Blog of Alexander Kjerulf: Chief Happiness Officer

http://positivesharing.com/

About Alexander Kjerulf

Alex is the world’s leading expert on happiness at work. He has long known that happiness at work is the most important factor that contributes to good careers, happy lives and business success.

He is a speaker, consultant and author, presenting and conducting workshops on happiness at work at businesses and conferences all over the world. His previous clients include companies like Hilton, DaimlerChrysler and IBM.

His clients especially appreciate his unlimited energy, his dedication to happiness at work and his ability to keep his message simple and practical and fun.

Alex has a masters degree in computer science from The University of Southern Denmark, and was a co-founder of Enterprise Systems – a truly happy IT company.

Alex is the author of Happy Hour is 9 to 5 - How to Love Your Job, Love Your Life and Kick Butt at Work. The book has been extremely well received all over the world. David Maister called it “very, very good” and “extremely well written.” But the praise that Alex appreciates the most came from Anna Farmery, who said that “reading the book makes me happy and gives me faith that we can create great workplaces.”

Alex also writes about happiness at work on this blog, which is read by thousands of people every day.

Making people happy at work really makes him happy - “Best job in the world” he always says. Apart from that he really enjoys reading, snowboarding, wakeboarding, riding his motorcycle and spending time with his wonderful girlfriend.

And in case your wondering, his last name (Kjerulf) is pronounced a little like care-oolf.

More praise for Happy Hour is 9 to 5

More praise for Happy Hour is 9 to 5

March 6, 2008 @ 11:13 am · Filed under Happy At Work, Happy Hour is 9 to 5

Michael Stallard, president of E Pluribus Partners, read my book about happiness at work and liked it:

Alex’s writing has a fun, conversational style, just like you would expect from the Chief Happiness Officer. Don’t mistake this for fluff, however. He covers a lot interesting material in a thoughtful, smart way.

You can read Michael’s entire review here.

But someone has Michael beat… Zeke Chan has read my book three times! Here’s what he thinks:

I have read it 3 times and have been constantly referring to it every now and then for inspiration and ideas. A whole lot of things have happened since then which has just been unbelievable. I started by making myself happy. In your book, you champion the concept of doing something to make you happy. So I did just that… I did things that made me happy, tried to be positive, helped my colleagues and made an effort to learn something new about someone each day. I always start my day by doing something that I love and enjoy. Only then do I start my day… which has been a habit of mine the past 2 months.

When I successfully made myself happy on a daily basis, I realized there was something else that needed to change to be truly happy… my attitude. That has really taken some time to do and I’m still learning to master my attitude and thinking. Here’s how things have changed since I’ve started. I really love my work and enjoy the company of my colleagues. I have tonnes of ideas that have great potential and could be worth something. I have started a freelance business that I’m positive will be successful. My relationship with my wife has gotten even better… so much that I’m encouraging her to discover what makes her happy and to find that happiness in the work she would love to do. She is struggling somewhat with this new concept of happiness at work, but I have no doubt that things will turn out great.

I want to thank you for your book. It is simple to understand and your suggestions are highly practical and easy to do. I’m trying to spread some happiness at my workplace but it has not been easy due to the culture… but one thing I’m certain of is that I’m at YAY! happiness level.

God, I’m good :o)

Click here to read the book free online or buy it on paper or as a pdf e-book.

Training and Development Resources

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/trdev/

TRDEV, the Training and Development Discussion Group, began in October 2000 as a replacement to the TRDEV-L listserv created by Dr. David Passmore of Penn State. When he decided to discontinue TRDEV-L, several members created "trdev" at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/trdev/

TRDEV is a place for people to discuss training and development issues in a professional, non-commercial, collegial forum--topics related to training, learning, and performance, from the specific to the general. Some discussions involve instruments, interventions, and products for which there is no evidence of reliability, validity, or efficacy. TRDEV's founders and coordinators believe with Passmore that in the marketplace, good ideas will eventually win out.

Discussions have dealt with assessment, attainments, benchmarking, competencies, content development, course development, e-learning, EPSS (electronic performance support systems), evaluation, facilitation, facilities design, human performance technology (HPT), human resource development (HRD), icebreakers (activities, not ships), instructional systems design (ISD), job aids, knowledge management, learning characteristics, learning outcomes, learning styles, needs assessment, objectives, organizational development (OD), organizational performance, performance improvement, planning, presentations, professional development, professional journals, return on investment (ROI), strategic analysis, task analysis, tools for training and learning, train-the-trainer, training and development, and values.

If these topics relate to your work or your interest, we invite and encourage your active participation in the community of practice that makes up TRDEV.

ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

Development of human resources -- Part 3

ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT
the management of change

Robert H. Rouda & Mitchell E. Kusy, Jr.

http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~rouda/T3_OD.html

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(C) copyright 1995 by the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

This is the third in a series of articles which originally appeared in Tappi Journal in 1995-96, to introduce methods addressing the development of individuals and organizations through the field of Human Resource Development. (The article has been updated, and is reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.)

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WHAT IS OD?

Beckhard (1) defines Organization Development (OD) as "an effort, planned, organization-wide, and managed from the top, to increase organization effectiveness and health through planned interventions in the organization's processes, using behavioral-science knowledge." In essence, OD is a planned system of change.

• Planned. OD takes a long-range approach to improving organizational performance and efficiency. It avoids the (usual) "quick-fix".
• Organization-wide. OD focuses on the total system.
• Managed from the top. To be effective, OD must have the support of top-management. They have to model it, not just espouse it. The OD process also needs the buy-in and ownership of workers throughout the organization.
• Increase organization effectiveness and health. OD is tied to the bottom-line. Its goal is to improve the organization, to make it more efficient and more competitive by aligning the organization's systems with its people.
• Planned interventions. After proper preparation, OD uses activities called interventions to make systemwide, permanent changes in the organization.
• Using behavioral-science knowledge. OD is a discipline that combines research and experience to understanding people, business systems, and their interactions.

We usually think of OD only in terms of the interventions themselves. This article seeks to emphasize that these activities are only the most visible part of a complex process, and to put some perspective and unity into the myriad of OD tools that are used in business today. These activities include Total Quality Management (an evolutionary approach to improving an organization) and Reengineering (a more revolutionary approach). And there are dozens of other interventions, such as strategic planning and team building. It is critical to select the correct intervention(s), and this can only be done with proper preparation.

WHY DO OD?

• Human resources -- our people -- may be a large fraction of our costs of doing business. They certainly can make the difference between organizational success and failure. We better know how to manage them.
• Changing nature of the workplace. Our workers today want feedback on their performance, a sense of accomplishment, feelings of value and worth, and commitment to social responsibility. They need to be more efficient, to improve their time management. And, of course, if we are to continue doing more work with less people, we need to make our processes more efficient.
• Global markets. Our environments are changing, and our organizations must also change to survive and prosper. We need to be more responsible to and develop closer partnerships with our customers. We must change to survive, and we argue that we should attack the problems, not the symptoms, in a systematic, planned, humane manner.
• Accelerated rate of change. Taking an open-systems approach, we can easily identify the competitions on an international scale for people, capital, physical resources, and information.

WHO DOES OD?

To be successful, OD must have the buy-in, ownership, and involvement of all stakeholders, not just of the employees throughout the organization. OD is usually facilitated by change agents -- people or teams that have the responsibility for initiating and managing the change effort. These change agents may be either employees of the organization (internal consultants) or people from outside the organization (external consultants.)

Effective change requires leadership with knowledge, and experience in change management. We strongly recommend that external or internal consultants be used, preferably a combination of both. ("These people are professionals; don't try this at home.")

Bennis (2) notes that "external consultants can manage to affect ... the power structure in a way that most internal change agents cannot." Since experts from outside are less subject to the politics and motivations found within the organization, they can be more effective in facilitating significant and meaningful changes.

WHEN IS AN ORGANIZATION READY FOR OD?

There is a formula, attributed to David Gleicher (3, 4), which we can use to decide if an organization is ready for change:

Dissatisfaction x Vision x First Steps > Resistance to Change

This means that three components must all be present to overcome the resistance to change in an organization: Dissatisfaction with the present situation, a vision of what is possible in the future, and achievable first steps towards reaching this vision. If any of the three is zero or near zero, the product will also be zero or near zero and the resistance to change will dominate.

We use this model as an easy, quick diagnostic aid to decide if change is possible. OD can bring approaches to the organization that will enable these three components to surface, so we can begin the process of change.

