Defects and the 404 Page TAGS: 404 | 404'd | blitz | broken bat | consulting | continuous improvement | feedback | five whys | lean | operations | process | renny gleeson | root cause analysis | six sigma | sports | talk | ted Last week at the TEDxColumbiaSC event we got to watch the TED Talk video from Renny Gleeson on web sites’ 404 pages. This video got me thinking, as both a …Continue reading →

What Mr. Bean Can Teach Us About Problem Solving TAGS: big sale | blitz | consulting | continuous improvement | dynamite | fireworks | lean | learn | mr. bean | mythbusters | operations | paint | problem | process | solution | solving | sports | teach I think the IMDb.com page for the British comedy show Mr. Bean gives the best synopsis of what you need to know. Life is a difficult challenge for Mr Bean, …Continue reading →

A Visit to TEDxColumbiaSC TAGS: blitz | columbia | consulting | continuous improvement | global | grumpy cat | ideas | lean | non-profit | operations | process | sharing | six sigma | south carolina | speakers | sports | spreading | technology | ted | ted conference | ted talks | tedx | tedxcolumbiasc | worth I had the great thrill of attending the TEDx event TEDxColumbiaSC on Monday. For those of you unfamiliar, TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design) is a non-profit organization …Continue reading →

Trust TAGS: blitz | business901 | catfish | consulting | continuous improvement | customer expectations | football | hoax | joe dager | kaizen | lance armstrong | lean | manti te'o | notre dame | operations | oprah winfrey | process | robert guillame | six sigma | sports night | trust | trustworthiness | trustworthy Our trust in the athletes we’ve grown to admire was certainly tested this past week. Any way we look at trust – reliability, faith, integrity, consistency, honesty, strength – is …Continue reading →

Want Your Colleagues To Do A Good Job? Show Them What A Good Job Looks Like. TAGS: american society for quality | assembly | blitz | borat | communication | consulting | continuous improvement | control | customer | customer requirements | design for six sigma | do it right the first time | good job | if you don't have time to do it right | instruction | lean | manager | operations | picture | process | quality | quality function deployment | reports | six sigma | visual | work instruction It’s a situation I’ve encountered many, many times in my career – a manager or colleague requesting a project be completed or task finished without me knowing enough about how …Continue reading →

Ray Chapman, Carl Mays, and Baseball Safety TAGS: babe ruth | baseball | blitz | carl mays | cleveland indians | consulting | continuous improvement | fatality | lean | new york yankees | operations | process | ray chapman | six sigma | sports On August 16, 1920, Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch from New York Yankees pitcher Carl Mays. Bleeding profusely, he walked off the …Continue reading →

Tailgating at the 2013 BCS National Championship in Miami TAGS: 2013 | alabama | bcs | blitz | cell | championship | consulting | continuous improvement | disaster | discover | five whys | florida | football | lean | logistics | lot | miami | notre dame | operations | parking | porta-potty | process | service | six sigma | sports | sun life stadium | tower | trash | verizon | waiting | waste It’s been a week since my beloved Irish were convincingly thwarted in their effort to win their first college football national championship since the Reagan administration, so I feel I …Continue reading →

Notre Dame Football and the 14 Principles of The Toyota Way – Part 1 TAGS: bcs | blitz | brian kelly | championship | college football | consulting | gsr | lean | manti te'o | miami | notre dame football | operations | principles | process | six sigma | sports | sun life stadium | toyota way | tyler eifert | zeke motta Tonight, for the first time since the 1989 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl, the University of Notre Dame will vie for college football’s national title, the 2013 BCS National Championship in Miami. …Continue reading →

2013 BCS National Championship and Silly Rules About Parking TAGS: 2013 | alabama | bcs | blitz | championship | college | consulting | continuous improvement | crimson tide | discover | florida | football | game | irish | lean | miami | national | notre dame | operations | overprocessing | parking | pass | process | radio | rules | six sigma | sports | sun life stadium | tailgate | traffic | will call As a lifelong lover of all things Notre Dame (for example, using them as examples in previous articles), I cannot put into words my level of excitement for the 2013 …Continue reading →

What is Lean vs. Six Sigma vs. Kaizen? TAGS: blitz | condiments | consulting | continuous improvement | control chart | difference | kaizen | lean | operations | process | project | six sigma | sports | toyota way | wastes Questions I’m asked often – by potential clients and colleagues and friends alike – center around Lean versus Six Sigma, and versus Kaizen. What are the differences between them? When …Continue reading →

Kicking Off 2013 with S.M.A.R.T. Goals TAGS: achievable | blitz | blog | consulting | continuous improvement | goal | lean | measurable | operations | process | relevant | s.m.a.r.t. | six sigma | smart | smart goals | specific | sports | time-bound | weight loss It’s January 1, 2013!! (Well, okay, when this is posted it will be January 2.) That means everyone is going nuts with resolutions for the new year. And in about …Continue reading →

Additions to the 2012 Recap TAGS: blitz | consulting | continuous improvement | happy | lean | meme | new year | operations | process | quickmeme | recap | six sigma | sports | uss yorktown As per my usual, there were some pretty cool things from 2012 that I inadvertently left out! First, I wrote an early year post about SMART goals. One of those …Continue reading →

A Recap of 2012 (and a little bit of 2011) TAGS: blitz | consulting | continuous improvement | lean | miller high life | operations | process | six sigma | sports | windell middlebrooks It’s December 31st. The very last day of the calendar year of 2012. Seeing how it’s the very last 1/366th of the year’s existence, and just like every other thing …Continue reading →

Long Overdue Thank-Yous TAGS: augusta | baseball | blitz | consulting | continuous improvement | dayton | georgia | lean | ohio | operations | process | six sigma | sports | thanks With 2012 winding down, there are a few key posts I’d like to share before we flip the calendar to 2013. This first one is to recognize (just about) everyone …Continue reading →

Modell’s Gets Burned on Tebow Jerseys and Linsanity TAGS: blitz | ceo | consulting | continuous improvement | darren rovell | domestic | espn | excess production | jeremy lin | jersey | lean | mark sanchez | merchandise | modell's | new york jets | new york knicks | operations | overseas | popular | process | production | six sigma | sports | tim tebow ESPN’s Darren Rovell shared an enlightening article today about the gambles taken by the sports merchandise store Modell’s in New York. Between “betting big” on Linsanity by ordering a slew …Continue reading →