It all starts with a Vision!

In this weeks podcast The Aroma of a Good Vision, I asked Ari Weinzweig, CEO and co-founding partner of Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, MI to share the “secrets” that have helped take Zingerman’s from a 25-seat, 4-person start up to a nationally known, $40,000,000-organization employing over 500 people. He said it all starts with a Read More …

Standard Work and Customer Focus Together

In next week’s podcast with Steve Bell, the founder of Lean IT Strategies LLC, we discuss more than just Lean IT. We ended up talking (see the excerpt below) through much of the podcast on the context Lean seems to have; the ability to adapt while staying firmly rooted in its principles. Joe:  Does it Read More …

The Aroma of a Good Vision

Ari Weinzweig, CEO and co-founding partner of Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, MI continues to share the “secrets” that have helped take Zingerman’s from a 25-seat, 4-person start up to a nationally known, $40,000,000-organization employing over 500 people. In this Business901 podcast, Ari discusses his latest book A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Being a Better Leader. Read More …

What is Service Design?

Continuum and the AIGA convened a group of top business leaders and innovators from a variety of backgrounds and industries, including Disney, Facebook and Zipcar, to discuss how designing a service experience with purpose can transform a company’s image and make people’s lives better. Designing Better Service Experiences from Continuum on Vimeo. Watch this at Read More …

Leading Lean from the Middle

Paul Yandell of Value Stream Focus was interviewed in the Business901 podcast, Transforming Lean thru Middle Managers. This is a transcription of the podcast. Paul Yandell is a manufacturing and supply chain specialist with strong skills in identifying and eliminating waste and improving operational performance.  His particular strengths are building infrastructure to support turnaround and Read More …

Was Maslow a Lean Marketer?

In my post Lean needs Marketing, more than Marketing needs Lean!, I found a striking resemblance between the Toyota Supplier hierarchy depicted by Liker and Meier (The Toyota Way Fieldbook) and the Economic Pyramid model of Pines and Gilmore (The Experience Economy). I was intrigued how that fit into the discussion that the authors of Read More …