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• Knowledge Management – Management is Prediction

  ...There are several reason these ideas have not been adopted but one is that they require some effort to document and then evaluate (and often those are missing). So many see any time spent improving the system as waste (based on their actions not that they would say such a thing) – they are only happy when producing today or fire fighting to enable producing today.

  ... A good deal of thought is needed on how to use the technology tools to implement the ideas, but new technical solutions are providing options. Blogs, Wikis, improved search for stored data, the ease of creating intranet applications…. are some additional tools that can be used to improve.

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• Reacting to Product Problems

  Toyota is doing well but as they say themselves, over and over: Toyota still has plenty of room to improve. The key is to not only say so, but act on it (which I believe they are doing, the recalls give one indication of the continued need to improve).

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• Think Long Term Act Daily

  Thinking long term is not about waiting around. But it is about constancy of purpose. The powerful gains from any management system are not those in the first year. The benefits possible in the 5th year or 10th year… are not possible in first year. The capacity to take advantage of management improvement needs to be developed and it is a multi-year effort (if it is done well – otherwise it will abandoned after the initial hype for the next new fad). The gains should grow and compound over time.

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• Performance Appraisals – Is Good Execution the Solution?

  Good execution of performance appraisal is not the solution. More people are realizing that improving how performance appraisal are done is an attempt to do the wrong thing better. If you insist on doing the wrong thing, I suppose you might as well do it better but how about just not doing the wrong thing at all? What should be done? See: Performance Without Appraisal and read chapter 9 of The Leader’s Handbook.

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• Manufacturing in Asia (2007)

  The USA manufacturing share of global output has risen, not fallen, as we have stated numerous times: Manufacturing Value Added Economic Data – Manufacturing Jobs Data: USA and China – Global Manufacturing Data by Country. The most fundamental facts of global manufacturing – Global output is increasing. Jobs are decreasing (everywhere, not moving from one place to another – decreasing everywhere). China’s output is growing rapidly. The USA is still by far the largest manufacturer, USA output is growing faster than global output and much slower than China’s output. 

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• Innovation Examples (2007)

   The The North Face Endurus XCR Boa Trail Running Shoe has a new lacing system. The image doesn’t look that remarkable to me, but “This unique closure automatically micro- adjusts with foot movement to eliminate pressure points, kind of like a suspension system. The resulting fit is unique and unattainable with shoelaces. Plus the mechanical system never loosens or changes.” It seems reasonable that is important to their customers and something that required a new lacing system.

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• Making Better Decisions

  When times are good, many are content to let things go: not make any tough decisions or any that might upset someone… When in a bind it is accepted that something has to be done, so you can often get past the “we are doing ok, why make us change…” objections.

  ...

  Have the discipline to focus on the problems even when times are good. That is the key. That allows for a much broader range of options (when times are bad certain options are no longer available – for example, when Toyota had to lay off workers…). In general people are less effective under stress...

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• The Psychology of Too Much Choice

  a growing body of research also suggests that people can have difficulty managing complex choices. To begin with, research has shown that as the attractiveness of alternatives rises individuals experience conflict and, as a result, tend to defer decision, search for new alternatives, choose the default option, or simply opt not to choose

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• Google’s Answer to Filling Jobs Is an Algorithm

  Google can do some things well that are unwise for others to try.

  ...

  I can’t see this as an effective strategy for most companies. And even for Google, I don’t see it as a great idea, but trying ideas that might seem crazy can be an effective innovation strategy.

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• Epidemic of Diagnoses

  It sure seems to me this tendency to “over-diagnois” leads to Tampering. Lets assign a special cause to some instance and then implement a counter-measure (it seems to be “take this drug” is a common one). And just as tampering in the management world the “solutions” then create all sorts of problems.

  For me, when I read:

  But the real problem with the epidemic of diagnoses is that it leads to an epidemic of treatments. Not all treatments have important benefits, but almost all can have harms

  I just think: tampering!

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• Messiness is Good?

  Basically it seems the interviewee has a book with the gimmick that being a mess is good – creativity and all that. Yes, I am sure sometimes messiness helps (and I am sure having a easy, catchy, gimmick is a good marketing idea). But as a management strategy it seems lousy to me. 5s is the correct strategy(even if I fail to do so – my desk tends to get messy as I get busy and... which is often. See: Planning 5s? First Know Why!

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• Software Developers Should Work Together With Those Who Will Use the Software

  When developing software applications in house, developers should work in cooperation with those who will use it. Working from requirements is not a very effective way to proceed. It is similar to the old idea of suppliers working to specifications. Dr. Deming taught long ago that companies needed to work with suppliers and customers to improve the overall system. Well managed companies have learned this and practice it.

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• Customer Un-focus (due to misunderstanding data)

  Data, such as participation rates can be used as in-process measures to help you locate areas to look at for improvement. Don’t make the mistake of managing to the measure. The measure should help you manage. Improving the number is not the goal. Improving the situation that the number is a proxy for is the goal.

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• Change Your Name to Work With Our Software

  My advice. Don’t create stupid restrictions (in IT systems or otherwise). What do you care how long people’s names are? There are many people with 2 character names (even if your software says they are invalid, and + are a valid email character even if your software doesn't think so).

  Also, have customer service personnel who are trying to improve the system, not trying to get the customer off the phone to meet some arbitrary numerical target. Most often the representatives seem most concerned with getting you off the phone. An effective system to discover what needs to be improved is not something that management has bothered to design into the system. Big mistake.

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• Poor Service – Industry Standard?

  I find it very frustrating how poor the service is most everywhere these days. Have you shopped in a Trader Joe’s? The contrast is amazing. I am used to most employees, on the phone, or in person, seeing the customer as a bother.  At Trader Joe’s, in stark contrast, the staff always seems happy to have customers. Which seems like a good indication that management is doing a number of things right.

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