The Squawk Point

Organisational Mechanics

  • Home
  • Blog
    • People
    • Data
    • Process
    • Wild Cards
    • Index
  • Podcast
  • Book

The Stop Button

6 April, 2014 by James Lawther 8 Comments

How does your stop button work? If you walk around a manufacturing plant you will see that every machine has a stop button. They are easy to spot.  They are big, round, red, attached to a bright yellow box and bear the legend STOP. Hit the stop button and the machine will come to an […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement, Tools & Techniques Tagged With: andon, best practice, customer focus, process control, rework

The Minimalist

3 April, 2014 by James Lawther 13 Comments

Simplicity

It does just what it says on the tin Have you noticed that the simplest things are often the best? Diamond earrings One line gags A stop sign Pencil drawings A wind up alarm clock Walking on the beach We love simple things, we love things that “do just what it says on the tin”. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: simplicity

Stranger Danger

16 March, 2014 by James Lawther 6 Comments

Stranger Danger

I play it safe On Thursday I spent all day in my boss’s team meeting.  I am a lucky man, I work with people I like… We see the world the same way We laugh at the same jokes We bitch about the same people (admit it, you do too) We moan about the same problems […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: beliefs, human nature, innovation, learning

Integrity

9 March, 2014 by James Lawther 7 Comments

two faced

ɪnˈtɛgrɪti/ noun the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles — synonyms: honour, sincerity, right-mindedness the state of being whole and undivided — synonyms: unity, coherence, togetherness, undividedness, togetherness, solidarity Have you ever met somebody who lacks integrity? How do they make you feel? Queasy? Ill at ease? Guarded? Stressed? Lack of integrity, it […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: integrity, motivation

Are You in Control?

23 February, 2014 by James Lawther 4 Comments

Bird Brain

Simple Birds It was half term last week. I took my children to North Norfolk. We explored sandy beaches, rolling countryside and panoramic skies.  It was as beautiful. The highlight was a walk across the salt marshes and the sight of a flock of startled geese scurrying across the sky.   How do the birds […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: complexity, incentives, process control, service design, tampering, targets

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • …
  • 52
  • Next Page »

Explore

accountability assumptions beliefs best practice blame bureaucracy capability clarity command and control communication complexity continuous improvement cost saving culture customer focus data is not information decisions employee performance measures empowerment error proofing fessing up gemba human nature incentives information technology innovation key performance indicators learning management style measurement motivation performance management poor service process control purpose reinforcing behaviour service design silo management systems thinking targets teamwork test and learn trust video waste

Receive Posts by e-Mail

Get the next post delivered straight to your inbox

Creative Commons

This information from The Squawk Point is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Creative Commons Licence
Customer Experience Update

Try This:

  • Fish Bone Diagrams – Helpful or Not?

  • Your Memories are Being Frozen

  • The Problem With Technology

  • The Big Problem With Systems Thinking

Connect

  • E-mail
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • YouTube
  • Cookies
  • Contact Me

Copyright © 2025 · Enterprise Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in