OD IS A PROCESS

Action Research is a process which serves as a model for most OD interventions. French and Bell (5) describe Action Research as a "process of systematically collecting research data about an ongoing system relative to some objective, goal, or need of that system; feeding these data back into the system; taking actions by altering selected variables within the system based both on the data and on hypotheses; and evaluating the results of actions by collecting more data." The steps in Action Research are (6, 7):

1. Entry. This phase consists of marketing, i.e. finding needs for change within an organization. It is also the time to quickly grasp the nature of the organization, identify the appropriate decision maker, and build a trusting relationship.
2. Start-up and contracting. In this step, we identify critical success factors and the real issues, link into the organization's culture and processes, and clarify roles for the consultant(s) and employees. This is also the time to deal with resistance within the organization. A formal or informal contract will define the change process.
3. Assessment and diagnosis. Here we collect data in order to find the opportunities and problems in the organization (refer to DxVxF>R above.) For suggestions about what to look for, see the previous article in this series, on needs assessment (8). This is also the time for the consultant to make a diagnosis, in order to recommend appropriate interventions.
4. Feedback. This two-way process serves to tell those what we found out, based on an analysis of the data. Everyone who contributed information should have an opportunity to learn about the findings of the assessment process (provided there is no apparent breach of anyone's confidentiality.) This provides an opportunity for the organization's people to become involved in the change process, to learn about how different parts of the organization affect each other, and to participate in selecting appropriate change interventions.
5. Action planning. In this step we will distill recommendations from the assessment and feedback, consider alternative actions and focus our intervention(s) on activities that have the most leverage to effect positive change in the organization. An implementation plan will be developed that is based on the assessment data, is logically organized, results- oriented, measurable and rewarded. We must plan for a participative decision-making process for the intervention.
6. Intervention. Now, and only now, do we actually carry out the change process. It is important to follow the action plan, yet remain flexible enough to modify the process as the organization changes and as new information emerges.
7. Evaluation. Successful OD must have made meaningful changes in the performance and efficiency of the people and their organization. We need to have an evaluation procedure to verify this success, identify needs for new or continuing OD activities, and improve the OD process itself to help make future interventions more successful.
8. Adoption. After steps have been made to change the organization and plans have been formulated, we follow-up by implementing processes to insure that this remains an ongoing activity within the organization, that commitments for action have been obtained, and that they will be carried out.
9. Separation. We must recognize when it is more productive for the client and consultant to undertake other activities, and when continued consultation is counterproductive. We also should plan for future contacts, to monitor the success of this change and possibly to plan for future change activities.

It would be nice if real OD followed these steps sequentially. This rarely happens. Instead, the consultants must be flexible and be ready to change their strategy when necessary. Often they will have to move back and repeat previous steps in light of new information, new influences, or because of the changes that have already been made.

But for successful OD to take place, all of these steps must be followed. It works best if they are taken in the order described. And, since learning is really an iterative, not a sequential process, we must be prepared to re-enter this process when and where appropriate. 

If you would like to know more about OD, we highly recommend the books by Cummings and Worley (9), and by Rothwell, Sullivan and McLean (10).

WHAT'S NEXT?

In future articles in this series, we plan to discuss some of the major OD interventions in common use today, and to classify these into systematic categories.

WHERE YOU COME IN

• TAPPI has a Training and Development Subcommittee (of the Board's Education Committee.) Its current tasks include developing a getting-started guide for people newly assigned to training responsibilities in the pulp and paper industry. Join us -- contact Clare Reagan at Tappi if you would like to get involved.
• TAPPI in 1997. We are in the preliminary stages of planning for events at future TAPPI conferences. These events will focus on education and Human Resource Development, and may include a workshops on Organization Development. We invite your participation.
• Case studies. In future articles, we plan to include some case histories of the successes (and failures) of applying OD practices in the paper industry. If you are involved in OD and would like to join us in this effort, please contact us.

LITERATURE CITED

1. Beckhard, R., Organization development: Strategies and models. Reading, MA: Addison- Wesley, Reading, MA, 1969, p. 9.
2. Bennis, W., Organization development: Its nature, origin and prospects. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1969, p. 12.
3. Beckhard, R. & Harris, R. Organizational Transitions. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1987.
4. Jacobs, R., Real Time Strategic Change. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco, 1994, p.122.
5. French, W., & Bell, C., Jr., Organization development: Behavioral science interventions for organization improvement (4th ed), Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1990, p. 99.
6. Burke, W., Organization development: Principles and practices. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1982.
7. Rothwell, W., Sullivan, R., & McLean, G., "Models for Change and Steps in Action Research", in Practicing OD: A Guide for Consultants, Pfeiffer, San Diego, 1995, pp. 51-69.
8. Rouda, R. & Kusy, M., Jr., "Needs assessment - the first step", Tappi Journal 78 (6): 255 (1995).
9. Cummings, T.G., & Worley, C.G., Organization Development and Change, 5th edition, West Publishing, St. Paul, 1993.
10. Rothwell, W., Sullivan, R., & McLean, G., Practicing OD: A Guide for Consultants, Pfeiffer, San Diego, 1995.

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Bob Rouda is a consultant on human resource development and process engineering, and is a research associate and student of organization development and change management at the University of St. Thomas. He has practiced education and training in the paper industry for 20 years. Mitch Kusy is professor of organizational learning and development at the University of St. Thomas, and is a practicing organization development consultant.

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other articles in this series:

1. Human Resource Development: Beyond training - a perspective on improving organizations and people
2. Needs Assessment - the first step
3. Organization Development - the management of change (this article)
4. Career Development - personal career management and planning
5. Managing Change with Large-Scale, Real-Time Interventions

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Development of human resources -- Part 4

CAREER DEVELOPMENT
personal career management and planning

Robert H. Rouda & Mitchell E. Kusy, Jr.

http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~rouda/T4_CD.html

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(C) copyright 1995 by the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

This is the fourth in a series of articles which originally appeared in Tappi Journal in 1995-96, to introduce methods addressing the development of individuals and organizations through the field of Human Resource Development. (The article has been updated, and is reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.)

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There is an increasing need for individuals to take charge of the development of their own learning and careers for a variety of reasons: There is increasing rate of change of our organizations and in the knowledge and skills we need to perform our jobs. Career ladders are rapidly shrinking or disappearing as reorganizations lead to flatter structures. There is an ever-increasing need for us to keep learning to keep up with the rapid growth in knowledge and the rate of change of our workplace environments. And, involvement in one's own development fosters greater commitment to the process than other-directed activities.

LEARNING IS NOW OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Career development (CD) is now the primary responsibility of individuals in organizations. A recent survey of Human Resource Development Directors (1) indicates that they consider CD to be their least important function. This correlates with recent trends of disappearing corporate career paths and job security. Just as the responsibility for employee retirement planning is no longer a corporate function, the responsibility for learning and for the development of career paths has been downloaded to the individual employees.

Personal learning project management is a new skill for most people, one for which they have not been adequately prepared. The good news is that this responsibility also brings increased control over one's learning and career development, and the opportunity for a more stimulating and motivating work life.

The purpose of this article is to help you develop plans for individual career development for yourself and for other employees in your organizations. This process results in a document that has been referred to by such terms as an individual development plan, a learning contract, MBO (management-by-objectives) for personal learning, a personal "curriculum" for learning, and a plan for personal career advancement. The results may also be applied to the "development" section of most performance appraisal forms.

EXAMPLES OF PERSONAL LEARNING PROJECT MANAGEMENT

These methods have been used recently in a variety of university and industrial settings:

• Industrial environments. At the Niagara Division of Consolidated Papers (2), employees draft individual development plans, both individually and in consultation with the Training Manager. This process occurs annually, much like a performance review. The individual development planning process is focused on personal development and career growth, and is kept separate from other HR management functions such as reviews for salary, promotion, and retention purposes.
  Individual development plans can, and often should, include formal training programs, but the focus is on the learning and the individual, not on the organization's curriculum and courses. If used correctly, a compilation of the learning needs from these individual learning plans (coupled with studies of organizational needs) can lead to more efficient planning of training efforts by the organization.
• University teaching and learning. At leading universities that focus on quality learning, education and training, learning contracts are often used in courses to shift the responsibility for learning from the instructor to the students (3). Individuals design, develop and implement their own plans for learning in their courses, in a process similar to the use of the industrial individual development plans previously referred to. This works especially well with adult learners who bring a variety of skills, knowledge and experiences to their studies, and who also have a variety of needs for learning and development because of the diversity of their working environments. It also benefits more traditional students who learn "how to learn", and who need project management skills and experiences.
• Pulp and paper education. This process has been used very successfully in a senior course in pulp and paper process operations at the University of Minnesota (4). The students felt that their learning was more interesting and exciting because they had the ability to choose (actually, to propose and contract-for) their learning projects. They also assigned themselves more work, and therefore learned more, than with traditional methods of instruction. As a bonus, they developed their skills in engineering project management as applied to projects of direct interest and importance to themselves.
• Industrial and corporate internships. This works especially well for individualized learning experiences such as on-campus student research and development projects, and for off-campus learning such as for corporate internships.

STEPS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AN INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

We use standard forms to help the learners follow a systematic process to prepare their learning contracts, individual development plans, or learning project management strategies. Here is what should be included in a personal learning plan:

• Assessment. First, identify your current skills, knowledge, abilities, and interests. A previous article in this series (5) describes the needs assessment process.
• Goals. Identify the new skills, knowledge, and experiences you would like to acquire and have. Do these goals match your personal and career interests? Are your goals in agreement with your organization's goals, mission and vision?
• Learning purpose. Identify the gap between the current situation and the desired outcome. This will produce a statement of purpose that should clarify why you want to learn something, and what specific skills, knowledge and abilities you wish to develop.
• Learning objective(s). Identify what skills, knowledge, and abilities are to be acquired or enhanced. Remember that this is only a plan, not a rigid promise; your plan can and should be revised as your goals change and as learning occurs.

