Toyota Way Principle #13: Decide Slowly Through Consensus, Implement Rapidly TAGS: achieve | analysis | benefits | blitz | cause | change | consensus | consider | consulting | decisions | defects | delay | errors | evaluate | failure | five whys | fix | haste makes waste | implement | lean | management | operations | options | principle | problem | process | quick | rapidly | reap | root | sigma | six | slow | solve | sports | toyota | way One of the risks of implementing changes or new ideas in processes is the failure to consider all options and the potential for an outcome not otherwise projected. A lot …Continue reading →

The Toyota Way Principle #11: Challenging Your Extended Network TAGS: applebee's | application | blitz | challenge | check-in | chili's | consulting | customers | director | food | kitchen | lean | manager | menu | operations | optimize | order | partners | process | request | restaurant | server | six sigma | sports | stockout | store | suppliers | toyota | way One of the projects I’m working on today involves optimizing internal check-in/scheduling/approval processes for a network of stores. With store management and operations management we have found opportunities within those …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #10, Notre Dame Football, and RKG’s TAGS: arnold | athletes | big skill | blitz | brian | central | character | charlie | cincinnati | cohesive | consistency | constancy | consulting | dame | emotional | fightin' | fighting | football | grand | guy | irish | joe bolden | keith | kelly | kind | kinda | lean | mental | merits | michigan | nbc | notre | operations | penn state | people | philosophy | players | power | principle | process | prototype | recruiting | right | rivals | rkg | scouting | six sigma | skill | specifications | sports | staff | state | style | success | toyota | turnover | university | valley | way | weis | wolverines We’ve already dissected how the University of Notre Dame football program could be at an advantage on the field this coming fall because of the benefits of limited staff turnover. …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #10 and the Importance of People TAGS: 2002 | art | athletics | baseball | beane | billy | blitz | brand | constraint | consulting | cultivate | depodesta | develop | efficiency | front line | fuson | grady | howe | implement | knicks | lean | lewis | management | maximize | michael | mission statement | moneyball | new york | oakland | operations | operators | paul | people | peter | philadelphia | phillies | philosophy | principle | process | produce | six sigma | sports | teams | toyota | undervalued | value | victory | way | yankees (This is a continuation of the examination of the 14 principles of The Toyota Way.) It’s one thing to have a company philosophy and mission statement, as well as a …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #10: Develop Exceptional People and Teams TAGS: amare | anthony | basketball | blitz | blueprint | carmelo | consulting | d'antoni | donnie walsh | february | houston | james dolan | jazz | jeremy | knicks | leaders | lean | lin | linsanity | mike | new york | operations | people | philosophy | plan | process | rockets | salary | sports | stoudemire | streak | teams | toyota | utah | way | woodson Remember Linsanity? That movement that took New York by storm for the length of 13 Knicks games back in February? Please let the aftermath be a shining example of how not …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #9 and Notre Dame Football TAGS: 2012 | alford | bcs | bearcats | blitz | bob | brian | central | championship | charlie | chippewas | chuck | churn | cincinnati | coach | consulting | cooks | coordinator | dame | davie | defensive | denbrock | diaco | expectations | exposure | fan | football | george | grand | jack | kelly | kerry | lean | management | martin | michigan | mike | nation | notre | o'leary | offensive | operations | optimization | personnel | philosophy | process | program | retain | six sigma | sports | state | success | swarbrick | tony | toyota | tradition | turnover | tyrone | university | valley | way | weis | willingham | winning The 2012 college football season will be the third for Brian Kelly as the head coach of the University of Notre Dame football team. Prior to his hire at Notre …Continue reading →

Penn State Football and Toyota Way Principle #1 TAGS: allegations | blitz | child | consulting | cover | critical | decision | demonstrate | director | espn | example | financial | flagbearer | football | freeh | function | gains | heavy lifting | jay | jerry | joe | lean | long-term | management | molestation | operations | organization | paterno | penn | philosophy | principle | priority | process | report | sandusky | short-term | six sigma | sports | staff | state | sustainability | toyota | university | up | usurp | way I’m not going to rehash all of the details behind Penn State University’s cover-up of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse allegations and convictions – other outlets are doing a fine …Continue reading →

