President Obama launched the SAVE award last year. The (nothing new) principle is that US government employees suggest ideas to save money. The first winner of the award was Nancy Fichtner whose idea for reusing medical supplies is expected to save $2 million p.a. So far President Obama has received nearly 40,000 ideas. This is […]
Savoir Faire
I watched a fascinating article about skiing. It showed how Olympians prepare their skis. Before each race they: 1. Strip the bottom of each ski to remove damage. 2. Etch on a special grooved pattern to allow water to dissipate. 3. Wax the ski, the type of wax is dependent upon the snow conditions. 4. […]
Silver Bullets
We have a fascination with big bets, wholesale system change, outsourcing deals, new facilities. We are rewarded for thinking strategically and pulling the big leavers; consequently we are always looking for silver bullets, the one change that will make everything more efficient. All operations are big machines that deal with materials, customers, employees and products. […]
Max your Meal
Many if not most business processes have two parts to them. First make a decision: – Should I hire this person? – Is this an acceptable payment? – Can I give this employee access to the system? Second carry out the actions: – Send an offer letter. – Reject the payment. – Provide a password. […]
One Half of One Percent
If I said the sum total of all your efforts today would make you 1/2 a percent better than you were first thing this morning, would you have bothered getting out of bed? Or would you have just rolled over and gone back to sleep? We like to be bold, think strategically and lay big […]