Using the Coaching Kata in Sales?

We over complicate most things, and when I think about Sales and Marketing, they certainly have their share of complications. I was reminded of how tough we seem to make things while reviewing Mike Rother’s Toyota Kata Website. It really can be rather simple. Kata seems to be the hot topic in Lean right now, Read More …

Seeking Perfection in Lean

What’s more rewarding — eating a piece of candy, or the sense of anticipation you feel just before you eat it? As far as your brain is concerned, it’s probably the latter. Cynergey’s Kes Sampanthar explains what dopamine reveals about the neuroscience of motivation.      The latest Lean thoughts about seeking perfection have been Read More …

Your Structure needs to Change before You Create Demand

In one of my favorite books,The Path of Least Resistance for Managers  author Robert Fritz states: People are fond of saying, “Well, that’s our culture.” They seem to think that the cultural norms and habits of the organization are causal. But what creates the cultures? The underlying structures people are in. In fact, it is Read More …

Structural Tension is a way of Getting things Done

In Lean, understanding current state (reality) is a key to improvement. Our existing aspirations and values form this current condition. Are dynamic urges (targets) are how we form are future state. Robert Fritz and his book The Path of Least Resistance for Managers outlines an excellent approach for practicing PDCA both at the micro and Read More …

What a Rat taught me about Toyota Kata

What’s more rewarding — eating a piece of candy, or the sense of anticipation you feel just before you eat it? As far as your brain is concerned, it’s probably the latter. Cynergey’s Kes Sampanthar explains what dopamine reveals about the neuroscience of motivation. In Mike Rother’s book Toyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness Read More …

Is Continuous Improvement Continuous?

In the LinkedIn, Association for Manufacturing Excellence Group there has been a discussion started about this presentation where they suggest that a standard is more like a target condition, and that the only way to maintain gains is to keep improvement moving forward. Their thoughts, hence the slideshow is that PDCA is better served by Read More …