New Site Redirect

Saturday, October 30, 2010

LSI Social Media


As most of you know, LSI strives to stay connected with clients, industries, and partners through variety of social media outlets, including Facebook, twitter, linked, and so forth. To make it easier to find all of the social media connections, we have compiled the list below - please save them as your favorites.

Blog (this site):
http://www.leanreflections.com/

Facebook:
http://www.lsifacebook.com/

Twitter:
http://www.lsitwitter.com/

Youtube:
http://www.lsitube.com/

Linkedin:
http://www.leanlinked.com/

Lean Sensei Books:
http://www.lsibooks.com/

LSI Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lsiphotos/

And of course, our primary website is:
http://www.leansensei.com/

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Toyota Code of Conduct

Another interesting download item is Toyota's updated Code of Conduct document.  It outlines Toyota's guiding principles and its approach towards society in general.


The entire report can be downloaded by clicking below:

Toyota Code of Conduct

Consumer Report Latest Reliability Report


Toyota tied with Honda Motor Co. for the most models with top scores in Consumer Reports’ annual reliability survey.

Toyota and Honda each led in five categories and continue to “dominate” the ratings, the Yonkers, New York-based magazine said in a statement today. Ford Motor Co. was the only U.S. automaker with top scores, in two categories. General Motors Co. improved the most among the domestic companies.

Consumer Reports based its findings on responses of subscribers who owned or leased 1.3 million cars and trucks.

For Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota, the Yaris small car, FJ Cruiser mid-size sport-utility vehicle, Lexus LX luxury SUV, Sienna minivan with V-6 engine and front-wheel drive and Tundra full-size pickup truck led in Consumer Reports’ categories.

Tokyo-based Honda’s top scorers were the front-wheel-drive Acura TL for upscale cars, Acura RL luxury car, CR-V small SUV, Acura RDX upscale compact SUV and Ridgeline compact pickup.

Cadillac, Chevrolet Gains

For Detroit-based GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC brands, 69 percent had at least average reliability. Cadillac rose seven places from a year earlier, the biggest improvement, and the percentage of Chevrolet models with average or better reliability increased to 83 percent from 50 percent.

Ford’s Category Leaders

Ford, which today reported record third-quarter profit of $1.69 billion, won top scores for its Fusion Hybrid family car and Flex EcoBoost large SUV. Consumer Reports said 90 percent of the Dearborn, Michigan-based company’s models had at least average reliability.

None of Chrysler Group LLC’s vehicles scored above average, and 12 of the 20 models for which enough data were available for a rating were below average, the magazine said.

Three European luxury brands, Volkswagen AG’s Audi, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s BMW and Daimler AG’s Mercedes- Benz, scored among the worst this year, Consumer Reports said. Almost three-fourths of Audi models and about half of BMW and Mercedes vehicles were rated below average, the magazine said.

Porsche SE’s Boxster had the best score, and the Audi A6 3.0T and Tata Motors Ltd.’s Jaguar XF had the worst, according to the magazine’s statement.

Consumer Reports, published by the nonprofit advocacy group Consumers Union, surveyed magazine or online subscribers earlier this year. Each vehicle is evaluated 50 different ways, from handling to fuel economy to seat comfort, the magazine said.

Toyota Sustainability Report 2010

Toyota has published its latest Sustainability Report for 2010. Here's Akio Toyota's message regarding the report and Toyota's contribution towards sustainability themes.


The report can be downloaded here:

Toyota Sustainability Report

Executive Message from Akio Toyoda (from toyota.co.jp)


I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for the warm, ongoing support of our stakeholders worldwide.

Looking back on the past year, I am reminded of when I was appointed as president in June 2009; at the time, it felt like we were setting sail in stormy economic conditions. It was an extremely severe operating environment in which we were unable to relax for even one moment all year long.

From our withdrawal from F1 racing to the shutdown of production at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), our former joint venture with GM, there were many hard choices to make. Furthermore, I have been involved in a variety of meetings to explain our ongoing commitment to safety and customer satisfaction. These included public hearings in the United States and explanatory meetings in Japan and other countries with the support of related personnel from across the company. During this time, I received constructive suggestions for improvement as well as words of encouragement and support from many people. I am very grateful to those who took the time to help us through this difficult time.
Fully leveraging the challenging experience of the past year as an asset, I have defined fiscal year 2010 as the year when Toyota makes a fresh start, and I intend to steer the company toward a new growth strategy.
Since its foundation, Toyota’s unchanging mission has been to contribute to society by making safe and reliable vehicles. This will continue to be our priority. In addition, Toyota has always been a dynamic company. As the individual needs of our customers evolve, I consider the response to ever-changing times as growth. I look forward to personal growth for myself and ongoing growth of our company. To this end, it is important that our customers, shareholders, regional communities, dealers, suppliers, employees and all other stakeholders support the idea of Toyota’s continuing growth as being a good thing.

