a false set of choices. Both matter. Bob provides a number of case examples, including Southwest Airlines. Sure, their workers are friendly, funny, and encouraging, but their strategy of a young fleet and short flights is an important and successful strategy.
To read Bob’s article, please go here.
Lean Chickens, 1, Fat Lions, 0 February 27, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, manufacturing, strategy, supply chain.Tags: lean, manufacturing, strategy, supply chain
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Bill Waddell presents an interesting study of production. Golden Bear, Ltd., has received the contract to produce Pride the Lion, the official mascot of the British Olympic Team. Pride is being produced in China because it has been argued that he is too expensive to produce elsewhere. Pride retails for $20. Meanwhile, Montana-based American company West Paw Design makes a sustainable, fluffy product called a Spring Chicken that is larger than Pride –and it retails for $14. The difference? Lean-based West Paw oversees everything itself, while Pride must be overseen by offices in both London and China.
For Bill’s very thought-provoking article, head here.
Lessons Learned From Kodak: Don’t Get Trapped by Your Core Business Model February 27, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in strategy.Tags: strategy
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Kodak did everything it needed to do on the road to bankruptcy –just not enough. Kodak correctly predicted the emergence of electronic imaging over traditional film, and poured resources into making the change. But it didn’t go fast enough or far enough, and was thus forced to file for bankruptcy in January. Kodak put too many eggs in one basket, and didn’t move fast enough to meet the change in technology.
Read the IndustryWeek article here.
Four Destructive Myths Most Companies Still Live By December 19, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in personal productivity, strategy.Tags: personal productivity, strategy
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Tony Schwartz at Harvard Business Review has written an article about the myths that companies still cling to. He lists them and explains why they are myths. Among them is the idea that multitasking is a good, critical thing. Multitasking often involves what is called switching time. For example, instead of paying attention at a meeting, you might be checking your e-mail instead, thereby missing important information.
For Tony’s analysis of this, and the other three myths, head over here.
Four Destructive Myths Most Companies Still Live By December 19, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in personal productivity, strategy.Tags: personal productivity, strategy
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Tony Schwartz at Harvard Business Review has written an article about the myths that companies still cling to. He lists them and explains why they are myths. Among them is the idea that multitasking is a good, critical thing. Multitasking often involves what is called switching time. For example, instead of paying attention at a meeting, you might be checking your e-mail instead, thereby missing important information.
For Tony’s analysis of this, and the other three myths, head over here.
Illogical Progression December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, strategy.Tags: lean, strategy
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The Old Lean Dude follows up his September post on policy deployment (also known as a roadmap for improvement) with another where he defines that it is important to know where you are going. Furthermore, the road map must be concurrent with the lean journey. As the journey progresses, so does the map.
For more of Bruck Hamilton’s thoughts on policy deployment, head here.
Illogical Progression December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, strategy.Tags: lean, strategy
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The Old Lean Dude follows up his September post on policy deployment (also known as a roadmap for improvement) with another where he defines that it is important to know where you are going. Furthermore, the road map must be concurrent with the lean journey. As the journey progresses, so does the map.
For more of Bruck Hamilton’s thoughts on policy deployment, head here.
How Bad Plans and “Good Ideas” Ruin Meetings December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in leadership, strategy.Tags: leadership, strategy
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David Allen, writing at FastCompany for the magazine’s Leadership Hall of Fame Series, talks about planning and ideas. David defines five steps your brain takes when tackling just about any task, including defining the purpose and principles, and outcome visioning. These steps should be taken and understood in order to plan correctly.
I’ve used David Allens techniques for a couple years now, and it has had a remarkable impact on my productivity and organization.
For the complete list, and David’s full article, head here.
How Bad Plans and “Good Ideas” Ruin Meetings December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in leadership, strategy.Tags: leadership, strategy
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David Allen, writing at FastCompany for the magazine’s Leadership Hall of Fame Series, talks about planning and ideas. David defines five steps your brain takes when tackling just about any task, including defining the purpose and principles, and outcome visioning. These steps should be taken and understood in order to plan correctly.
I’ve used David Allens techniques for a couple years now, and it has had a remarkable impact on my productivity and organization.
For the complete list, and David’s full article, head here.
Helping Your Employees Find Their Flow December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in personal productivity, strategy, workforce.Tags: personal productivity, strategy, workforce
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Managers can help employees find their flow, or the ability to become fully immersed in any activity being undertaken. Among those ways are focusing on long-term and short-term goals, as well as challenging workers instead of giving them routine work that requires little oversight from management.
Head here for the article.
Helping Your Employees Find Their Flow December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in personal productivity, strategy, workforce.Tags: personal productivity, strategy, workforce
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Managers can help employees find their flow, or the ability to become fully immersed in any activity being undertaken. Among those ways are focusing on long-term and short-term goals, as well as challenging workers instead of giving them routine work that requires little oversight from management.
Head here for the article.
GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Plant Used Dark Days of Recession to Get Better December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in automotive, lean, strategy.Tags: automotive, lean, strategy
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During the worst days of the recession, General Motors’s Detroit-Hamtramck Plant decided to focus on people, retooling the plant to turn out Chevy Volts and other electric cars. Through continuous improvement, standardized work, laying out the facility in a lean fashion, insourcing strategically, and adopting other lean strategies, the change was a success. In the process, waste has been reduced 15% and the company saves a million dollars annually simply by having switched certain riveting robots.
