I recently came across a great example of using visual management as a check on compliance from the 1980s rock band…Van Halen. I must admit they were my favorite band for much of the mid-1980s which is, in part, why I love this story. Let’s start with musicians, we know they can be total divas […]
As summer vacation comes to a close, many of us have little (and not so little) ones who will be going back to school. Which reminds me of a study completed a few years back which looked to answer the question: What impact does a school district superintendent have on student performance? Being married to […]
This week I find myself in Des Moines, Iowa teaching a Green Belt class to a fantastic group of students. One student shared a case study that is too good not to publish for you. It is the story of a British army officer who, in the early 1940s, hired a time and motion expert […]
For those of you who know me, you know I am a huge hockey fan, specifically the Vegas Golden Knights. Our family is all in for the VGK and I have gained an entirely new appreciation for the sport of ice hockey. The more I learn about hockey the more I find life lessons that […]
Today, all you have to do is walk into almost any company or store in the United States to see help wanted signs. Employee shortages have hit every industry and every community. It is really quite surreal and posses huge challenges to companies. Let us begin at the point where a desperate company has hired […]
“Hire to Fire” – the power of metrics Hello colleagues and fellow Lean Six Sigma practitioners, I hope you find the below analysis enjoyable and insightful. June 2, 2021 Inc. published an article (link) highlighting a problem occurring at Amazon, specifically a practice by managers called “Hire to Fire”. Turns out some managers at Amazon […]
Congratulations to 20 Army individuals who completed the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training live-online. There were 18 individuals in Vincenza Italy, one in New Jersey, and one in Alabama. Class was a fantastic mix of Army officers, warrant officers, enlisted soldiers, and government civilians to include two Italian nationals. It was my first time […]
Hopefully you can relate to this scenario: A problem occurs at work, a person or persons complete a root cause analysis, their finding is “The procedure was not followed”. Have you seen this? As Lean Six Sigma professionals we must challenge organizational leaders to recognize “Procedure not followed” is not the root cause, rather it is the […]
