newsletter archive.

(Previously published under the title Extreme Profits
under ISSN 1925-8941)

Mary Colak Mary Colak

Powerhouses of motivation, no place for dead ideas

The best tool for motivating teams to complete projects is the project charter. In fact, when all else fails, this simple tool helps teams get over project plateaus.

At its heart, the project charter is an essential ingredient in the "define" phase of any Lean project. It sets the stage for how the project and its outcomes will be measured, analyzed, improved and controlled.

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Mary Colak Mary Colak

Critically creative, restraining the free spirit

s critical thinking important in solving problems? I'm sure you'd agree with me that it is. But did you know that creative thinking could probably be just as, if not more important for this purpose?

When you have a problem, what do you do? Chances are that you try to think of a solution. But thinking about a solution without first defining the true problem is not effective. Certainly you'll come up with many ideas all worthy as solutions, but will implementing the ideas solve the problem? Let me give you an example.

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