For each objective, identify the following:

• Target date. Identify when you plan to complete the work for this part of your learning plan.
• Learning strategies. Describe how you plan to do it, and what process you plan to follow to accomplish your objective. For example, strategies could include: reading and study, interviews and discussions with appropriate people, mill trials, networking and communication, reflecting on your own experiences, classroom study, literature review, synthesizing and writing.
• Learning resources. Identify what resources you plan to use to help you with this learning process. These resources might include, for example: literature, mentors, co- workers, other professionals for networking, vendors or suppliers, classes, technical conferences, professional association involvement, equipment manuals, laboratory trials, production workers, teachers and instructors, field experience, your supervisors, and a variety of learning technologies including computers, the Internet, and perhaps even your mill's DCS (digital control system).
• Outcomes and products. List the evidence you will develop to show the accomplishment of your objectives. What deliverables will you have produced by this process? What objects can be used to validate your learning experience? This could include, for example, a log or journal of your studies or observations, a literature review and bibliography, written and oral reports, lists of questions, obtaining specific career objectives, and more.
• Evaluation plan. Describe the method you will use to validate your deliverables and to evaluate the success of your learning project. In other words, what criteria and means will you use to determine if you were successful in reaching your learning goals?
• Initial feedback and revision. Before starting to carry-out your individual development plan, confer with your supervisor (instructor, mentor, or HRD-manager if available) for feedback, for another view of your learning needs and strategies. This will help insure that your learning will not only be based on your personal needs but will also be relevant to your organization's goals, results, and profitability. The more independent sources you can use, the better -- seek additional feedback from your co-workers, colleagues, family and friends.
• Summary of results. After completing the projects in your individual plan, you should evaluate the success of these activities. What insights have you gained? What new understandings do you have? What new skills, abilities and knowledge have you acquired? What experiences did you have, and what did you learn from them? How do you feel about this process?
• Next steps. You should review the accomplishments and successes of this project with your supervisor (and others, as appropriate). Then update your learning plan for the next cycle. Remember that learning and growth are processes that may, and should, continue indefinitely.

LITERATURE CITED

1. Johansen, K., Kusy, M., Jr., & Rouda, R., "The Business Focus of HRD Leaders: a picture of current practice", 1996 Academy of Human Resource Development Conference, Minneapolis, February 1996.
2. Stout, D., "Performance Analysis for Training", Niagara Division of Consolidated Papers Inc., 1995.
3. Kusy, M., Jr., Introduction to Human Resource Development -- class notes, University of St. Thomas, 1994.
4. Rouda, R., "Pulp and Paper Process Operations: class notes for learning contracts", University of Minnesota, 1995 (unpublished work).
5. Rouda, R. & Kusy, M., Jr., "Needs assessment - the first step", Tappi Journal 78 (6): 255 (1995).

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Bob Rouda is a consultant on human resource development and process engineering, and is a research associate and student of organization development and change management at the University of St. Thomas. He has practiced education and training in the paper industry for 20 years. Mitch Kusy is professor of organizational learning and development at the University of St. Thomas, and is a practicing organization development consultant.

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other articles in this series:

1. Human Resource Development: Beyond training - a perspective on improving organizations and people
2. Needs Assessment - the first step
3. Organization Development - the management of change
4. Career Development - personal career management and planning (this article)
5. Managing Change with Large-Scale, Real-Time Interventions
6. High Performance Training

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

NEEDS ASSESSMENT
the first step

Robert H. Rouda & Mitchell E. Kusy, Jr.

http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~rouda/T2_NA.html

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(C) copyright 1995 by the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

This is the second in a series of articles which originally appeared in Tappi Journal in 1995-96, to introduce methods addressing the development of individuals and organizations through the field of Human Resource Development. (The article has been updated, and is reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.)

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A Needs Assessment is a systematic exploration of the way things are and the way they should be. These "things" are usually associated with organizational and/or individual performance (1).

WHY design and conduct a Needs Assessment? We need to consider the benefits of any Human Resource Development (HRD) intervention before we just go and do it:

• What learning will be accomplished?
• What changes in behavior and performance are expected?
• Will we get them?
• What are the expected economic costs and benefits of any projected solutions?

We are often in too much of a hurry. We implement a solution, sometimes but not always the correct intervention. But we plan, very carefully and cautiously, before making most other investments in process changes and in capital and operating expenditures. We need to do the same for Human Resource Development.

The largest expense for HRD programs, by far, is attributable to the time spent by the participants in training programs, career development, and/or organization development activities. In training, costs due to lost production and travel time can be as much as 90-95% of the total program costs. Direct and indirect costs for the delivery of training are about 6% of the total cost, and design and development count for only about 1-2% of the total (2). Realistically, it makes sense to invest in an assessment of needs to make sure we are making wise investments in training and other possible interventions.

FOUR STEPS TO CONDUCTING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT:

Step 1. PERFORM A "GAP" ANALYSIS.

The first step is to check the actual performance of our organizations and our people against existing standards, or to set new standards. There are two parts to this:

• Current situation: We must determine the current state of skills, knowledge, and abilities of our current and/or future employees. This analysis also should examine our organizational goals, climate, and internal and external constraints.
• Desired or necessary situation: We must identify the desired or necessary conditions for organizational and personal success. This analysis focuses on the necessary job tasks/standards, as well as the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to accomplish these successfully. It is important that we identify the critical tasks necessary, and not just observe our current practices. We also must distinguish our actual needs from our perceived needs, our wants.

The difference the "gap" between the current and the necessary will identify our needs, purposes, and objectives.

What are we looking for? Here are some questions to ask, to determine where HRD may be useful in providing solutions: (3)

• Problems or deficits. Are there problems in the organization which might be solved by training or other HRD activities?
• Impending change. Are there problems which do not currently exist but are foreseen due to changes, such as new processes and equipment, outside competition, and/or changes in staffing?
• Opportunities. Could we gain a competitive edge by taking advantage of new technologies, training programs, consultants or suppliers?
• Strengths. How can we take advantage of our organizational strengths, as opposed to reacting to our weaknesses? Are there opportunities to apply HRD to these areas?
• New directions. Could we take a proactive approach, applying HRD to move our organizations to new levels of performance? For example, could team building and related activities help improve our productivity?
• Mandated training. Are there internal or external forces dictating that training and/or organization development will take place? Are there policies or management decisions which might dictate the implementation of some program? Are there governmental mandates to which we must comply?

Step 2. IDENTIFY PRIORITIES AND IMPORTANCE.

The first step should have produced a large list of needs for training and development, career development, organization development, and/or other interventions. Now we must examine these in view of their importance to our organizational goals, realities, and constraints. We must determine if the identified needs are real, if they are worth addressing, and specify their importance and urgency in view of our organizational needs and requirements (4). For example (5):

• Cost-effectiveness: How does the cost of the problem compare to the cost of implementing a solution? In other words, we perform a cost-benefit analysis.
• Legal mandates: Are there laws requiring a solution? (For example, safety or regulatory compliance.)
• Executive pressure: Does top management expect a solution?
• Population: Are many people or key people involved?
• Customers: What influence is generated by customer specifications and expectations?

If some of our needs are of relatively low importance, we would do better to devote our energies to addressing other human performance problems with greater impact and greater value.

Step 3. IDENTIFY CAUSES OF PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS AND/OR OPPORTUNITIES.

Now that we have prioritized and focused on critical organizational and personal needs, we will next identify specific problem areas and opportunities in our organization. We must know what our performance requirements are, if appropriate solutions are to be applied. We should ask two questions for every identified need: (6)

• Are our people doing their jobs effectively?
• Do they know how to do their jobs?

This will require detailed investigation and analysis of our people, their jobs, and our organizations -- both for the current situation and in preparation for the future.

Step 4. IDENTIFY POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS AND GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES.

If people are doing their jobs effectively, perhaps we should leave well enough alone. ("If it ain't broke, don't fix it.") However, some training and/or other interventions might be called for if sufficient importance is attached to moving our people and their performance into new directions.

But if our people ARE NOT doing their jobs effectively:

• Training may be the solution, IF there is a knowledge problem.
• Organization development activities may provide solutions when the problem is not based on a lack of knowledge and is primarily associated with systematic change. These interventions might include strategic planning, organization restructuring, performance management and/or effective team building.

We will look at these solutions including training & development and organization development, in future articles in this series.

TECHNIQUES FOR INVESTIGATING ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL NEEDS:

Use multiple methods of Needs Assessment. To get a true picture, don't rely on one method. It is important to get a complete picture from many sources and viewpoints. Don't take some manager's word for what is needed.

There are several basic Needs Assessment techniques. Use a combination of some of these, as appropriate:

• direct observation
• questionnaires
• consultation with persons in key positions, and/or with specific knowledge
• review of relevant literature
• interviews
• focus groups
• tests
• records & report studies
• work samples

An excellent comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each of these methods can be found in the Training and Development Journal. (7)

Remember that actual needs are not always the same as perceived needs, or "wants". Look for what the organization and people really need they may not know what they need, but may have strong opinions about what they want.

Use your collected data in proposing HRD solutions:

• Use your data to make your points. This avoids confronting management since your conclusions will follow from your Needs Assessment activities.
• Everybody should share the data collected. It is important to provide feedback to everyone who was solicited for information. This is necessary if everyone is to "buy into" any proposed training or organization development plan.

Having identified the problems and performance deficiencies, we must lay out the difference between the cost of any proposed solutions against the cost of not implementing the solution. Here's an economic "gap analysis":

• What are the costs if no solution is applied?
• What are the costs of conducting programs to change the situation?