The growth I want to pursue is not simply expansion to achieve a greater market share. Instead, I envision sustainable growth driven by each employee and based on delivering high quality and safety at an affordable price — as demanded by our customers all over the world.

In today’s world, it is imperative that we “develop and promote the next-generation ecocar” to continue to serve people and society over the next 100 years as resources become more constrained.

It is considered inevitable that the day of “peak oil” will come in the not-too-distant distant future as the global oil production curve reaches its peak and turns downward. We must accelerate the development of alternative-fuel cars while ensuring efficient use of precious oil resources.

To meet such challenges, we will not only continue to refine existing hybrid technology but also launch a home rechargeable plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV) and an electric vehicle (EV) in 2012 and will push ahead in all possible directions beyond that.

Regarding EV development, in May 2010, we announced a business partnership with Tesla Motors for the development of an electric vehicle.

In the spring of 2010, during a visit to the United States, I had an opportunity to test drive one of Tesla Motors’ electric vehicles, an experience that I can only describe as feeling the wind of the future. Not only was I impressed by Tesla's technological capabilities, but I also sensed the energy that will enable them to produce the vehicle efficiently to meet market demands.

To capitalize on technological transitions that occur once every 100 years, I think the can-do spirit, quick decision-making and flexibility of venture businesses are as necessary as the methods of big corporations like Toyota. Toyota was also born as a venture business and that spirit has contributed to its growth over the years. By working with Tesla, I strongly believe we can reawaken the creative spirit in our own employees and accept the challenges of facing a new future.

Also, as a new move toward achieving a lowcarbon society, Toyota is actively involved in a large-scale PHV pilot project in Strasbourg, France, and in installing and conducting pilot tests of nextgeneration power grids, which are currently called Smart Grids, in Boulder, Colorado, USA, and in Toyota City and Rokkasho Mura village, Aomori Prefecture, Japan.

Respond to society’s changing needs and enrich people’s lives by making safe and reliable vehicles. Never forget to appreciate our customers and all other stakeholders. Embracing these principles, the hearts of all Toyota associates are united in an effort to make better vehicles. I hope Toyota will receive your continued support.

Akio Toyoda, President

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Toyota Robot

For those of you who wanted to hear the full version of the Toyota Robot playing the trumpet, here's the much longer video.  It's hard to believe that he is playing a real trumpet using an artifiical lung and artificial lip!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Japan Lean Tour - thinking back to the beginning

Sometimes it's interesting to "go back" and review videos from the beginning of the program.

We had a particularly extensive "hansei" and reflection times on day two of the Japan trip, during which we discussed the best way to understand Japan, its philosophy, and its culture. We also talked about how this culture compliments the whole lean thinking and 5S.

This was from day two, so it will be interesting to see if the participants' thinking and ideas have changed by the time they left Japan for home. 

Although our Japan Lean Tour is now complete, I wanted to upload this particular video as a reminder how thinking may change or shift from the beginning of the trip to the end of the trip.

We will do another round-the-table hansei discussion back in Canada with the Blackbelts and Executives as part of our continuous learning about lean culture.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Funny moment Japan Lean Tour

We had numerous funny moments in Japan, but this one tops the chart!  Four of us went to the Nagoya-famous conveyer-belt sushi restaurant - where sushi can be ordered on demand and delivered just-in-time - and discovered some unusual items.

Steve, Mike, Jeff, and I had blast eating great sushi and browsing through the "ENGRISH" menu.  On more serious note, it was fascinating to see how sushi can be ordered through the touch panel and delivered just-in-time within minutes of ordering via the automated conveyer belt.  The system is smart enough to actually deliver the sushi plates right to your table!

Take a look - this is worth a watch:

Japan Lean Tour Day Five

This is our final day for the Japan Lean Tour.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Japan Lean Tour Day Four Video

Here's our day four video!

