Lean Six Sigma University

Reducing lead time is often important for the success of a company. This last out of four posts looks a bit more in detail at the reduction in lead time during product development. This is especially important for make-to-order production, but also for the introduction of new products into the market. Let’s have a look. ... Read more

The post Reducing Lead Time 4 – Development first appeared on AllAboutLean.com.

The year 2020 hasn’t exactly gone how we’d planned, right? Let’s just say if we’d known about the challenges the year would bring our way, we very much doubt we’d have bothered to stay up past midnight to welcome in the new year with a bang. We’d have slept right through the whole thing and dropped all expectation that the year would be our best yet.
But despite its devastations and disappointments, the year has presented some valuable opportunities for learning and growth, and these takeaways...

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On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.


"Enjoy the little things in life for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things."   —  Kurt...

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2020 has been a year of tactical maneuvering for most of us; pivoting and adapting to unstable economic conditions. But, there is reason for celebration and recognition of many herculean efforts to adapt to circumstances beyond our control.

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of December 2020.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.5S As A Cultural Enabler– Scott Gauvin says if you introduce 5S with the intention of it being the first step to improve employee engagement and company culture it will take on a new, more significant meaning. What is a Good Life? – Pascal Dennis says a good life entails having good values, and trying to live up to them.Failure Is Always...

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Two more factors for reducing your lead time are the throughput and the lot size. However, the throughput has a smaller effect – although with other benefits that are often larger than the reduction in the lead time. The reduction in the lot size can have a huge effect, although usually only for make-to-stock production. ... Read more

The post Reducing Lead Time 3 – Throughput and Lot Size first appeared on AllAboutLean.com.

By Pascal Dennis (bio)

An elderly Japanese asked me this question a long time ago and it has stayed with me. How, indeed, do we motivate people to do extraordinary things?

There are many schools of thought. The carrot & stick is perhaps the oldest. "Do as I say or I'll do bad things to you!" There's no denying it works – to a point.

But the carrot & stick is a classic ‘push’ system. Is there any pull? Does it motivate creative work, breakthrough work?

Did Steve Jobs motivate his designers to want to create the IPod, IPhone, IPad by threatening them continually? No doubt there was an element of fear. "Don’t want Steve hollering at me again!"

But there was much more. Transcendent achievement requires connection to a deeper purpose – to a ‘Noble Goal’.

Jobs' celebrated hoshin (motto) is a good example. Let's put a ding in the universe.

Subtext: Let’s kick butt & take names! Let’s shoot the moon! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! And why? Because we’re human & we only live once. So let’s let the universe know we were here, that we lived to the fullest and left our mark.

Despite his idiosyncrasies, Jobs touched the heart. His gets me every time.

‘Something for the head, something for the heart’, I’ve suggested Getting the Right Things Done.

And so, to motivate a team to strive for the transcendent, define and commit to a Noble Goal. Our hoshin here at Lean Pathways is Laughs, Learning & Lucre! – which reflects our purpose & priorities.

We often get it wrong. But by articulating our Purpose clearly, we can see abnormalities and are usually able to get back to a good condition.

Next time: How do we sustain our activities in the face of hurtles, hassles and hammerheads?

Best regards,

Pascal




In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…

What is a Good Life?
To Learn Corporate Strategy, Study the Military Masters
Why is laughter important in business?
Practical Problem Solving – Proving Cause & Effect