The difference determines if intervention activities will be cost-effective, and therefore if it makes sense to design, develop, and implement the proposed HRD solutions.

SUMMARY STEPS IN A NEEDS ANALYSIS:

• Perform a "gap" analysis to identify the current skills, knowledge, and abilities of your people, and the organizational and personal needs for HRD activities
• Identify your priorities and importance of possible activities
• Identify the causes of your performance problems and/or opportunities Identify possible solutions and growth opportunities.

and finally:

• Compare the consequences if the program is or is not implemented
• Generate and communicate your recommendations for training and development, organization development, career development, and/or other interventions

LITERATURE CITED

1. Stout, D., "Performance Analysis for Training", Niagara Paper Company, Niagara, WI,1995.
2. Gilbert, T., "Performance Engineering", in What Works at Work: Lessons from the Masters, Lakewood Books, Minneapolis, 1988, p. 20.
3. Brinkerhoff, R.O., Achieving Results from Training, Jossey-Bass Inc., San Francisco, 1987, pp. 40-47.
4. Brinkerhoff, R.O., Achieving Results from Training, Jossey-Bass Inc., San Francisco, 1987, p. 39.
5. Zemke, R., & Gunkler, J., "Using Small Group Techniques for Needs Assessment, Data Gathering, and other Heinous Acts", seminar notes, American Society for Training and Development Southern Minnesota Chapter, Minneapolis, July 9, 1985.
6. Margolis, F.H., and Bell, C.R., Understanding Training: Perspectives & Practices, University Associates, San Diego, 1989, pp 13-15.
7. Steadham, S.V., "Learning to Select a Needs Assessment Strategy", Training & Development Journal 30, Jan. 1980, American Society for Training and Development, pp. 56-61.

---

Bob Rouda is a consultant on human resource development and process engineering, and is a research associate and student of organization development and change management at the University of St. Thomas. He has practiced education and training in the paper industry for 20 years. Mitch Kusy is professor of organizational learning and development at the University of St. Thomas, and is a practicing organization development consultant.

---

other articles in this series:

1. Human Resource Development: Beyond training - a perspective on improving organizations and people
2. Needs Assessment - the first step (this article)
3. Organization Development - the management of change
4. Career Development - personal career management and planning
5. Managing Change with Large-Scale, Real-Time Interventions
6. High Performance Training

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES LIST

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES LIST

This listing was created by the Competencies Work Group, drawing heavily on the competency models cited in the Work Group's report. The competencies are offered for your use in constructing your own leadership and management competency models. Note that:

• It is not a comprehensive list but includes competencies that the Work Group considered important.
• In many cases competencies overlap.
• Some competencies listed may also be used to group several competencies.
• The definitions are in the form of behavioral statements, wherever possible, to ground the competencies in observable behaviors.
• You may wish to create a summary definition from the bullets, delete bullets, or add your own to tailor the competencies for your own use.

Send questions and comments to nbk@cs.state.ny.us

CONTENTS

Accountability	Empowering Others	Managing Risk
Analytical Thinking	Entrepreneurship	Negotiating
Building Trust	Establishing Focus	Organizational Communications
Change Management	Exercising Self-Control/Being Resilient	Partnering/Networking
Coaching	Facilitation	Political Skill
Communicating in Writing	Fiscal Management	Project Management
Communicating Orally	Flexibility	Providing Direction
Conflict Management	Getting Results	Providing Motivational Support
Continual Learning	Influencing Others	Solving Problems
Continual Improvement	Initiative	Systems Thinking
Customer Focus	Innovation	Technical Credibility
Decision Making	Interpersonal Skills	Technology Use/Management
Delegation	Listening	Thinking Strategically
Developing Others	Maintaining Personal Credibility/Meeting Ethical Standards	Valuing and Leveraging Diversity
Emotional Intelligence	Managing Performance	Visioning

https://www.cs.state.ny.us/successionplanning/workgroups/competencies/competencylist.html#contents

Rethink Your Budget

Rethink Your Budget

http://www.trainingmag.com/

February 06, 2008
Progressive companies focus on maximizing the value received, and implement nontraditional, strategic cost savings techniques to leverage training budgets.
By Jay Jacobson

Many organizations use traditional methods to stretch their training budgets. These often include negotiating price, shortening sessions, and seeking delivery vehicles that allow for self-study or online delivery of training. Enlightened organizations, however, recognize that these methods can compromise individual and organizational learning objectives. Instead, progressive companies focus on maximizing the value received, and implement nontraditional, strategic cost savings techniques to leverage training budgets, including:

1. Align learning objectives with the organization's recruitment and selection process.
Companies that have a keen awareness of their competency requirements develop behaviorally based competency profiles, and hire individuals who already possess those critical competencies. This will reduce training needs and expense significantly.

2. Align learning initiatives with the organization's performance management system.
A defined development plan for employees will allow for better expense allocation. This will eliminate ad-hoc training decisions and ensure that training initiatives are prioritized based on employee needs.

3. Stay current on techniques that work.
Seek training partners that provide dynamic, interactive learning methods. This will eliminate the need to spend additional resources on continual reinforcement, or repeating ineffective training initiatives.

4. Offer value back to training providers in exchange for price considerations.
Training vendors highly value references, clients who are willing to participate in case studies, or clients willing to be subjects of white papers. Keep this in mind when negotiating price.

5. Seek training providers that can provide broad geographic and language coverage.
For example, training providers that draw upon locally based facilitators will reduce travel expenses.

6. Set clear course entry requirements.
Too often, individuals are sent to training programs where they simply do not belong. Make sure the organization defines which positions should attend and the tenure in that position, and has a process for approving exceptions.

7. Place greater accountability on the first-line manager to be a coach.
Many organizations insist their managers have the capabilities to coach others before they can enter the management ranks. While this may represent a significant cultural change, it can eliminate unnecessary training expenses for certain skills training.

8. Have a solid program evaluation process.
Limiting course evaluation to attendee response sheets does not ensure value is delivered. Formal training effectiveness audits should determine the degree of learning and behavioral change, and the impact on organizational success factors. Programs that do not meet standards should be eliminated.

9. Set high standards for participants.
Make sure you are getting the full value for your training investment. A major telecommunications company requires that participants attend 90 percent of a training session or they do not receive credit. Also, keep laptops and cell phones out of the training session unless they are needed as part of the learning.

10. Schedule training strategically as cancellations can be expensive.
Know your company's business cycles and schedule accordingly. For example, training scheduled at or close to the end of a quarter will be a problem for sales departments. Most important, empower the trainer to enforce the standards.

Jay Jacobson is president of Celemi, Inc., a global provider of business simulations and learning tools that improve financial acumen and operational knowledge. He is based in Chicago, IL. E-mail him at jay.jacobson@ celemi.com.


Training Magazine

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Training Top 10 Hall of Fame

Training Top 10 Hall of Fame

February 06, 2008
Six companies—that have held top 10 spots in the Top 50, Top 100, and now Top 125 rankings for four consecutive years—will be inducted into the Top 10 Hall of Fame at this year's Training Top 125 Gala, being held February 4 during the Training 2008 Conference & Expo in Atlanta. Booz Allen Hamilton, Ernst & Young, IBM, KLA-Tencor, Pfizer, and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will remain in the Top 10 Hall of Fame for no less than three years to a maximum of five years. They then may reapply for Top 125 awards consideration. This move creates an opportunity for other Top 125 companies to move into top 10 positions.


• Booz Allen Hamilton, founded in 1914, is one of the lead- ing global consulting firms with more than 19,000 employees serving clients on six continents. Integrating the full range of consulting capabilities, Booz Allen helps clients solve their toughest problems with services in strategy, operations, organization and change, and information technology. The Learning and Development team at Booz Allen Hamilton focuses on creating development opportunities that equip and empower individuals and teams to achieve the firm's strategic objectives and exceed the standards for high performance. It provides programs for expanding employee skills and competencies, enhancing individual and team performance, and creating a climate of continuous learning.

• Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, has a commitment to enhancing the public's trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 114,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of services centered on its core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax, and transactions. Ernst & Young has a culture of continuous learning that provides its people with formal learning, on-the-job experience, and ongoing counseling and coaching to help them grow and succeed at every stage of their career.The organization strives to hire the best people and takes seriously the responsibility of developing people's talent and providing fulfilling professional experiences.

• IBM is a globally integrated company that provides innovative business solutions to clients in 170 countries. The company combines deep industry expertise, powerful research capabilities, services, and products to ignite growth in small and large organizations. IBM's Learning organization is at the heart of the company's ability to enable its employees to meet sophisticated client requirements in a highly dynamic environment. Over the last decade, IBM consistently has created world-class, innovative, and effective learning solutions that have become a benchmarked gold standard for workforce expertise development and performance.

• KLA-Tencor Corporation is one of the world's leading suppliers of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. Since the founding of the company in 1976, KLA-Tencor continues to provide a comprehensive portfolio of products, software, analysis, services, and expertise designed to help IC manufacturers manage yield throughout the entire wafer fabrication process. The Learning team's focus covers various business drivers, including technical learning for all manufactured products; knowledge and information management and services; succession management; high-performing team engagements; performance and business assessments; process improvements; change management; and coaching and mentoring.

