newsletter archive.

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

Mary Colak Mary Colak

Lean leaders, musts for leading lean

Did you know that companies undergoing Lean initiatives are successful in only five-to-seven percent of cases?

If your organization is undergoing a Lean transformation, this figure should give you pause.

Read More
Mary Colak Mary Colak

Team dynamics, balancing the team

While poor team dynamics can occur in any organization, Lean organizations want to avoid this occurrence at all costs. Why? Poor team dynamics can kill projects even before they start!

When working with a team, be it a focus group, Kaizen team, project team, or any type of group in between, prevention of maladaptive behaviour needs to start right at the beginning of the first meeting. Set the stage for effective teamwork with ground rules.

Read More
Mary Colak Mary Colak

Agent of change, dangers of kaizen blitzes

Even when the thing to be changed is an easy fix, change is a difficult process. This is because change interrupts the normal flow of work. It also takes time to see the benefits of change. Most people don't have the patience to wait for results.

But there is a way to realize rapid change: Engage staff in a Lean Kaizen event.

Read More
Mary Colak Mary Colak

Extra! Extra! Money, money

Are you the kind of person that cleans your house before the cleaning company arrives? Do you review a binder before (or after) giving it to your colleague for review? And, heck, who doesn't want to check three times to make sure the alarm system is on/off? In the real world, all of this probably happens, but it shouldn't; especially in the work place.

Read More