As Never Before
Occasionally we all need to do what we’ve never done before, what we’ve never even considered before and embrace revolutionary change personally and within our organizations.
1
12, 2016
24
10, 2016
Brew It Forward
By George Taninecz I’ve had the pleasure to know and support talented individuals who worked within the corporate and operations brain trust of Toyota, were guided by Toyota legends, emulated the practices of Toyota in their own companies, and/or devoted distinguished careers to studying and communicating Toyota concepts. One common denominator of continuous improvement appears in all of their work — a perpetual cycle of coaching and mentoring that over time creates a culture of problem solvers and change makers who seek to better themselves, their colleagues, and their organizations. Although I have never worked at Toyota — or, [...]
2
11, 2015
Innovation Evolution
I recently retrieved my turntable from the basement, dusted it off, and tossed on the 1978 vinyl classic Life in the Foodchain by Tonio K. I enjoyed it as much as ever, and could hear why Steve Simels, Stereo Review magazine, once wrote that it was “the greatest album ever recorded.” This got me to wondering what had become of Tonio K. (Steve Krikorian). I found www.toniok.com, and learned that Krikorian had released eight albums through 2001. He has been writing songs for other artists, including Al Green, Patty Smyth, and Burt Bacharach, with works appearing in films such [...]
11
08, 2015
Gardening PDCA
The do phase of PDCA (plan/do/check/adjust) usually gets the most attention. Even if people don’t like change, they eventually get on board during the do phase and try to improve their function, process, or work activities. It often happens, though, that after changes are made, many move on to the next problem or opportunity and fail to follow the PDCA cycle to the check and adjust phases. For one activity that I annually seek to improve — vegetable gardening — I prefer the check phase. Each year in late November and December, I receive seed catalogs from across the [...]