• Pfizer is one of the world's largest research-based biomedical and pharmaceutical companies. In 2006, Pfizer earned $48.4 billion in revenues and invested $7.6 billion in research and development. Pfizer's training organization creates and delivers developmental activities and experiences that build knowledge and skills critical to the performance of Pfizer colleagues. Pfizer training programs significantly contribute to building organizational capability across the company.

• The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company of Chevy Chase, MD, operates 70 hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. It is the only service company to have twice earned the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which recognizes outstanding customer service. The Leadership Center creates the annual "learning strategy" for all the hotels and is responsible for its execution by learning professionals in each hotel. In addition, The Leadership Center administers the corporate university, which provides a diverse set of offerings to the public, including "Legendary Service."

http://www.trainingmag.com/

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Training Top 125's Top Five

Training Top 125's Top Five
February 06, 2008
Read the in-depth coverage on the top five winners from Training's 2008 Top 125 award:

1) True Vision: PricewaterhouseCoopers
Despite gritty competition and challenging economic conditions—or maybe because of them—PwC caps its steady climb by claiming the top spot on the Training Top 125 with a focus on client and employee loyalty.

2) Leadership Leaders: EMC
Planning for the next generation of leadership at EMC means developing talent that uses teamwork to manage a global workforce.

3) Winning Ways: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Pharmaceutical company Wyeth’s healthy corporate culture uses scorecards to track, measure, and analyze almost every job and training program in some way.

4) It's the Network: Verizon
Backed by a variety of new training initiatives, Verizon Wireless called upon its internal network to enhance customers’ experiences, become experts on new devices and services, and commit to leadership development in 2007.


5) Accounting for Success: KPMG
Continuous education, with an emphasis on building competence and confidence through shared knowledge, is key to KPMG.


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Mike Wroblewski Blog: Lean Meeting on the floor

Got Boondoggle?

Dedicated to the Improvement of Work through Implementation of Lean Manufacturing Principles, Six Sigma quality and the elimination of waste

http://gotboondoggle.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html

Friday, September 21, 2007

Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing

I spend today, touring the Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (TIEM), facility located in Columbus, Indiana. Although this facility has been open since 1990 and within an hour drive of my home, I never had the opportunity to take an inside look at their operation before now. Thank you Toyota for opening your doors so we can learn.

Some of you may wonder if this company is part of the Toyota Motor Company or just a company using the Toyota name in a licensing agreement. Although they don’t build cars, they actually are part of the Toyota organization and follow the Toyota Way.

A few facts first:
99% of all the Toyota lift trucks sold in North America are manufactured in Columbus, Indiana.
Over 800 employees work to produce almost 30,000 trucks per year.
Over 60 different models are produced of electric lifts, 3,000 – 12,000 lbs and internal combustion lifts 3,000 – 17,000 lbs.
The facility covers 880,000 sq ft on about 101 acres of land.
The operations within this facility include metal fabrication, welding, powder coating, assembly and distribution.
Three main lines assembly lines currently run at various Takt times from 4.5 minutes to 33 minutes, adjusted monthly.

Now the lean lessons:
Each area holds a morning meeting (called “Asaichi Meeting”) for about 8 minutes to discuss the day’s schedule, safety issues, quality concerns, improvement ideas, company news and take attendance.

Right after this meeting, all the Team Leaders gather together to help each other face the challenges of achieving the daily production requirements. This meeting goes for about 6-8 minutes with attendance being the primary topic. Depending on who’s missing, the team leaders quickly agree on shifting associates to fill the gaps. A skill matrix chart helps them determine which associates have the required skills to fill the needs.

The Team leaders will reconvene every two hours during the entire shift to make sure everybody stays on the same page throughout the day.

The area will meet as a group at the end of the shift to review issues of the day. This meeting was called the “Yuichi Meeting” or pm meeting.

The meetings were conducted in front of the respective area’s measurement boards, called “Team Leader Control Boards” listing all the metrics like attendance, 5S, Kaizen newspapers, Defect lists, etc. The kaizen newspaper lists problems, the temporary countermeasure, the permanent countermeasure, who identified it, the planned date of completion and the actual date of completion. They also use the PDCA circle to visually show the four phases (investigation, find root cause, implement countermeasure, and standardize).

Each line has a master andon board that displays the daily production target, the actual number of units produced, lights for each workstation, the anticipated overtime for that day and a running time of any line stoppages. The workstation lights are yellow and red. When the yellow light flashes, it is a signal for needing help within a Takt Time. The red light signifies the line is stopped. In addition to the flashing lights, music is played. The line I observed played “It’s a small world” which I listened to several times today.

A cool idea was the formation of a kaizen group. This kaizen group consisted of 10 shop floor associates on a 6 month rotational assignment, all on a voluntary basis, to focus solely on helping implement kaizen ideas. They build carts, make labels, work on fixtures or work aids, etc. Really, they do whatever they can to get these ideas implemented.

Where do the kaizen ideas come from? They come from all the associates who are asked to come up with 3 ideas per associate per month (Think quick and easy kaizen). While Toyota encourages associates to implement their own improvement ideas, sometimes they need help. That’s where this kaizen group steps in.

There were more lessons that I will share in follow up posts but this will give you enough to think about for now.

This facility was not as organized or spotless as the Toyota Lexus plant I visited in Japan but none the less, a great plant to see the Toyota Way in action without having to go all the way to Japan.

posted by Mike Wroblewski at 11:58 PM

Lean Consulting Company: Gemba Panta Rei

Introduction to Gemba Panta Rei Gemba Panta Rei is the corporate blog of Gemba Research, a kaizen consulting firm. In this blog we will share our thoughts on Lean manufacturing, kaizen, Lean healthcare, Lean governemnt, Lean transaction and better ways to make things better.

http://www.gembapantarei.com/

Lean Blog Links from Gembe.com

Source: http://www.gemba.com/

• Agile Management Blog
• Curious Cat
• DailyKaizen
• Evolving Excellence
• Fashion-Incubator
• Got Boondoggle?
• Lean Blog
• Lean Insider
• Lean Builder
• Lean Reflections
• Lean Six Sigma Academy
• Learn Sigma
• Productivity Cafe
• Reforming Project Management
• Shmula
• The Lean Thinker
• Thinking for a Change
• TPM Log
  

Operational Excellence: Quick Newsletter

Operational Excellence

QUICK Newsletter

http://www.gpworldwide.com/operationalexcellence/quick.asp

GP's Operational Excellence Practice publishes a monthly online newsletter, QUICK - QUality Information and Competitiveness Knowledge. QUICK summarizes important reading for anyone interested in building operational excellence in his or her organization. Drawing from recent publications, it helps keep readers up to date with the latest thinking and results from scholars and industry.

Bookmark this page for future access to QUICK, or e-mail us at quick@gpworldwide.com to receive notification via e-mail when new issues are published.