Japan Lean Tour Day Four


It's hard to believe that it's Day Four of the Japan Lean Tour already.  We have learned so much in the last several days but the day four - which consisted of some shopping time in the morning followed by a transfer to Nagoyo to visit the Toyota Museum - turned out to be a great cultural day. Some people went to the world-famous tsukiji fishmarket while others walked around Ginza area to "appreciate" Tokyo from a different perspective.  The day ended with amazing visit to the Toyota museum, perhaps the most sophisticated museum about Toyota and Toyota Way ever built. 


The bullet train ride to Nagoya from Tokyo was a highlight too, and some people could not believe the "just in time kanban" sushi shop we found in downtown Nagoya.

The video from today is coming shortly... stay tuned.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Japan Lean Tour 2010 Day Three



Our visits to two Nissan plants were absolutely remarkable, but here's some video shots of our participants from day three. Due to confidentiality reasons, we cannot show videos and photos from inside the plants but you can see some interesting reactions and insights from our third day of Japan Lean Tour.

Nissan Oppama Factory Brochure


Here is the official factory information kit of the Oppama plant. It provides much information about this flagship factory.  Please click on the link below.

Nissan Oppama Info

Nissan Engine Plant



Today, LSI Japan program participants visited the world-renowned Nissan Engine Plant in Yokohama.  In addition to producing award winning engines for a variety of cars, this plant also hand-produces the incredible engine for the Nissan GT-R high performance sports car.  Built inside a "clean room," the engine for GT-R is built by one operator from the beginning to the end, resulting in a precision product.  Take a look at this factory brochure to get full information about the plant:

Nissan Engine Factory Brochure

Nissan accomplishments at Oppama Factory

Today, the LSI team visited two Nissan plants:  Oppama car factory and Yokohama engine plant. Oppama is where the latest Nissan Leaf electric car is being built.

Though this document is not the most recent presentation, it provides incredible details about what Nissan has accomplished at the Oppama Plant here in Japan.  Already one of the best plants in the world, looking through the presentation provides us with an insight about what was accomplished.


Please take a look at the PDF file provided by Nissan:

Nisssan Oppama Presentation

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Japan Lean Tour Day Two video

Japan Lean Tour 2010 Day Two

Here we are in Tokyo for the day two of Japan lean tour, where we visit the Toyota Forklift supply chain center and also Olympus Logistics distribution center. Both sides provides amazing level of lean insights that "wowed" our participants.



We also had a wonderful dinner at "En" overlooking the downtown Tokyo.



Monday, October 18, 2010

Japan Lean Tour Day One



Today was a cultural learning day, in which we immersed the class into a variety of Japanese environment.  We took them to Ginza area, Tokyo Tower, Meiji shrine, imperial palace, and asakusa area.  They learned about teamwork and cultural principles that make up "Japan Lean".

Most surprisingly of all, we actually happen to be at the imperial palace when the Empereor came through!  This was a truly rare occassion since most of us has not seen him in our lifetime.

Japan Lean Tour 2010 Launch!



LSI is back in Japan to launch our flagship program, the Japan Lean Tour!  19 people are arriving to begin their journey in Japan.  Please stay in touch through our blog as we will be unfolding the six-day event day by day through video blogging.

Here's our first short video, taken just before the group was arriving.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Is working for Toyota really good for your health?


Source: Automotive News

TOKYO -- Working for Toyota Motor Corp. might actually make you healthier. Both smoking rates and obesity levels have come down among Toyota employees over the past four years.

Last year, 36 percent of its Japanese work force lit up the occasional cigarette, compared with about 42 percent in 2006. At the same time, the percentage of workers with a body mass index over 24.2 -- a common measure of obesity -- had dropped to 24.7 percent from 28.5 percent.

These are just two outtakes from the automaker’s recently released 2010 Sustainability Report, which outlines Toyota’s latest efforts to be environmentally friendly and socially responsible.

Toyota attributes the health improvements to company campaigns to curb consumption of tobacco and junk food. Toyota pledged to step up the promotion of exercise in the workplace this year.

Indeed, anyone visiting the company’s global manufacturing and engineering campus in Toyota City around lunchtime might be forgiven for assuming a marathon race was on. The sidewalks are often crammed with workers doing their daily jog.

Snow job

Other interesting tidbits from the Sustainability Report include Toyota’s use of snow-powered air conditioning and the surprising truth about the Prius hybrid’s life cycle environmental impact.

