Deming was just simply wrong about variation…

..when applied to Lean Sales and Marketing. We have all heard the saying attributed to John Wanamaker, a department-store magnate in the late 19th century, famously said that half the money he spent on advertising was wasted, but that he didn’t know which half. That theory is substantiated in a blog post, Why Should 50% Read More …

Successful Lean teams are iTeams

When I use this term, it is based on a simple theory that Teamwork Is an Individual Skill. In this book by Christopher Avery he describes a team as a group of individuals responding successfully to the opportunity presented by shared responsibility. Paraphrased from the book: Your ability to create high quality, productive relationships is Read More …

Why won’t Lean commit to the Demand Chain the way it committed to the Supply chain?

The Supply Chain has matured to the point where many things are understood and acted on very quickly. Few of us are making substantial changes anymore and even fewer can use their existing supply chain as a marketing differentiator or as an instrument for increased revenue (unless you are Amazon). Why won’t Lean commit to Read More …

It is the Who Not the why SimonSinek

Start with Why is an excellent book which I have highlighted in my blog post, Does your customer know why you do it? with author’s Simon Sinek Ted appearance. It is a great message and his discussion of the Golden Circle really nails his point. However, it is a little internally focused for me and Read More …

Service Design increases Customer demand

Design and Customer Experience, incorporated in Service Design Thinking are not the future but already upon us as the new norm for being successful in business. These principles address the demand side of the equation. Examples being Amazon, Starbucks, Xerox and IBM to name a few high profile companies. As a side note these companies Read More …

Is Lean and Six Sigma a waste of time?

Most large manufacturers last year failed to reach their cost-savings targets, despite significant investments in “lean manufacturing,” “Six Sigma” and other productivity programs as part of their overall retrenchment efforts in this tepid economy.  Nearly 70% of manufacturing executives say that their manufacturing-improvement efforts led to a reduction in manufacturing costs of less than 5%, Read More …