QUICK Online

• February 2008 (HTML format)
  • “What is the Right Organization Design?”
  • “Models of Success”
  • “Mastering the Management System”
  • “Lean Means Business”
  • From GP: Maintaining Greatness
• January 2008 (HTML format)
  • “Flowing Toward Excellence”
  • “The New HR Organization”
  • “The Management of Organizational Justice”
  • “When Supplier Partnerships Aren't”
  • From GP: Managing Toward Excellence
• December 2007 (HTML format)
  • “Eight Steps to Sustain Change”
  • “Too Much of a Good Thing? Quality as an Impediment to Innovation”
  • “Measurement Conundrums”
  • From GP: Bases for Measured Change
• November 2007 (HTML format)
  • “Simplicity-Minded Management”
  • “Strategic Deployment: How to Think Like Toyota”
  • “Taming the Dragon: A Look at the Current State of Manufacturing Operations in China”
  • “What Every Leader Needs to Know About Followers”
  • “The Japanese Management Metamorphosis: What Western Executives Need to Know About Current Japanese Management Practices”
  • From GP: Making It Stick
• October 2007 (HTML format)
  • "Lean, Green, and Low Cost"
  • "8 Ways to Build Collaborative Teams"
  • "IW 2007 Best Plants Finalists Named"
  • "Six Sigma and Baldrige: A Quality Alliance"
  • "Just Say Jishuken"
  • "Better Than the Rest"
  • From GP: On Becoming a Winning Organization
• September 2007 (HTML format)
  • "Inventory: Endangered Species or Tempting Target?"
  • "Are You the Weakest Link in Your Company’s Supply Chain?"
  • "Bain's Global 2007 Management Tools and Trends Survey"
  • "Managerial Practices and Employee Well-Being Tradeoffs"
  • "Six Sigma Deployment: 7 Stumbling Blocks to Overcome"
  • From GP: Stumble-Proofing Six Sigma
• August 2007 (HTML format)
  • "KPIs from a Lean Perspective: Achieve Goals, Reduce Waste"
  • "Services Supply Management: The Next Frontier for Improved Organizational Performance"
  • "All-Round Improvements"
  • "A Foundation for Continuous Improvement"
  • "Misunderstanding of the Nature of Company Performance: The Halo Effect and Other Business Delusions"
  • From GP: Micro Thinking: Taking Large Lessons to the Floor
• July 2007 (HTML format)
  • "Lessons from Toyota's Long Drive"
  • "Why Some Companies Excel at Conducting Business Globally"
  • "Emotional Interactions: The Frontier of the Customer-Focused Enterprise"
  • "New Competencies for HR"
  • "50 Best Small and Medium Companies to Work for in America"
  • From GP: Toyota, Quality, and Flexibility
• June 2007 (HTML format)
  • "Sustaining Lean"
  • "How Do Your Measurements Stack Up to Lean?"
  • "Continuous Processes Can Be Lean"
  • "Building Human Resources Strategic Planning, Process and Measurement Capability: Using Six Sigma as a Foundation"
  • BOOK: Inside the Mind of Toyota: Management Principles for Enduring Growth
  • From GP: Process Industry Lean Lessons
• May 2007 (HTML format)
  • "Maintenance Miscues"
  • "The 7 Deadly Sins of Performance Measurement (and How to Avoid Them)"
  • "2007 Shingo Prize Winners"
  • BOOK: Creating a Lean Culture: Tools to Sustain Lean Conversions
  • From GP: Leading Lean
• April 2007 (HTML format)
  • "Using a Lean Six Sigma Approach to Drive Innovation"
  • "Leading Virtual Teams"
  • "Managing Employee Stress: A Key to the Effectiveness of Strategic Supply Chain Management"
  • "Performance Management Lacks Consistency"
  • "Why Does Affect Matter in Organizations?"
  • From GP: Lean Six Sigma Implementations by GPOE
• March 2007 (HTML format)
  • "America's Most Admired Companies"
  • "The Process Audit"
  • "Internal Customer Service: Has It Improved?"
  • "Promise-Based Management"
  • "2007 Training Top 125"
  • From GP: Personal Commitments to Process Improvement
• February 2007 (HTML format)
  • "Toyota's Real Secret"
  • "Maximizing Your Return on People"
  • "What It Means to Work Here"
  • "Applying Six Sigma to Sales and Marketing"
  • "Getting the Best Out of People in the Workplace"
  • From GP: People and Systems
• January 2007 (HTML format)
  • "Lean Manufacturing and the Environment"
  • "Understanding Customer Experience"
  • "Discovering Your Authentic Leadership"
  • "Motivating Lean Behavior: The Role of Accounting"
  • "Manage a Living System, Not a Ledger"
  • From GP: Lean Beans: Micro Measures That Work
• December 2006 (HTML format)
  • GP's Operational Excellence Practice
  • "Error-Proofing Enhances Quality"
  • "Workplace Recovery after Mergers, Acquisitions, and Downsizing: Facilitating Individual Adaptation to Major Organizational Transitions"
  • "When Lean Companies Stay Fat"
  • "How Leaders Create and Use Networks"
  • "Taking a Stake in Safety"
  • "JIT Tops Management Practices"
  • From GP: People Proofing and Error Proofing
• November 2006 (HTML format)
  • GP's Operational Excellence Practice
  • "Why Standard Work is Not Standard: Training Within Industry Provides an Answer"
  • "Designing Organizations That Are Built to Change"
  • "Benchmarking for Functional HR Metrics"
  • "Is Six Sigma Beneficial for Midsize Companies?"
  • "Enhancing the Benefits and Overcoming the Pitfalls of Goal Setting"
  • From GP: SDCA OK with TWI's JI
• October 2006 (HTML format)
  • GP's Operational Excellence Practice
  • "High Achievers"
  • "What's Working"
  • "Labor Flexibility: Too Much of a Good Thing?"
  • "Human Capital in the Supply Chains of Global Firms"
  • "Employee Engagement Boosts Bottom Line"
  • "Characteristics of Successful Improvement Initiatives"
  • From GP: Human Behavior in Pursuit of Improvement
• September 2006 (HTML format)
  • "Supply Chains: Tightening the Links"
  • "Stress Management"
  • "The Use of 'Lean' in Local Government"
  • "Strategic Thinking: The Ten Big Ideas"
  • "The New Practice of Global Product Development"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Measuring Lean Success
• August 2006 (HTML format)
  • "A Classification Scheme for the Process Industry to Guide the Implementation of Lean"
  • "Service With a Smile"
  • "Answering the Call"
  • "Fix the Process, Not the People"
  • "The New Science of Sales Force Productivity"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Lean Maintenance
• July 2006 (HTML format)
  • "Proactive People Management: One Key to Lean Success"
  • "CEO's Guide to Six Sigma Success"
  • "Lean, Mean, Six Sigma Machines"
  • "Managerial Accounting and Continuous Improvement Initiatives: A Retrospective and Framework"
  • "Where's the Magic?"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Fresh Evolutions in Continuous Process Improvement
• June 2006 (HTML format)
  • "How Human Resource Departments Can Help Lean Transformation"
  • "How Right Should the Customer Be?"
  • "Steelcase: Learning How to Implement Customer-Focused Enterprise-Wide Lean"
  • "Building a Vigorous Working Culture"
  • "5S at Deceuninck North America's Monroe Site: Sustaining and Improving the Gains"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Implementing Change with First Level Leaders
• May 2006 (HTML format)
  • "Value Stream Mapping"
  • "Mistakes"
  • "The Use of Humor in the Workplace"
  • "Your Loyalty Program is Betraying You"
  • Book Review: "Improving the Extended Value Stream: Lean for the Entire Supply Chain"
  • From GP Deltapoint: More on Value Stream Mapping
• April 2006 (HTML format)
  • "Making Six Sigma Last"
  • "How to Prevent Your Customers from Failing"
  • "Sustainability and 'Lean Operations'"
  • "Your Loyalty Program is Betraying You"
  • Book Review: "The Toyota Product Development System: Integrating People, Process, and Technology"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Lies, Damnable Lies and Statistics
• March 2006 (HTML format)
  • "America's Most Admired Companies"
  • "Using Strategic Performance Measurements to Accelerate Lean Performance"
  • "Manage Complaints to Enhance Loyalty"
  • "Rapid Knowledge Transfer: The Key to Success"
  • "Training Top 100"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Further Thinking on Strategic Performance Measures
• February 2006 (HTML format)
  • "How Constraints Management Enhances Lean and Six Sigma"
  • "Analyzing Value Streams"
  • "Toyota's Other System—This One for Product Development"
  • "Connect and Develop: Inside Procter & Gamble's New Model for Innovation"
  • "How to Implement a New Strategy without Disrupting Your Organization"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Eliminating Constraints, Enhancing Flow, Improving Quality (ToC, Lean, Six Sigma)
• January 2006 (HTML format)
  • "Six Sigma and the Mobile Workforce"
  • "Lean Extended"
  • "Using Commitments to Manage Across Units"
  • "Work Lean to Control Costs"
  • "Achieving Excellence in Global Sourcing"
  • From GP Deltapoint: A More Coherent Approach to Lean and Six Sigma
• December 2005 (HTML format)
  • "How to Delight Your Customers"
  • "Leadership and the Lean Transformation"
  • "Aligning Organizational Processes With Mission: The Case of Service Excellence"
  • "Getting Serious About Performance Management"
  • "Up to Code: Does Your Company's Conduct Meet World-Class Standards?"
  • From GP Deltapoint: The Key Predictor of Successful Transformations
• November 2005 (HTML format)
  • "The U.S. Manufacturing Landscape: A Summary of Results from the 2005 IW/MPI Census of Manufacturers"
  • "Six Sigma: Maximize the Benefits"
  • "29 Organizations That Leverage Learning to Achieve Amazing Results"
  • Book Review—The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes
  • From GP Deltapoint: Value Stream Mapping: Maximize the Benefits
• October 2005 (HTML format)
  • "The Hard Side of Change Management"
  • "Successful by Design"
  • "Four Strategies for the Age of Smart Services"
  • Book Review—Lean Solutions: How Companies and Customers Can Create Value and Wealth Together
  • From GP Deltapoint: Further Thoughts on Change
• September 2005 (HTML format)
  • "Let It Rip"
  • "Valuable Building Blocks"
  • "6 Ways to Benefit from Customer Complaints"
  • "Does Six Sigma Work in Service Organizations?"
  • "Sailing the Seven C's"
  • "Lean at NUMMI"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Meeting our Goals
• August 2005 (HTML format)
  • "The Bain 2005 Management Tool Survey"
  • "Scorecarding in North America: Moving Toward a Best-Practices Framework, Part 1"
  • "Principles for User Design of Customized Products"
  • "Industry Group Says Lean Practitioner Program Will Be Most Rigorous Effort of Its Kind"
  • "Cream of the Crops" (Industry Week's 50 Best US Manufacturers)
• July 2005 (HTML format)
  • "The Art of Making Change Initiatives Stick"
  • "Manage Your Human Sigma"
  • "In Good Company"
  • "Making R&D Lean"
  • "Why Major Lean Transformations Have Not Been Sustained"
  • From GP Deltapoint: People and Change
• June 2005 (HTML format)
  • "Six Sigma Safety"
  • "The Coming Commoditization of Processes"
  • "Clean House With Lean 5S"
  • "Shrinking Core, Expanding Periphery: The Relational Architecture of High-Performing Organizations"
  • "Shingo Prize Honors Lean Manufacturers"
  • From GP Deltapoint: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5S, 6 Sigma: The Allure of Steps
• May 2005 (HTML format)
  • "Resizing the Organization: Maximizing the Gain While Minimizing the Pain of Layoffs, Divestitures, and Closings"
  • "New Developments in Performance Management"
  • "Implementing Successful Kanbans"
  • "Managers—The Missing Link in the Reward Change Process"
  • "Your Company's Secret Change Agents"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Change Agents
• April 2005 (HTML format)