At Toyota’s plant on the northern island of Hokkaido, where the brutal winter resembles Minnesota’s, the company is using tons of snow to cool air for its buildings in summer.

In 2009 alone, Toyota piled up 3,300 tons of snow around the plant and covered it with a thick, insulating blanket of wood chips to keep it fresh through the following summer. The plant’s ventilation system then draws outside air through the snowbanks to bring down the air temperature.

The process, dubbed snow/ice hybrid cooling, brings outside air of 68 degrees down to 54 degrees. Toyota says that last year, the technique reduced carbon emissions by 10 tons compared with traditional ventilation and saved about ٳ million ($12,200) in air-conditioning bills.

Surprising facts about Prius?

Toyota’s more famous hybrid technology -- the popular Prius gasoline-electric vehicle -- is the focus of another entry on the car’s total environmental impact from factory to junkyard.
Not surprisingly, the fuel-efficient Prius was better than average for its class of vehicles in emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide, according to Toyota.
But it was worse than average in emissions of nonmethane hydrocarbons and particulate matter. Toyota says this is because producing special hybrid-only parts such as motors, inverters and nickel-metal hydride batteries consumes more energy -- and thus churns out more emissions.
In fact, when looking at the “materials manufacturing” phase of the car’s life cycle, the Prius is worse than the segment’s average across all five emissions categories.

Toyota said it conducted such life cycle emissions assessments on eight vehicle series last year and used the results to help redesign such models as the Prius, Lexus RX450h and HS250h and Japanese-market vehicles including the Wish minivan and Mark X sedan.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Change how you follow

By Harvard Business Review writer, Li Xin (from China)


Consider the following findings from the Hay Group:


1. Research conducted worldwide shows that leadership contributes to 70% of corporate atmosphere, while corporate atmosphere contributes to 30% of corporate performance. Therefore, leadership can exert direct influence on 21% of corporate performance.

2. In Chinese companies, 19.1% of the managers are found to be high-performance leaders, 9.8% inspiring leaders, 13.4% leaders who create no obvious value, and 57.7% leaders who actually discourage their employees. That is to say, 70% of the managers either don't help or discourage their people.

The first conclusion reinforces that leadership does have a significant impact on organizational performance. But the second conclusion tells us that leadership development in Chinese companies really has a long way to go.

As a follower, we may not be able to change our leader's style. But we can help solve the problem by adjusting our own work style. Based on my experience — meeting with two or three CEOs a week for the past five years — I have come to think of leaders as falling into one of three categories. Being able to categorize which type of leader I'm working with has helped me figure out how to work most effectively with them.



Sun-like leaders. The quintessential sun-like leader is an entrepreneur, one who takes the lead in everything, just as the sun illuminates everything. Their subordinates get close supervision. These hands-on leaders sometimes feel like if they're not involved, they've lost control — as their follower, you need to be aware of this sense of insecurity. When working with such a leader, be sympathetic, Include the them in work where they can demonstrate their ability.

Moon-like leaders. The moon reflects the light of the sun; a moon-like leader reflects the light of his employees. He is more open-minded and trusting of his people. Only when you lose your way — just like someone walking a dark road at night — would he or she step forward to shed light on what he or she thinks you should do. This kind of leadership gives employees room for development. However, trust between the follower and the leader does require timely maintenance; when the leader does step forward, be willing to answer questions and open your project up for inspection.

Star-like leaders. Leaders of this type will only indicate a direction, like the North Star. Their teams, however, still need a light source, so star-like leaders need followers who can step up and light the way for others. Only those leaders with great wisdom have the confidence to be star-like. Their empowerment shows high recognition for your capabilities. This kind of leadership only works when the leader has built a capable team that can function with minimal supervision. As a follower to this kind of leader, you've got a great platform, but you have to demonstrate that you deserve the trust you've been given.

In reality, each of us is both leader and follower. As a leader, review your behaviors and words from the perspective of a follower; as a follower, ask yourself how you can work more effectively with your leaders. Imposing high standards in both roles will improve performance for all.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Reflection

As I watched birds fly-in and out of my backyard, I relapsed into "self reflection" mode. I begin to think about the past, the present, and the future - how I can learn from past mistakes and apply "lessons" to the future.

Sometimes it's good to slow down and reflect.  And sometimes nature reminds us how important that is.

