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Category Archives: Lean and Six Sigma
Does Automation Diminish Our Basic Skills?
Pilot Patrick Smith has another interesting article on cockpit automation and flight safety, something this blog has considered before. Has automation reduced pilots’ basic “stick and rudder” skills? His answer: “Probably, yes.” But the more interesting discussion is how automation … Continue reading
Posted in Good Lawyering, GTD, Lean and Six Sigma, Technology
Tagged automation, aviation, e-discovery
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The Aesthetics Of Order
Interesting and elegant conceptual photography from Ursus Wehrli: This video shows how one of the photos sets was made. Watch as the artist organizes a group of sunbathers, and all their gear, into well-ordered groups. Any lessons here? Organizing takes … Continue reading
Posted in GTD, Lean and Six Sigma
Tagged 5S, creativity, over-processing, Sort, Ursus Wehrli
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To Be Profitable: Focus On The Customer, Not Profits.
(updated below) I finally had the chance to watch the Steve Jobs presentation on the iPhone 4 antennae issue. You can watch it here. I was impressed by this statement in Job’s opening remarks: We want to make … all our users … Continue reading
Posted in Lean and Six Sigma, Technology
Tagged antennae, Apple, customer focus, iPhone, iPhone 4, principle centered leadership, profits, Stephen Covey, Steve Jobs, video
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The World’s Got Talent
Among the many ways the web has changed the world, I’d like to add one more. For me, at least, it’s engendered a greater appreciation for the variety and extent of human ability. Sure, some of what gets posted to … Continue reading
5 Things Science Tells Us About Motivation
What does science tell us about motivating people to do good work? Here’s an interesting ten minute video combining illustrations with a Daniel Pink lecture, and discussing five key findings: For rewarding simple straightforward tasks, money is a good motivator. When … Continue reading
Posted in Lean and Six Sigma
Tagged autonomy, compensation, Google, mastery, motivation, Netflix, purpose
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An Overflowing Inbox Is Not A Kanban System
From David Allen (no link available): It is a residue from the industrial and agricultural world, I think, when the things to be done were much more physically self-evident. The “piles” in most offices nowadays seem just meager attempts to … Continue reading
Posted in GTD, Lean and Six Sigma
Tagged continuous flow, David Allen, email, inbox zero, inputs, kanban
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When Does Choosing A Better Computer Become Wasteful?
No, I’m not referring to green computing devices. Though, apparently computers account for 2% of the world’s carbon emissions. I’m swapping my nearly four year-old PC notebook for a new 15″ MacBook Pro. Can you say upgrade? Like many buyers, … Continue reading
Posted in Lean and Six Sigma, Technology
Tagged Apple, computers, Mac, MacBook Pro, muda, over-processing, solid state drive, waste
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Guest Post At Lean Blog
I’m honored to have a guest post up today at at Mark Graban’s Lean Blog. My post is on seven ways lawyers can use Lean in their practices. Please stop on by! D. Mark Jackson
5 (Other) Reasons To Go To The Gemba
The gemba is the place where the work is done. Lean managers “go to the gemba” to see it for themselves (genchi genbustu). This might be done during a continuous improvement (kaizen) project. Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of spending … Continue reading
Posted in Lean and Six Sigma
Tagged communication, gemba, genchi genbutsu, kaizen, respect for people
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Over-processing: Too Much Of A Good Thing
Bruce MacEwen at Adam Smith, Esq. has an interesting post on how the views on quality held by corporate in-house legal counsel diverge from outside counsel. Referencing McKinsey, he divides quality into three segments and explains how he thinks corporate … Continue reading
Posted in Good Lawyering, Lean and Six Sigma
Tagged muda, over-processing, quality, waste
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