  • "Guarding the Line"
  • "The Quest for Customer Focus"
  • "The 10 Procurement Pitfalls"
  • "Beyond Best Practice"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Benchmarking, Best Practices, and Root Causes
• March 2005 (HTML format)
  • "America's Most Admired Companies"
  • "Lean Consumption"
  • "The Optimas Awards 2005"
  • "Metrics for Innovation: Guidelines for Developing a Customized Suite of Innovation Metrics"
  • "Six Sigma's Seven Deadly Sins"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Further Lean Lessons
• February 2005 (HTML format)
  • "Strategic Sourcing from Periphery to the Core"
  • "Getting New Hires Up to Speed Quickly"
  • "Integrated Pay for Performance: The High-Tech Marriage of Compensation and Performance Management"
  • "Leadership Group Coaching in Action: The Zen of Creating High Performance Teams"
  • "Learning Versus Performance Goals: When Should Each Be Used?"
  • From GP Deltapoint: A System to Bridge From Ability to Performance
• January 2005 (HTML format)
  • "The 100 Best Companies to Work For"
  • "Building Deep Supplier Relationships"
  • "Building a Successful Balanced Scorecard Program"
  • "How Delphi Went Lean"
  • "The Role of Psychological Well-Being in Job Performance: A Fresh look at an Age-Old Quest"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Tools to Assist in Building Deep Supplier Relationships
• December 2004 (HTML format)
  • "Managing a Downsizing Process"
  • "Linking Goals to Monetary Incentives"
  • "Managing Responsibility: What Can Be Learned from the Quality Movement?"
  • Running Today's Factory: A Proven Strategy for Lean Manufacturing
• November 2004 (HTML format)
  • "Six Sigma for the Little Guy"
  • "Achieving Full-Cycle Cost Management"
  • "CRM Done Right"
  • "Creating a Volume-Flexible Firm"
  • "Nature Times Nurture: How Organizations Can Optimize Their People's Contributions"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Six Sigma as Part of a Toolkit
• October 2004 (HTML format)
  • "The Big Leagues"
  • "The Value of Vision"
  • "Toward Culture Intelligence: Turning Cultural Advantage into a Workplace Advantage"
  • "The 5 P's of Change: Leading Change by Effectively Utilizing Leverage Points Within an Organization"
  • "The Top 24"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Leading Change: Navigation Principles for the Transformation Journey
• September 2004 (HTML format)
  • "Lean Six Sigma Leads Xerox"
  • "Diversity as Strategy"
  • "Six Principles for Designing the Accountable Organization"
  • "All in Favor Say 'Benchmark!'"
  • "The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles From the World's Greatest Manufacturer"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Practical Application of the Toyota Way
• August 2004 (HTML format)
  • "Improving Competitiveness Through Non-Value-Added Activity Analysis"
  • "How to Lead a Self-Managing Team"
  • "'Lean' and the Toyota Production System"
  • "The Building Blocks of Service Excellence"
  • "Ten Steps to Lean Production; Steps 9 and 10: Pokayoke, Autonomation and Computer Integrated Manufacturing"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Four Stages of Manufacturing Improvement
• July 2004 (HTML format)
  • "Managing the Life Cycle of Virtual Teams"
  • "Lean at Wiremold: Beyond Manufacturing, Putting People Front and Center"
  • "Co-Creating Unique Value With Customers"
  • "Select Company"
  • "Promise and Peril in Implementing Pay-For-Performance"
  • From GP Deltapoint: What makes a "Best Plant?"
• June 2004 (HTML format)
  • "Capitalizing on Capabilities"
  • "Achieving Deep Customer Focus"
  • "Effective White-Collar Teams: The New Quality Imperative"
  • "Developing a Performance-Based Culture"
  • "Shingo Prizes Presented to Lean Manufacturers"
  • "P&G: Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks"
  • "Lean Manufacturing: Unexpected Benefits for Accident Prevention"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Quantifying and Improving Human Performance
• May 2004 (HTML format)
  • "Learning to Lead at Toyota"
  • "Can Absence Make a Team Grow Stronger?"
  • "Leveraging TPM to the Corporate Bottom Line"
  • "The Adoption of High-Involvement Practices and Processes in Emergent and Developing Firms: A Descriptive and Prescriptive Approach."
  • "The 10 Steps in Lean Production. Step Five: Refining the Lean Production System"
  • "The 10 Steps in Lean Production. Steps Six and Seven: Inventory and Production Control Via Kanban"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Further Concepts From Spear on the Toyota Production System
• April 2004 (HTML format)
  • "The Ambidextrous Organization"
  • "Lean Manufacturing: The 3rd Generation"
  • "The Optimas Awards 2004"
  • "Becoming an Effective Teaming Organization"
  • "Deep Change: How Operational Innovation Can Transform Your Company"
  • "Six Sigma In Sight"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Application Across the Organization
• March 2004 (HTML format)
  • "America's Most Admired Companies"
  • "Ties That Bind"
  • "Six Sigma... at a Bank?"
  • "The 2004 Training Top 100"
  • "Getting Engaged"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Hoshin Kanri and Its Cousins
• February 2004 (HTML format)
  • "Avoiding Repetitive Change Syndrome"
  • "Measuring the Strategic Readiness of Intangible Assets"
  • "The 10 Steps to Lean Production; Step Four: Reliability Through Integrating Preventive Maintenance"
  • "The 100 Best Companies to Work For"
  • "Managing Organizational Forgetting"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Finding the Six Losses
• January 2004 (HTML format)
  • "Beyond Success: Achieving Synergy in Teamwork"
  • "The One Number You Need to Grow"
  • "Lean Manufacturing: Designing the Cell"
  • "The Limits of Structural Change"
  • "The Metrics Maze"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Metrics That Drive World Class Performance
• December 2003 - not published
• November 2003 (HTML format)
  • "The 10 Steps to Lean Production"
  • "Work Cells with Staying Power: Lessons for Process-Complete Operations"
  • "Reward Practices and Performance Management System Effectiveness"
  • "Remanufacturing: The Next Great Opportunity for Boosting US Productivity"
  • "Targeting Perfection"
  • From GP Deltapoint: SMEx: Rapid Changeover in the Office
• October 2003 (HTML format)
  • "Living the Good Life"
  • "The Lean Service Machine"
  • "The Eight Rings of Organizational Influence: How to Structure Your Organization for Successful Change"
  • "Dysfunctional Performance Through Dysfunctional Measures"
  • "Downsizing Outcomes: Better a Victim Than a Survivor?"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Top Notch Organization as a Foundation for World Class
• September 2003 (HTML format)
  • "The Quest for Resilience"
  • "Leading by Leveraging Culture"
  • "The Seven Deadly Sins of Quality Management"
  • "Refocusing Performance Management for High Performance"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Standards and the Standardization Loop
• August 2003 (HTML format)
  • "At Raytheon Six Sigma Works, Too, to Improve HR Management Processes"
  • "Why Companies Flunk Supply-Chain 101: Only 33 Percent Correctly Measure Supply-Chain Performance; Few Use the Right Incentives"
  • "Managing Human Capabilities"
  • "When Worlds Collide: Culture Clash"
  • "Gain a Competitive Edge by Preventing Recalls"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Theory Into Practice: Our Work to Avoid Ineffectual Implementations
• July 2003 (HTML format)
  • "Do Teams and Six Sigma Go Together?"
  • "Road to Excellence"
  • "An Examination of the Relationships Between JIT and Financial Performance"
  • "The Relationship Between Total Quality Management Practices and Their Effects on Firm Performance"
  • "Developing Versatile Leadership"
  • "Nature vs. Nurture"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Maintaining Your Lead Through Audits
• June 2003 (HTML format)
  • "Building a Customer Satisfaction System: Effective Listening When the Customer Speaks"
  • "Beyond the Balanced Scorecard: Refining the Search for Organizational Success Measures"
  • "Implementing Lean Principles with the Six Sigma Advantage: How a Battery Company Realized Significant Improvements"
  • "Implementing Lean Principles with the Six Sigma Advantage: How a Battery Company Realized Significant Improvements"
  • "The Empathetic Organization"
• May 2003 - not published
• April 2003 (HTML format)
  • "Ensuring Optimal Success With Six Sigma Implementations"
  • "Work Redesign and Performance Management in Times of Downsizing"
  • "Create a Lean, Mean Machine"
  • "Ten Principles of Collaborative Organizations"
  • "The Supply Chain Management Effect"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Six Sigma By Any Other Name
• March 2003 (HTML format)
  • "America's Most Admired Companies"
  • "How to Set Up a Predictive Maintenance Program"
  • "The 2003 Training Top 100"
  • "Dramatically Reducing Cycle Times Through Flash Development"
  • "Designing Learning Organizations"
  • "Workforce Optimas Awards 2003"
• February 2003 (HTML format)
  • "Lean Manufacturing: Context, Practice Bundles, and Performance"
  • "The Principles of High Performance—And How to Apply Them"
  • "Study Finds That Knowledge of Pay Process Can Beat Out Amount of Pay in Employee Retention, Organizational Effectiveness"
  • "Who's Bringing You Hot Ideas and How Are You Responding?"
  • "Six Steps to Integrating Complaint Data into QA Decisions"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Operational Excellence Requires a Holistic System
• January 2003 (HTML format)
  • "Understand Customer Behavior and Complaints"
  • "The Need for Speed"
  • "How to Motivate Your Problem People"
  • "Tactical Implementation: The Devil Is in the Details"
  • Book Review—Strategic Six Sigma: Best Practices From the Executive Suite
• December 2002 (HTML format)
  • "Demand Chain Management in Manufacturing and Services: Web-Based Integration, Drivers and Performance"
  • "Excessive Change: Coping Mechanisms and Consequences"
  • "Leader Rebound: How Successful Managers Bounce Back from the Tests of Adversity"
  • "Capabilities for Managing a Portfolio of Supplier Relationships"
  • "Models for Organizational Self-Assessment"
  • From GP Deltapoint: When A Thousand Words Gives You The Picture
• November 2002 (HTML format)
  • "10 Process Improvement Lessons for Leaders"
  • "Five Challenges to Virtual Team Success: Lessons from Sabre, Inc."
  • "Cellular Manufacturing for Small Businesses: Key Cultural Factors That Impact the Conversion Process"
  • "Strategies for Responsible Restructuring"
  • Book Review—Value Stream Management: Eight Steps to Planning, Mapping, and Sustaining Lean Improvements
  • From GP Deltapoint: New Product Development
• October 2002 (HTML format)
  • "Straight to the Top"
  • "Open-Market Innovation"
  • "The Best & Worst Boards"
  • "Seven Keys to Improving Customer Satisfaction Programs"
  • "Rebuilding Employee Trust"
  • Book Review—Lean Six Sigma: Combining Six Sigma Quality with Lean Speed
  • From GP Deltapoint: Total Six Sigma Implementation and Culture Change
• September 2002 (HTML format)
  • "Corporate U's: High Value or Hot Air?"
  • "The High Cost of Lost Trust"
  • "When Two (or More) Heads are Better than One: The Promise and Pitfalls of Shared Leadership"
  • "Knowledge Management: Philosophy, Processes, and Pitfalls"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Benchmarking