Hansei (反省?, "self-reflection") is a central idea in Japanese culture. Its meaning is to acknowledge your own mistake and to pledge improvement. (Similar to the German proverb "Selbsterkenntnis ist der erste Schritt zur Besserung" where the closest translation would be "Self-awareness is the first step to improvement").


Hansei also means greeting success with modesty and humility. To stop hansei means to stop learning. With hansei one never becomes so convinced of one's own superiority that there is no more room or need for further improvement.

This footage is from backyard.

It Makes Sense to Adjust

Business transformation is now a continuous process that most companies haven’t mastered. Here’s a formula for managing ongoing change.



Source: Business + Strategy

It used to be that a business transformation was a once-in-a-lifetime event, the sort of fundamental reset prompted by a rare, short-lived disruption such as a new technology, a devastating scandal, or a dramatic shift in costs. But if the recent economic upheaval reveals anything, it is that companies of all sizes, in all industries, are operating in a more volatile, less predictable environment, and that change has become a way of life. To navigate such a rocky landscape, companies must be ready to repeatedly transform themselves — indeed, to institutionalize the capacity to alter strategies again and again — as business conditions require.

But few companies are competent at doing this, although not for lack of trying. A review of businesses faced with “burning platforms” (which are enterprise-threatening events) would reveal that most have failed to make the transformation the situations demanded. For example, Circuit City, once a hugely successful electronics big-box store, attempted to remake itself numerous times as it faced competition from newcomers like Best Buy in physical stores and Amazon and others on the Internet. But there was a limit to the company’s capacity to respond to new challenges with a broad-based, enduring plan that could involve, for example, simultaneously targeting gamers aggressively, carrying a deeper inventory of product lines, renegotiating leases in out-of-the-way locations, improving customer service, and promoting a robust and attractive website.

The problem is that most companies don’t have an adequately proactive road map for transformation. Instead, they attempt change on the fly, reacting to business disruption with equally explosive responses that may not be useful six months down the road or even sooner. A more carefully crafted strategy to manage internal or external change may seem beyond a company when it is actually facing a new obstacle or crisis, but if an organization prepares for transformation (perhaps when it is not occurring), steering through it is far less difficult.

Each company’s strategy for approaching transformation falls into one of three categories. These categories in turn determine the level of transformation — the timing and the magnitude — that the company can support.

1. Reactive. This is the default transformation strategy; it is minimal, and has become second nature to most seasoned executives. A change in circumstances provokes a short-term response, generally an abrupt shift that requires little cross-company coordination or follow-up. In fact, this strategy is an essential management tool when only incremental change from the status quo is required. However, it is also the most limited and unsustainable. Problems arise when executives try to apply this approach to situations that call for more sweeping and highly detailed transformation. Too often, executives rely on the reactive techniques they know well, even when the situation begs for a more structured, thoughtful plan that will yield more lasting change.

2. Programmatic. This strategy is more comprehensive and is appropriate when major change is required and a company has sufficient lead time. In such circumstances, the company launches a widespread change initiative across the lines of business that are most affected. A cross-functional program office is set up, tactics are identified, milestones are established, executives are assigned to oversight, a communications program is launched, and progress is tracked.

These programs can be effective in dealing with a contained event or threat, such as a new competitor or a new product from a rival, and their potential reward is greater than that of the reactive approach because they are more forward-looking. But as the name of this category implies, the transformation is a program — a systematic, planned sequence of activities designed to achieve specific goals within a specific period of time — and, thus, the outcome takes longer than a reactive transformation.

3. Sense-and-adjust. This is the most long-term and sustainable strategy, but only a few companies have successfully implemented it. Unlike the first two approaches, sense-and-adjust is dynamic, constantly and consistently smoothing out volatility in areas of business subject to swift and dramatic change, such as research and development or frontline operations like manufacturing and logistics.

Sensing is an ongoing effort to gather and analyze data on current and future business conditions and, more important, translate it into likely outcomes. The sensing process should leverage baseline planning information — what’s captured in strategic and operating plans — and synthesize it with key performance data to form a single “dashboard” of actionable information that can be used by business unit heads or corporate leaders in functions like IT, HR, or marketing.

A high-quality sensing dashboard offers an early organizational indicator of future business conditions. The dashboard flags data that signals an operational adjustment is needed. For example, a business unit head may use a dashboard to reveal unanticipated decreases in either product unit price or volume that could translate to an overall decline in revenue. Or a logistics firm may place its sensing system on alert for changes in pricing and functionality of handheld computers, wireless communications, mapping software, and the like; the goal would be to determine how and when to start applying these technologies to its own business (and to avoid being blindsided by a competitor).

