Lean Thoughts

xperiencing company misalignment as each departments moved forward with its own projection. Our salespeople set revenue goals, our controller had a year-over-year budget, and Operations had its excel sheets and run rates. All three pseudo-forecasts were vastly different. What resulted were overstocks, stock-outs, and unrealistic budgeting. We needed someone to take ownership of the forecast – but who?

Better, Faster = Cheaper or more appropriate higher customer value and improved margin.

Bad planning is a major cause of ERP implementation failure, and it’s important to establish specific goals and objectives, assess current processes, and create a comprehensive workflow outline..

When a company tells me they have gone LEAN, it actually means they have most likely simply given up or stalled. I snicker at programs offering some sort of martial belt of accomplishment or an outright offering of LEAN Certification.

Walk into almost any operations meeting today and you’ll hear it: “We should use AI for this.”“Can we plug in an LLM?”“Let’s add a copilot.” “This might be a stupid question… what is an LLM?”

Each Technology Island or Report-Out area has their own unique attributes, challenges and opportunities. The reality is that each Report-Out area is a Center of Gravity.

Luck IS a Strategy? Of course it can be. Most likely not the best decision. Unfortunately a strategy more companies are taking than considering other options.

You know the "D" word I am talking about. The aspirational word uttered by about every leader I work with. That super-attractive, theoretical, ever-elusive, I-know-I-need-to-do-it-but-can-never-figure-out-how word. That word that will unlock the key to success or, at a minimum, sanity:

Alarm Bells were sounded, highlighting a critical concern that Standardized Work was eliminating Innovation within the workplace.

This post is not to question making changes but rather how. First, you when you decide to machine a part you would not start until someone had provided you with a drawing so you know what you will be creating. Similar if you decide to build a house I am certain you will start with some key requirements like the number of bedrooms and bathrooms ... the requirements will then be incorporated into a blueprint so the builder will understand what you want and the blueprint quanti

Going to See with a purpose. In lean management, we call this "going to gemba"—the actual place where value is created. Not to inspect, but to understand, support, and coach.

The infection rate of Emotional Stress dramatically increases when your processes are unpredictable..

Creator of your strategic Plan you are not only a forecaster. you are also a Futurist.

another AI Guru in a seminar who quickly advised me that even a mathematical formula is AI.

Chatbots such as ChatGPT can provide direct answers to your questions. But, compared to a regular Google search, the amount of knowledge gained is less.

Some people are placed into Leadership positions but that does not make them a Leader until they have amassed a group of loyal followers.

Why Does Mission Matter?

Inventory is like a dormant bomb waiting to detonate

Cadence and agility can be defined by how quick you are at changeovers.

Annual Strategic Budget Thought Starters