Check out the IndustryWeek article about the change here.
GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Plant Used Dark Days of Recession to Get Better December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in automotive, lean, strategy.Tags: automotive, lean, strategy
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During the worst days of the recession, General Motors’s Detroit-Hamtramck Plant decided to focus on people, retooling the plant to turn out Chevy Volts and other electric cars. Through continuous improvement, standardized work, laying out the facility in a lean fashion, insourcing strategically, and adopting other lean strategies, the change was a success. In the process, waste has been reduced 15% and the company saves a million dollars annually simply by having switched certain riveting robots.
Check out the IndustryWeek article about the change here.
Work Smart: Live and Work With a Bias Toward Action December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in leadership, strategy.Tags: leadership, strategy
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Scott Belsky, writing at FastCompany, set out to discover the best process for managing projects. He discovered a common theme about action, and talks about it in a video. He explains how the most successful projects have an orientation toward action.
Watch Scott’s creative and informative video here.
Work Smart: Live and Work With a Bias Toward Action December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in leadership, strategy.Tags: leadership, strategy
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Scott Belsky, writing at FastCompany, set out to discover the best process for managing projects. He discovered a common theme about action, and talks about it in a video. He explains how the most successful projects have an orientation toward action.
Watch Scott’s creative and informative video here.
Work Smart: Overcoming “Reactionary Workflow” To Make Your Vision A Reality November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in personal productivity, strategy.Tags: personal productivity, strategy
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Long-term goals can be undone by short-term obstacles or distractions. Scott Belsky, in a video from Fast Company, talks about how reactionary workflow can be overcome. Among the ideas he offers is making sure to take the reins on how you manage your work, and not become subservient to things like answering e-mails for others.
Take a look at the text and video here.
Work Smart: Overcoming “Reactionary Workflow” To Make Your Vision A Reality November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in personal productivity, strategy.Tags: personal productivity, strategy
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Long-term goals can be undone by short-term obstacles or distractions. Scott Belsky, in a video from Fast Company, talks about how reactionary workflow can be overcome. Among the ideas he offers is making sure to take the reins on how you manage your work, and not become subservient to things like answering e-mails for others.
Take a look at the text and video here.
How to Reverse-Engineer Criticism November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in customer focus, strategy.Tags: customer focus, strategy
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Maurice Ewing, writing for Harvard Business Review at Bloomberg Businessweek, has noted that instead of fighting criticism and becoming overly-defensive, companies should use criticism to their advantage. Ewing cites Wal-Mart as an example. Rather than handle issues or criticisms in a reactionary fashion, Wal-Mart should preempt criticisms or create plans to handle those criticisms, such as finding ways to keep prices low without having to cut already-low employee pay.
Check out the analysis article here.
How to Reverse-Engineer Criticism November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in customer focus, strategy.Tags: customer focus, strategy
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Maurice Ewing, writing for Harvard Business Review at Bloomberg Businessweek, has noted that instead of fighting criticism and becoming overly-defensive, companies should use criticism to their advantage. Ewing cites Wal-Mart as an example. Rather than handle issues or criticisms in a reactionary fashion, Wal-Mart should preempt criticisms or create plans to handle those criticisms, such as finding ways to keep prices low without having to cut already-low employee pay.
Check out the analysis article here.
13 Questions to Assess Lean Competence in an Organization November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, Lean Thinking, strategy.Tags: lean, Lean Thinking, strategy
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Jon Miller’s post on Gemba Panta Rei talks about lean competence that can be assessed through the use of insightful questions. Among these questions: “Are problems hidden or made visible?” “Are people viewed as short-term costs or long-term investments?” “Is getting to work on a plan quickly more important than slowly forming an effective process?”
Check out Mr. Miller’s post, as well as the rest of the assessment questions here.
13 Questions to Assess Lean Competence in an Organization November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in lean, Lean Thinking, strategy.Tags: lean, Lean Thinking, strategy
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Jon Miller’s post on Gemba Panta Rei talks about lean competence that can be assessed through the use of insightful questions. Among these questions: “Are problems hidden or made visible?” “Are people viewed as short-term costs or long-term investments?” “Is getting to work on a plan quickly more important than slowly forming an effective process?”
Check out Mr. Miller’s post, as well as the rest of the assessment questions here.
Building Consensus? Try Standard Work June 2, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Standard Work, strategy, team development.Tags: standard work, strategy, teams
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Gaining consensus in the workplace on a direction to move in can be a very difficult process. Making the process standard work can be a slow but consistent method for consensus: “a clear method by which a person can build a case for the initiative, communicate it to colleagues, incorporate their feedback, gain their support, and thereby move forward.” The A3 process replaces large, messy meetings with simple one–on–one meetings between people.
Check out the TimeBack blog post here.
Building Consensus? Try Standard Work June 2, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Standard Work, strategy, team development.Tags: standard work, strategy, teams
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Gaining consensus in the workplace on a direction to move in can be a very difficult process. Making the process standard work can be a slow but consistent method for consensus: “a clear method by which a person can build a case for the initiative, communicate it to colleagues, incorporate their feedback, gain their support, and thereby move forward.” The A3 process replaces large, messy meetings with simple one–on–one meetings between people.
Check out the TimeBack blog post here.