Adjusting is the process of altering business strategies on the basis of sensed outcomes. In this phase, which is done in tandem with sensing, business unit or department heads assess the data to determine possible resource and capability trade-offs. They explore the impact on people, processes, and technology, and then develop a consensus on the plan that is most appropriate for building or maintaining competitive position. In the case of an unexplained drop in unit prices, the adjustment may be an emphasis on marketing, innovation, or layoffs. And if a company has learned that it could outpace its rivals by implementing a GPS system, a slate of new training programs that teach employees how to use the technology may be just as important as purchasing the equipment itself.

As adjustments are made, the sensing capability picks up and continues the cycle, both scanning the horizon for market shifts and monitoring the execution of these strategic responses. Sensing does little good in the absence of adjusting, and vice versa.

The sense-and-adjust approach to change is not the traditional stutter-step strategic planning process in which business units are summoned every six or 12 months to present their take on the market and their performance expectations. The sense-and-adjust process is continuous, incorporating new information and forecasting outcomes and expectations constantly. Companies that have mastered the skills to handle the programmatic approach and have an organization that is reasonably resilient — flexible and anticipatory — are the best candidates for this sustainable strategy.

Dow Chemical is one of the few companies that have adopted the sense-and-adjust methodology. Dow uses it primarily to plan workforce needs throughout the seven-year boom-and-bust cycles commonplace in the chemical industry. In establishing this process, the company mined three years of historical data pertaining to its base of 40,000 employees to forecast promotion rates, internal transfers, and overall labor availability. Then a custom modeling tool produced a snapshot of the current workforce segmented by five age groups and 10 job levels, and followed that with projections of head count for each business unit well into the future. These outcomes can be adjusted for qualitative variables, such as industry trends, political developments, changes in laws, or various “what if” scenarios (e.g., what if the company instituted a hiring freeze?), which are continuously sensed by Dow’s system.

General Electric (GE) has implemented an even more global use of the sense-and-adjust approach. In 2001, soon after Jeffrey Immelt was named CEO to replace Jack Welch, the company transformed its organization from one prioritized around productivity to one focused on organic growth. GE set the ambitious goal of increasing revenue at a pace two to three times faster than world GDP growth and developed a new set of management methods to accomplish that objective. This marked shift was precipitated by a warning from the company’s sense-and-adjust system that the onslaught of globalization and increasing energy costs would favor companies that could innovate and generate their own growth.

As Immelt said in a 2006 Harvard Business Review article: “If you run a big multi-business company like GE and you’re trying to lead transformative change...you’ve got to have a process.... Investors have to see that it’s repeatable.”

For some companies, particularly those without the mature planning processes and deep leadership bench necessary to implement a full-fledged sense-and-adjust strategy, a programmatic transformation can offer a clear path toward that goal. For example, a major financial-services firm recently began a programmatic effort primarily to slash costs, in which new planning guidelines were created that cut across functions to develop strategic, annual, and financial goals. But to make sure that this long-term, ongoing campaign produced continuous results over time, the company eventually morphed this effort into a sense-and-adjust approach by designing performance metrics that monitored the goals emerging from the planning process. Key indicators are tracked to identify root causes of performance issues or point to emerging opportunities.
If nothing else, all companies must recognize that the pace and magnitude of change is far faster and greater now than ever before and that transforming their business is no longer something they can avoid, defer, or out-manage. Even small moves to increase an organization’s sense-and-adjust skills will reap significant and sustainable rewards.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Greenbelt Simulation day

So what did the Lean Greenbelt team do today?  Take a look....

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Greenbelt Kickoff - 3 classes at once!

Our Fall Vancouver Greenbelt program filled up so quickly this year, we decided to kick off two programs back to back. Calgary Greenbelt also kicked off this past week, and we’ve all been very busy as a result!

Here are some of the feedback we received from our participants last week; “Great explanation of Concepts”, “The examples are clear and has prepared me to take the information and transfer the relevance to my workplace,” “The teamwork exercise for Value Stream Mapping provided insight for me to use back at work,” “Great facilitators and knowledge sharing,”

As our Greenbelt classes are typically full several weeks in advance, please contact our office should you be interested.