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Specialists Kill Innovation

7 February, 2018 by James Lawther 1 Comment

The Odd One Out

Organisations want innovation I’m not sure that statement is strictly true. Organisations say they want innovation, but the status quo is a very comfortable, unthreatening place to be. Organisations need innovation Maybe that is more realistic. If you don’t evolve and adapt whilst those around you are, then you are unlikely to survive. Innovation comes […]

Filed Under: Blog, Wild Cards Tagged With: beliefs, command and control, innovation

There Are Lies, Damned Lies and Descriptive Statistics

1 February, 2018 by James Lawther 7 Comments

Anscombe’s quartet Here are some interesting numbers for you. Interesting in a geeky sort of way… They are 4 sets of readings for two variables, X and Y. That is a horribly algebraic. It brings back memories of a comprehensive school deep in the 1980’s. All polyester blazers and fermenting gym kit. Let me bring the […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: Anscombe's quartet, average, data is not information, gemba, key performance indicators, management by wandering around

The One Place You Should Excel

25 January, 2018 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Excellence Managers talk a lot about excellence.  It monopolises their communication. They rattle on about: Being best of breed Transcending the top quartile Utilising best practice Becoming best-in-class, world-class and maybe even intergalactic-class I’m sure you have heard something similar along the way. But it is only talk There are a handful of problems with […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: best practice, rhetoric

Is Big Always Strategic?

15 January, 2018 by James Lawther 7 Comments

Bridge

The small project Today you (and I) will be confronted by a handful of “small projects”.  Things that you could nail down within a couple of weeks.  Small things that will make your business work better.  Perhaps you could: Free up some space on the servers to make them run more efficiently. Draw up a […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: continuous improvement, project management, strategy, test and learn

Myopic Management

8 January, 2018 by James Lawther 2 Comments

Myopic Management

The quick fix Managers are problem solvers. We spend our days finding issues and fixing them: We solve the problem of low sales by offering discounts. We solve the problem of high costs by cutting budgets. We solve the problem of poor quality by extra inspection. Our time is filled with discrete problem after discrete […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: accountability, blame, collaboration, command and control, objective setting, point optimisation, roles and responsibilities

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