Safety, Common Sense, Product Recalls, and Poor Lennox TAGS: agenda | ambiguity | ants | belfast | bison | blitz | blog | bulldog | celebrity | city | cogburn | common | company | consulting | council | diamond | dna | dog | dog warden | domestic | educate | evidence | facebook | facts | feelings | food | foods | foster | french | gaston | gray area | high prairie | honest | huans | humanity | humans | judgment | labrador | lean | legal | lennox | life | lot number | manufacturing | matchbox | minimize | neutral | northern ireland | notice | objectivity | observations | operations | opinions | outbreak | page | pet | peter | petition | philosophy | pink slime | politics | process | processing | production | puppy | recall | relate | rescue | resemble | rob | robinson | rooster | safety | salmonella | save | sense | six sigma | south carolina | spiteful | sports | stillwell | stilwell | subjectivity | supercede | supply | system | taste of the wild | thomas | toyota | tractor | twenty | twitter | venison | victoria | way Through sharing of ideas and content in the Lean Blitz blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter, I do my best to follow some guiding principles and philosophies – present facts …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #9: Growing and Developing Leaders TAGS: align | blitz | breathe | consulting | director | front | future | goals | hire | leader | lean | line | live | manager | objectives | operations | outside | philosophy | principle | process | promote | six sigma | sports | teach | toyota | train | understand | way | work (This is part of a series of posts about the 14 Principles of The Toyota Way.) Yesterday I discussed how a person that can visualize a scenario or concept is …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #8 and Implementing Technology that Helps TAGS: activities | blitz | client | computer | consulting | current | director | expectation | future | identification | lean | manager | manual | map | mapping | money | note | operations | optimize | people | post-it | principle | process | projects | provider | requirement | resource | risk | serve | six sigma | solution | sports | state | technology | time | time study | toyota | waste | way One of my current clients has a two-pronged plan for improving a process that is absorbing a lot of resources (people, time, risk, money). The first prong is to optimize …Continue reading →

Using Toyota Way Principle #8 on Everyday Technology TAGS: a6 | audi | blackberry | blitz | box | capability | capacity | car | cell | consulting | cost of ownership | curve | droid | economy | fuel | glass | htc | iphone | lean | lg | logo | maintenance | motorola | nokia | operations | otter | palm | people | phone | principle | prioritize | priority | process | purchase | purpose | quattro | reliability | repair | six sigma | specialized | sports | technology | test | tested | toyota | treo | upkeep | vehicle | way (This is a continuation of a series of posts reviewing the principles of The Toyota Way.) As previously mentioned, the eighth principle from The Toyota Way states: “Use only reliable, …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #7 – Visual Controls TAGS: adjust | blitz | board | colors | consulting | control | digital | factory | indicator | kanban | label | lean | led | light | lights | limit | lines | metrics | operations | principle | process | rack | readout | shadow | shadowboard | shapes | signage | sounds | speed | sports | stop | stoplight | toyota | visual | way We’ve all seen speed limit signs and pay attention to them at our own discretion. But have you seen a design like this? This speed limit sign features a radar …Continue reading →

If You Don’t Have Standardized Processes You’re Wasting Money TAGS: best | blitz | concession stand | conditions | difference | labor | lean | manufacturing | margin | operations | practices | principle | process | processes | savings | six sigma | sports | standard | standardized | studies | time | toy | toyota | waste | wasteful | way | work That’s a very bold proclamation, but it’s true. It applies to every type of process – manufacturing toys, cooking burgers, coding medical charts, delivering mail, checking a customer out at …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #5 – Identifying Problems TAGS: 5 | andon | baseline | blitz | comparison | engines | error | fix | human | implementation | jidoka | judgment | lean | lights | mechanical | operations | perfect | principle | problems | process | production | quality | scenario | service | six sigma | soon | sports | standards | stop | system | toyota | way As previously posted, the fifth principle from The Toyota Way: “Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time.” In order to stop and …Continue reading →

Toyota Way Principle #5: Stopping to Fix Problems TAGS: better | blitz | broken | car | cheaper | culture | easier | five | fix | lean | light | operations | principle | problems | process | repair | six sigma | sports | tail | tape | temporary | toyota | way It really pains me to see cars tape up body fixtures like broken tail lights. It looks so tacky AND fails to provide suitable coverage and protection. Sure, it’s a …Continue reading →