Death of the Marketing Calendar – Part1

Marketing people talk about it all the time, and it must be from the days of buying so much print media, television and radio spots. I have marketing calendars and here is what I have figured out to do with them. Deskpad to take notes. Video on how to create one. Google calendar for my Read More …

Your Value Stream Map is not your Project Plan

Value Stream Mapping comes from the Toyota process flow improvement tools and involves identifying all the steps both value added and non-value added currently involved in providing a product or service. It will create a visual representation of that value stream or the work in process. It establishes a common language among us and provides Read More …

Using FIFO for Marketing

I was doing a Value Stream Mapping project for a customer and as we were creating their marketing segments to create the map, we were having difficulty creating the typical Marketing Hourglass, (Marketing Funnel, Sales Pipeline) for this particular segment. We also wanted to remove some prospects in the middle of a segment. Some of Read More …

Lean Tools & Culture as it Relates to Zen

There’s been a big debate lately on tools and the thinking processes of lean.When you talk about a system, one of the first things that I think of is the tools that are used in the system. I use the tools to make sense out of a system, but I thought that Michael Balle author Read More …

Developing a Kaizen Conscious

Michael Ballé is the co-author of, The Gold Mine, a bestselling business novel of a Lean Turnaround, and recently, The Lean Manager, a novel of a Lean Transformation both published by the Lean Enterprise Institute. For the past 15 years, he has studied lean transformations, helping companies develop a lean culture. He is an engaging Read More …

Process Improvement with LSS

Glenn Whitfield serves as Director of Dean Dorton Ford‘s Process Improvement Services group based out of the Louisville office. Glenn was my guest on the Business901 Podcast and we had the opportunity to discuss DDF’s methodology for improvement within an organization. Their methodology concentrates on a Value Stream Analysis to determine their clients individual needs. Read More …