Management Improvement Carnival #18

The Management Improvement Carnival is one of my favorite aspects of John Hunter’s Curious Cat blog.  John asked me to host the carnival this month and I gladly accepted.  So without further delay here are some of my favorite posts from around the blogosphere.

People, Diapers, and Kegs by Kevin Meyer from the Evolving Excellence blog.

They become assimilated, Borg-like in nature. Some of us with more enlightened organizations may occasionally ask about their previous experiences, and tap into some of it at kaizens or other activities.

The Toyota Secret: Constant Change And Growth by Norman Bodek from Industry Week.

How did Toyota go from making junk, to making a Lexus and becoming the world’s largest and most successful automobile manufacturer? They improved every single day.

Why You Need A Tatakidai by Jon Miller from Gemba Panta Rei.

But I will humbly submit that there is one more that should be added to your list, even at the expense of bumping one other out of your Lean vocabulary list (kamishibai is a candidate for removal). The word is tatakidai (叩き台). Tatakidai literally means “beating board” or chopping block.

An Error Proofing Challenge by Mark Graban from the Lean Blog.

If you absolutely needed to ensure that the pallet wasn’t double stacked, can you think of a way of error proofing that?

The Importance of Management Improvement by John Hunter from Curious Cat Management.

As I continue through life I realize that this management improvement stuff really can matter if done right.

The Gemba is the Dojo by Pete Abilla from the shmula blog.

The Gemba is the Dojo — precisely because the heart and mind need to be ready for teaching; the student must be humble enough and teachable enough to be taught.

Will Medicare Force Hospitals to Go Six Sigma? by Michael Cyger from the iSixSigma Blogosphere.

To me, it’s clear that Six Sigma – tied to the hospitals operating budget – is the answer. What has been done until now has not worked. It’s time for a change.

Lying to your customers by Seth Godin.

It turns out (at this Home Depot, anyway), that whenever they don’t feel like using the saw, they pretend it’s broken.

China 911! by Matthew May from the Elegant Solutions blog.

Toys. Tires. Pet food. Cars. Calling all quality engineers: China needs you! This is not a case of errant manufacturing glitches. This is end to end, designed-in danger stuff.

Six Sigma Control Phase is Not Anti-Lean by Ron Pereira from LSS Academy.

Finally, after some thought and reading Jon’s comments I also learned that I must personally work to promote more of a continuous – kaizen like – mindset when teaching six sigma.

If you have ideas for future submission please submit them to the next carnival by clicking here.

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