Blog

Fabulous Formula to Speak Strong 0
- Leadership
- October 26, 2011
Good communication skills are essential for successful leadership. Recently, I have been reading a book on learning to communicate clearly by Meryl Runion called SpeakStrong. In her book Meryl shares her favorite formula for effective communication: “Say what you mean and mean what you say without being mean when you say it.” Meryl also shares
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Seven Strategies to Bridge the Communication Style Gap 0
- Guest Post
- October 25, 2011
While at the Northeast Shingo Prize Conference in Springfield, MA at the beginning of October I had the opportunity to meet Meryl Runion. Meryl gave a presentation on powerful communication. She calls herself the Kata Qween of Communication. The key she says is continuous communication improvement. Katas are practices to make that improvement a way of life.
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Does Your Company Measure Up? Using Metrics to Improve Performance Webinar Replayed 0
- Webinar
- October 24, 2011
It is hard to talk about making improvements without the conversation, at some point, turning to metrics. Used right, measuring processes in an organization can propel it forward. Used wrong, measurements can be disruptive and wasteful, and can crush morale. In this presentation from Tim McMahon and Jeff Hajek’s webinar series, you will learn some
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Lean Quote: Praise the Behavior Not the Person 0
- Lean Quote
- October 21, 2011
On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on
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Daily Lean Tips Edition #21 0
- Lean Tips
- October 19, 2011
For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips. It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to
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Lean Leadership: Lessons from Abe Lincoln 0
- Leadership, Lean Management
- October 18, 2011
Jerry Bussell, chairman of the Board of Governors of the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, gave a great presentation at the Northeast Shingo Prize Conference on Lean Leadership. Jerry a former vice president of a Fortune 200 company has done extensive research on leadership and is sought after for his insights. Are you looking for a
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Career Change is Hard 0
- A Lean Journey
- October 17, 2011
After over 13 years of work at a fiber optic manufacturing company I am making a change. Today, I start a new role in quality for an innovative technology company. I guess you could say my enthusiasm for continuous learning and my desire to make a difference go the best of me. It was finally
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Lean Quote: Legendary Advice From a True Visionary 0
- Lean Quote
- October 14, 2011
On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on
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Don’t Blame the Tools 0
- In the News
- October 12, 2011
At the Northeast Shingo Prize Conference last week my friend Jamie Flinchbaugh gave the closing keynote presentation. Jamie’s talk was about the role of the manager in problem solving. The role of the manager is not to solve all the problems but to build the systems capable of solving problems at every level. One of
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