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PERSPECTIVES
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Our special cause world
Human beings are conditioned to respond to events as opposed to systems. Peter Senge showed that we react quickly to a loud handclap but essentially ignore the blood continually coursing through our veins. Over time, I have become more aware how we focus on, if not celebrate, special cause events, instead of seeing them for the process outliers they are.
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Lean office?
Value stream maps, kaizen events, error proofing and cell design represent a few of the many lean approaches to optimizing manufacturing operations. Can these shop floor tools be harnessed in the office?
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My favorite visual things
Sorting through my favorite continuous performance improvement tools has been a bit like rummaging through my closet and finding a favorite shirt that got put aside for something new. Sometimes, those well-worn data tools fit the job better than the latest, fancy statistical application or complicated model. In fact, the more visually compelling tools seem to be better received than statistically compelling arguments.
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Ode to the American worker
Four years ago, I reported in this column the philosophical and practical changes that have taken place in the way that corporate downsizing and restructuring are communicated. Today, four years later, the economy no longer is spiraling out of control, but the environment remains tough.
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A new era of space exploration
Thanks to a significant investment from NASA, SpaceX, a small private company, has been able to transform one of the most difficult industries by proving that complex systems can be developed rapidly on a fixed-price basis significantly under cost.
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