This article is a section from the upcoming book by Calvin L Williams titled F.I.T. – Agile Strategy Execution for Unstoppable Growth. I know a woman who [...]
Lean has a little branding problem; but of course, it’s much bigger than that. I recall sitting in my undergraduate Industrial Engineering classes at the [...]
This article is a section from the upcoming book by Calvin L Williams titled F.I.T. - Agile Strategy Execution for Unstoppable Growth The mighty Mississippi [...]
This article is a section from the upcoming book by Calvin L Williams titled F.I.T. - Agile Strategy Execution for Unstoppable Growth After the titanic [...]
You’re the quarterback in the Superbowl game. You have exactly 2 minutes on the clock and you’re now down by 5 points. The other team [...]
Strategy development, deployment, and execution is a practice that the business elite once kept secret from general population as a means to increase competitive advantage. [...]
In this blog post, you will find the 6 best Strategy Execution Software solutions on the market, ranked in order, with all the information necessary [...]
In times of rapid external change, organizations need to be able to transform themselves to remain fit in a constantly evolving new normal. In fact, [...]
The mighty Mississippi River. A powerful and continuous flow of water that stretches from North to South in the Unites States of America. The river [...]
Lean was doomed from the day it was named. Despite its good intentions to create the ultimate production system, Lean and its misapplication has led [...]
5 in 5. Who would have imagined that the secret to a thriving Continuous Improvement culture could be boiled down to 5 questions in 5 [...]
So you've heard of Toyota KATA and want to know what its all about. Toyota KATA has introduced several paradigm shifts in the way we [...]
There's a damn good chance that Toyota KATA is the missing ingredients in your Lean or Continuous Improvement recipe. KATA comes from the martial arts [...]
I get it. We all love the exhilarating feeling of finishing a week-long kaizen event where chaos finally comes to order and the results are [...]
Some years ago, my wife and I start getting into this show called Supernanny. The premise of the show is that an expert nanny would [...]
I know the title is a little click-batey - but as you read my story, it will make perfect sense. About 10 years into my [...]
We've all heard the pitch for Continuous Improvement that says it can help cut costs, improve quality, reduce inventory, increase customer satisfaction, improve safety, increase [...]
The world sure has its fair share of problems; there's certainly no argument there. However, there is also no shortage of problem-solving methods. We're all [...]
Continuous Improvement is now being practiced in virtually every industry to varying degrees of success. However, certain companies seem to have Continuous Improvement hard-coded into [...]
In the 1920's, scientific management swept US industries, ushering in the 2nd and 3rd industrial revolutions. By the 1940's and 1950's Continuous Improvement Methodologies such [...]
We can all thank the manufacturing industry for its incredible contributions to the world of Continuous Improvement. This discipline has become a pillar of performance [...]
Continuous Improvement Software can be a great tool for helping your business to create more value for customers and simultaneously reduce operating costs. Some software [...]
In the beginning, there were tools. When the original researchers went into Toyota to find out the secrets of how they built the world's greatest [...]
In this blog post, you will find the 6 best Continuous Improvement Software solutions on the market, ranked in order, with all the information necessary [...]
60 years ago, some people were reluctant to embrace software as a way of working because it was seen as buggy, hard to use, and [...]
There's, without question, a bias against the idea that software could be a tool used to help companies accelerate their Lean journey. Lean and Continuous [...]
Lean, Six Sigma, and other Continuous Improvement tools can be great assets for any operation given they they are used the right way. The first [...]
One of my favorite MEME's that has been floating around the internet says something to the following effect: CFO asks "what if we invest all [...]
DISCLAIMER: This article is not intended to fat shame you. It's intended to fat shame your factory. So it's time for your dreaded annual check-up. [...]
You've probably heard the expression that you succeed by helping others to be successful. Well that's also true for a manufacturing business. Truly putting the [...]
Okay so you've achieved and are sustaining base condition across your entire plant, now what? Does Continuous Improvement end there? Machines are running in peak [...]
Just like with anything, there's two sides of the coin when it comes to Big Data. We've all heard how Big Data is going to [...]
When it comes to TPM and Lean Manufacturing, there is a divide among Continuous Improvement professionals as to which is subordinate to the other. What [...]
Why is it that we're always searching for the next Lean Tool that's going to transform the organization? With each passing fad or Continuous Improvement [...]
News Flash: If you're experiencing frequent breakdowns during production runs, you're probably not in base condition. If your operators are calling maintenance several times per [...]
If you search for Change Management across the interwebs, you'll get all kinds of results, much of it focused on understanding and coaching a person [...]
The practice of Continuous Improvement coaching has increased in popularity over the last decade, partly because of its clear connection with achieving superior business results. [...]
Let's see, the data is accurate and complete, there's an obvious business case, and this change will make everyone's job so much easier. There will [...]
Well if a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step...and a Lean transformation is a journey; then when do we get to celebrate? [...]
Command-and-Control organizations are built around principles of efficiency, speed, and execution. On the surface, these sound like good qualities of a Lean organization as well. [...]
There are over 1,000 Lean tools and counting that can be used to improve processes and help a business become more Lean. All them have [...]
Creating a Lean Culture might require some medicine, a bit of therapy, and some deep meditation. You may feel like Continuous Improvement doesn’t work for [...]
There are a ton of Root Cause Analysis Methods out there, and new ones are popping up all the time. This post dives into some [...]
Its no secret that Millennials are not flocking to the glorious and illustrious manufacturing jobs that have kept food on the tables of families worldwide [...]
Lean tools can be leveraged to accelerate your company's culture and business results in a dramatic way. However, if ineffectively applied, they can decrease hope [...]
Just like any technology, lean tools can create great efficiencies but need to be applied the right way in order to produce positive results. Unfortunately, [...]
Lean tools can be incredible assets to a business. They're usually fairly simple to understand and can produce some outstanding results. Unfortunately, many Lean tools [...]
Let's talk politics. What I'm about to say may make you excited or feel a bit uncomfortable - but just stick with me, I'm going [...]
If you're like me, you've been seeing, saying, and maybe practicing the method behind the acronym PDCA throughout your entire Continuous Improvement career. Ever done [...]
I'm gonna say something I'm not supposed to say about Continuous Improvement Leadership. Don't be mad at me; and if you can't help it, just [...]
Breaking News: A stockpile of corporate strategies have been discovered floating near the Bermuda Triangle. They appear to be unused and have clearly never been [...]
So, I have good news - and I got bad news. Which one do you want to hear first? Ok the bad news...you might want [...]
Your industry is being disrupted right before your eyes. But just like the blinding flash of light from a supernova in a far away galaxy, [...]
I have some terrible news. I hate to have the one to inform you of this. But...if you or your people are no good at [...]
Want a sure-fire recipe for failure in Lean or Continuous Improvement, start by piloting a tool or process. Yea, that's right - I said it. [...]
Okay so you spent the last 2 months planning this Kaizen event and the big day has come. You had to give up a kidney [...]
Put 10 Lean experts in a room and ask them all what's the right way to do an implementation and you're likely to get 10 [...]
There's a damn good chance that Toyota KATA is the missing ingredients in your Lean or Continuous Improvement recipe. KATA comes from the martial arts [...]
The Fishbone Diagram is easily one of the most applicable tools in your Lean toolbox. It really helps to grasp all of the potential root [...]
Continuous improvement can be tricky. There are examples abound of companies applying all the tools and methodologies to perfection and still failing in the market. [...]
Getting to the root cause and solving the problems in your business is critical to success. The world is changing fast and your company has [...]