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Simple is the New Clever

30 December, 2013 by James Lawther 10 Comments

Management is about clarity But clarity is a rare gift… Most of us like to be more strategic in our communication… We love to look serious and feel clever… Nobody likes to sound simple We must penetrate the customer base vertically and horizontally If we reallocate our assets we can achieve synergy and benefit from […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: communication, complexity, Dilbert, management style, simplicity

Are You Too Clever for Your Own Good?

5 October, 2013 by James Lawther 10 Comments

Locked or Not

I travel a lot with work. It is not glamorous.  I’d love tell you that when I said I was in K.L. I meant Kuala Lumpur, but unfortunately it is far more likely to be Kings Lynn (for those of you who are not from the UK, Kings Lynn is sometimes, albeit unkindly, referred to […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: accident prevention, automation, complexity, East Midlands Trains, human nature, less is more, service design, simplicity

The Beauty of Low Tech

10 August, 2013 by Bernie Smith

low tech solution

This is a guest post I had my eyes tested at Specsavers a couple of weeks ago: I got my eye test, but not without three separate initiatives on my part and one wasted trip to the store. Too much technology All of this happened despite Specsavers having: Perhaps they had taken a leaf out […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: capital investment, constraints, error proofing, information technology, service design, simplicity

Lessons From Sherlock Holmes About Management Information

20 March, 2012 by James Lawther 4 Comments

Management Information and Sherlock Holmes

In Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel “A Study in Scarlet” Dr. Watson is amazed to discover that Sherlock Holmes doesn’t appreciate that the Earth spins around the Sun.  How could a man of such insight and intelligence be so, well, stupid? When challenged, Sherlock utters the immortal line: “What the deuce is it to me? … […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis Tagged With: data is not information, simplicity

What can Apple, Google and Amazon Teach You About Simplicity?

18 February, 2012 by James Lawther 9 Comments

There is a very big difference between simple and simplistic Google have a single box on their home screen.  Type something in it and you can access the world. Simple to use, but far from simplistic The iPhone has one button on the bottom and a screen that you navigate by touch.  Simple to use, […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: Amazon, Apple, complexity, Google, pareto principle, simplicity, video

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