See Beyond the Horizon

In my recent travels across the U.S,  I have been watching continuous improvement teams select measures for improvement.  Recall that by seeing and eliminating waste, we have the ability reduce defects, shorten lead-times, reduce cost, and grow our business.  I coach that every improvement project needs one key measure and the other measurement dimensions can be used as balancing measures.  Regardless of what we pick, when taking on a lean project we should always target 10% plus improvement. So why the blog?  What's happening?  In my recent surveillance, many organizations, particularly service organizations and public institutions are leaving cost off as a key measure.  Productivity is essential!  What exactly is productivity and why is it critical?  Productivity is the measure of how efficiently a process converts inputs into outputs. It is important for businesses and government institutions because it affects their profitability / budget...

  This blog I'd like to talk about the weekly operating review as a component of lean excellence.  When I work with organizations pursuing lean excellence, most all have a strategic plan.   Industry tends to run with 3 to 5 year plans, and public entities tend to work with one year plans to coincide nicely with their one year budget cycle.  Following the completion of the strategic plan comes the selection of measures and then the strategic initiatives to meet the outcome measures. Leaders then cascade the goals and objectives to their subordinates followed by more detailed project plans.  What happens next is what I would call a dog's breakfast:  Some organizations have no success, some have moderate success, and a small minority of organizations are able to accomplish their strategic objectives and achieve measurable success. Why is this the case?  A short list of possibilities include the following: Having been a VP of Operations, I have been g...