QUICK Archives

You can download older issues of QUICK as zipped Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files by clicking on the links below.

• August 2002 (52KB zipped PDF)
  • "Global Leadership from A to Z: Creating High Commitment Organizations"
  • "Should Your Firm Adopt a Mass Customization Strategy?"
  • "Making Incentives Pay"
  • "Corporate Boards: Keys to Effectiveness"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Gaining Customer Insight
• July 2002 (55KB zipped PDF)
  • "Factories of the Future Part Three: Plant-Floor Strategy"
  • "The Customer Service Revolution"
  • "How Top Management Steers Fast Cycle Teams to Success"
  • "DuPont: Safety Starts at the Top"
  • "The Mismanagement of Customer Loyalty"
  • "Make Your Values Mean Something"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Highlight on Lean Measures: Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• June 2002 (56KB zipped PDF)
  • "Steelcase Learns How Teamwork Evolves Effectively Under Lean Production"
  • "Speed Merchants"
  • "Managing the Total Customer Experience"
  • "Factories of the Future Part Two: Integrated Product Development"
  • "The People Who Make Organizations Go - or Stop"
  • From GP Deltapoint: 5S: Foundation for Operational Excellence
• May 2002 (58KB zipped PDF)
  • "Emotion in the Workplace: The New Challenge for Managers"
  • "Read a Plant - Fast"
  • "Don't Measure Customer Satisfaction"
  • "Factories of the Future: Strategic Design"
  • "Why Companies Fail"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Rapid Improvement as a Component of Operational Excellence
• April 2002 (57KB zipped PDF)
  • "Customers As Innovators: A New Way to Create Value"
  • "Getting Down to Brass Tacks"
  • "Shifting to Lean Service: Stealing a Page from Manufacturers' Playbooks"
  • "The 2002 Training Top 100"
  • "It Might Not Be Your Product"
  • From GP Deltapoint: Achieving Competitive Excellence Requires a System
• March 2002 (68KB zipped PDF)
  • "Do You Have a Well-Designed Organization?"
  • "America's Most Admired Companies"
  • "Rip the Band-Aid Off Quickly"
  • "Workforce Optimas Awards 2002"
  • Book Review—Reorganizing the Factory: Competing Through Cellular Manufacturing
  • From GP Deltapoint: Achieving Improved Safety through Practicing Five S
• February 2002 (56KB zipped PDF)
  • "The 100 Best Companies to Work For"
  • "Avoid the Four Perils of CRM"
  • "New Business Development at DuPont"
  • "Are You Sure You Have a Strategy?"
  • "Retention in Tough Times"
• January 2002 (55KB zipped PDF)
  • "Strategies for Managing Internal Competition"
  • "Process Management and the Future of Six Sigma"
  • "Delivering Excellent Service: Lessons From the Best Firms"
  • "Getting It Right the Second Time"
  • "Design for Six Sigma: 15 Lessons Learned"
• December 2001 (59KB zipped PDF)
  • "Mastering Six Sigma"
  • "Reward and Organizational Systems Alignment: An Expert System"
  • "Untangling the Myths of 360: Straight Talk for Successful Outcomes"
  • "How HR Drives Profits"
  • "Total Six Sigma in Action"
  • Book Review—Manufacturing Operations and Supply Chain Management: The LEAN Approach
• November 2001 (54KB zipped PDF)
  • "How to Lose Your Star Performer Without Losing Customers Too"
  • "Start with the Customer"
  • "Reality Check"
  • Book Review—Lean Manufacturing for the Small Shop
• October 2001 (54KB zipped PDF)
  • "Must Accidents Happen? Lessons From High-Reliability Organizations"
  • "Shattering Expectations"
  • "A Learning Based Approach to Organizational Change: Some Results and Guidelines"
  • "The Customer Pyramid: Creating and Serving Profitable Customers"
• September 2001 (54KB zipped PDF)
  • "The Superefficent Company"
  • "What You Don't Know About Making Decisions"
  • "Journey to the Baldrige"
  • "Maintenance's New Player: The CIO"
  • Book Review—Making Six Sigma Last: Managing the Balance Between Cultural and Technical Change
• August 2001 (59KB zipped PDF)
  • "Benchmarking - Learning from the Best and Changing Culture"
  • "Can Pay for Performance Really Work?"
  • "It's Not Just About the Numbers"
  • "Managing Supplier Improvement in Process Improvement in Manufacturing"
  • "Follow the Leaders"
  • Book Review—Leading the Lean Initiative: Straight Talk on Cultivating Support and Buy-in
• July 2001 (54KB zipped PDF)
  • "Share Best Practices Globally"
  • "Lead for Loyalty"
  • "Enabling Customization Using Standardized Operations"
  • "Lessons Learned"
  • "How to Develop an Organization Capable of Sustained High Performance"
• June 2001 (96KB zipped PDF)
  • "Management Tools and Techniques: A Survey"
  • "Learning From Mistakes"
  • "Data to Knowledge: Building an Analytic Capacity"
  • "Managing Organizational Competencies for Competitive Advantage: The Middle-Management Edge"
  • Book Review—Practical TPM: Successful Equipment Management at Agilent Technologies
• May 2001 Bonus Issue (98KB zipped PDF)
  • "Applying Lean Manufacturing Principles to Marketing"
  • "Capturing Financial Benefits From Six Sigma"
  • "The Limits of Mass Customization"
  • "IBM's Successful Customer Satisfaction Strategy"
  • "Innovation As a Core Competency"
• May 2001 (94KB zipped PDF)
  • "Machete Time: In a Cost-Cutting War with Nissan, Toyota Leans on Suppliers"
  • "Seamless Integration of Lean and Six Sigma"
  • "The Seven Principles of Cost Management"
  • "The Old Pillars of New Retailing"
  • Book Review—Winning Score: How to Design and Implement Organizational Scorecards
• April 2001 (97KB zipped PDF)
  • "How Do They Know Their Customers So Well?"
  • "Effective Process Improvement Developing Poka-Yoke Processes"
  • "Optimas 2001"
  • "Japanese Supply Chain Relationships in Recession"
  • "Training Top 50"
• March 2001 Bonus Issue (96KB zipped PDF)
  • "Japanese Automakers, U.S. Suppliers, and Supply Chain Superiority"
  • "Control Your Inventory in a World of Lean Retailing"
  • "A Ford Redesign"
  • "Best By Any Measure"
  • Book review—Value Stream Management: Strategy and Excellence in the Supply Chain
• March 2001 (94KB zipped PDF)
  • "Envisioning a Culture of Contribution"
  • "America's Most Admired Companies"
  • "Measure for Six Sigma Success"
  • "High-Performing, Loyal Employees"
• February 2001 Bonus Issue (96KB zipped PDF)
  • "Toyota's New Challenge"
  • "Changing Dynamics: How Workforce Culture Can Boost Corporate Performance"
  • "Amid the Turmoil, A Rare Success at DaimlerChrysler"
  • "Getting the Most From Your B2B-Enabled Supply Chain"
  • "Right Process, Right Product"
• January 2001 (113KB zipped PDF)
  • "The World's Most Admired Companies"
  • "Lean Manufacturing Conversion"
  • "Six Levers for Managing Organizational Culture"
  • "Individualizing the Organization"
  • "The Six Sigma Way"