Part 4 of a four-Part Series

Last week we discussed the organizational structure (span of control and product-flow alignment) that leads to the foundation required for successful process improvement programs. This week we are going to look at

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Part 1 of a four-Part Series

This month, we will examine the organizational design principles that lead to the foundation required for successful process improvement programs. Tools like Six Sigma, Lean Thinking and Theory of Constraints are great but

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Part 3 of a Three-Part Series

This month we are examining different process improvement programs on the market. Last week we discussed Lean Thinking and its application in mature industries, service businesses, or organizations that handle few transactions. This week we are going to look at throughput improvement or

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When our consultant first met the prospective Boeing spinoff, Advanced Tooling Solutions, the team had fabricated and tested a prototype tool that promised the automotive industry cost advantages and schedule flexibility. But the team was unsure about how to sell to the automotive industry.

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Part 4 of a Four-Part Series

Training is used to improve skills and increase competencies in order to drive out variance that reduces performance. Everybody uses some form of training. How do you know if your training is effective?

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Part 4 of a four-part series

Last week, we discussed process improvement half-life, or how long it should take to achieve our target objectives. We also introduced what other resources we need to build our action plan. What’s left? In order to achieve your objectives for

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Part 3 of a four-part series

The last article in this series explored identifying business metrics and diagnosing business situation outcomes needed to drive results.  There is an important metric we didn’t discuss — time. This week, we look at how long it should take to achieve our target objectives and

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Part 2 of a four-part series

In part one of this series, we talked about how strategic dysfunction starts when we set the wrong business objectives. The right objectives start with placing “reducing variation” over “increasing mean”. We found that you are just chasing your tail if

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Part 1 of a four-part series

Given a set of business objectives, can you identify the business metrics and diagnose the business situation outcomes needed to realize the objectives?

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Our previous article on leadership discussed leadership metrics associated with the speed and flow of your business. This week let’s explore leadership in teams and the design of your measurement system for team success.

Being a leader means getting things done through others, which implies a team of some kind. The most critical ingredient to leading teams is trust and

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