Attrition

One of the imperatives of any continuous improvement program is a commitment by the organization to protect jobs. If people don’t trust the company, they will be reluctant to do anything that will increase productivity. Obviously, if fewer people can do more, then there is a need for fewer people. Read more…

What is the Value of a Real Estate Agent?

Every spring, the earth comes to life. The flowers start blooming. The trees grow buds. And the ‘For Sale’ signs spring from front yards all around the neighborhood.

And every year it gets me thinking about Lean and the real estate purchasing process. First of all, it is far, far, far too complicated. But that is a topic for a different day. The topic today is about value. It has always been interesting to me that there is a fairly standardized rate for commissions on the sale of a home.  I cannot fathom that every agent …

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is the practice of sending work to another entity (a second company or an individual not employed by the outsourcing company). The main characteristic of outsourcing is that the work contains functions that, up until the outsourcing, had been done by the hiring company. In this manner, it differs Read more…

You don’t know how you are going to be evaluated now that you are Lean.

Everyone wants to be seen as being good at their jobs. When a company makes a change from an old way of doing business to a Lean way, the rules change. Team members can feel like the carpet was pulled out from under them. To regain a sense of security, they need to understand how they will be evaluated in their new continuous improvement oriented company.