Counting Down the Top 10 Viewed Posts of 2012 – 10 Thru 6

2013 is now in full swing.  Before 2012 is too far in the rear view mirror, I thought I would recap the Top 10 most viewed posts on Beyond Lean for 2012.

New followers of the blog can use this as an opportunity to read posts they might have not seen in the past.  While, long time followers can use this as an opportunity to re-read some of the top viewed posts.

This post will count down the 10th thru 6th most viewed posts of 2012.  Enjoy!

10. Guest Post: Selling Lean to People That Don’t Want It (July 2011) – This is a post from Joe Wilson before he became a full-time author at Beyond Lean.  Joe talks about ways to sell lean to people who are not bought into the benefits of lean.

9.   Making Leader Standard Work Visual (June 2011) – Previous Year Ranked #8 – An example of a visual board from a group I worked with.  The board makes the tasks and if they were completed by the managers visual.

8.  Dilbert Leading Transformation (July 2010) – Previous Year Ranked #10 – The Pointy-Haired Boss wants clear responsibilities and employee engagement.

7.  True Mentoring (May 2012) – This is my take on true mentoring versus fake mentoring that goes on in business today.

6.  Comparing Lean Principles to the 14 Toyota Principles (July 2010) – Previous Year Ranked #5 – The first part of a three part series where I compared the lean principles I learned from the Lean Learning Center to the Toyota Principles.  This post covers the first five Toyota Principles.

My next post will count down the Top 5 viewed posts of 2012.

Dilbert The Practical Jokester

We are coming to the end of summer and school either has started or is getting ready to start for elementary, high school and college students.  As we wind down summer, I thought a little fun would be in order.

The Dilbert cartoon is always funny and there are a lot of lessons that can be seen from a lean and leadership point of view…of what not to do.  This cartoon on the other hand I just find plain funny.  I have been laughing at it all summer, so I thought I would share it.  Enjoy and I hope you had a great summer.

Dilbert Cartoon by Scott Adams (click image to go to website)

It’s…It’s…It’s a Kaizen Blitz

While looking for material about a kaizen event on the internet I found this great video on YouTube.  It is a song about a kaizen blitz (event) set to the music of Ballroom Blitz by Sweet.

If you have ever been a part of a kaizen event (or blitz), I bet a lot of this really hit home.  The guy did a great job of catching all aspects of the kaizen in a very funny way.  I plan on showing this to the kaizen teams I lead in the future at a point where a break in the tension is needed.

Counting Down the Top 10 Viewed Posts of 2011 – 10 Thru 6

2012 is now in full swing.  Before 2011 is too far in the rear view mirror, I thought I would recap the Top 10 most viewed posts on Beyond Lean for 2011.

New followers of the blog can use this as an opportunity to read posts they might have not seen in the past.  While, long time followers can use this as an opportunity to re-read some of the top viewed posts.

This post will count down the 10th thru 6th most viewed posts of 2011.  Enjoy!

10. Dilbert Leading Transformation (July 2010) – Previous Year Ranked #3 – The Pointy-Haired Boss wants clear responsibilities and employee engagement.

9.   Adding Inventory…A Good Thing? (March 2011) -  Sometimes adding inventory might be the right thing to do based on your business. Take time to understand your business and its needs before deciding.

8.  Making Leader Standard Work Visual (June 2011) – An example of a visual board from a group I worked with.  The board makes the tasks and if they were completed by the managers visual.

7.  Beyond Lean Joins Twitter (February 2011) – Beyond Lean announces the venture out onto Twitter.

6.  Redbox Produced in the U.S. Using Lean (October 2010) – Previous Year Ranked #5 – News article about Redbox manufacturing using Lean to produce the Redbox dispensers close to it’s customers in the U.S.

My next post will count down the Top 5 viewed posts of 2011.

Merry New Year!

This weekend will bring a New Year.  As we usher in the new year, I was reminded of a movie scene a great comedy…Trading Places starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd.

Just a reminder of the melting pot that is New York and the United States.  Enjoy!  And have a Merry New Year!  Hahahahahaaaaaaa!

Dilbert Animated Cartoons

I hope everyone had a great Christmas yesterday.  A little Dilbert treat for the holidays.

The Pointy-Haired Boss makes it so hard to get clear objectives and Dilbert is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

Does any of this sound familiar?  Clear objectives and misaligned values can cause a lot of confusion in an organization.  The confusion can lead to nobody taking action.  No action means no improvement.  I hope your objectives for 2012 are clear.

30 Rock Definition of Six Sigma

A couple of weeks ago, I posted something from a guest blogger James Lawther (“Do They Get It?”).  During our emails, James showed me the 30 Rock Six Sigma approach.  I found it to be very funny so I thought I would pass it along.  It is a good way to go into the weekend.

The Six Sigmas are (link to the 30 Six Sigma page):

• Teamwork
• Insight
• Brutality
• Male Enhancement
• Handshakefulness
• Play Hard

Not sure where they came up with the six attributes instead of the variance, but it adds humor to it.

I also enjoyed the acronym for C.L.A.S.S.  Consuming Lunch and Simple Socializing.

That sounds just like the reason most people go to all day classes, doesn’t it?  Get a free lunch and because either friends or people you want to know are going.

Here is one last very short clip of Frank’s definition of Six Sigma is

Have a great weekend!

Football Cops

This post has absolutely nothing to do with lean.  I thought since it is a Friday before a nice long holiday weekend in the U.S. I would post something fun.

I am a huge Indianapolis Colts fan.  I have been since the Gary Hogeboom days.  I saw this last week and thought I would share it.  It is a clip of Peyton Manning and Eli Manning as Football cops.  They throw footballs instead of shooting guns.  It is so ridiculous it made me laugh.

Have a great weekend!

Dilbert – Exceed Performance….Don’t!!!!!

I read Dilbert everyday.  In fact, I downloaded an app for my Blackberry so I can read it anywhere.  This one caught my eye a few weeks ago and thought I would share it.

(click on image to enlarge)

 Does this sound familiar?  Every year we sit in a chair with a blank stare as a boss tells us in order to get an Exceeds rating we need to go above and beyond.  Only to have your boss see you go above and beyond and ask themselves, “Do they have too much time on their hands?”  So then more work comes your way.  The boss considers the extra work normal.

The next review comes.  You go through the same process.  Eventually, the employee becomes disengaged and dissatisfied with their job.

Another reason that performance reviews are waste in the system.  Can you imagine the amount of time for continuous improvement that would be gained if your company eliminated performance reviews?  Would it help or hurt employee engagement and satisfaction?

Dilbert – Six Sigma and Lean

This is the time of year where everyone is (or just finished) planning for the new year.  One of the biggest topics, I hope, is what are the improvement strategies for the new year.  The pointy-haired boss is tackling that same issue.

(click on image to enlarge)

I hope it wasn’t a waste of time at your company.  Good luck in 2011!