Blog Articles
Striving for Enterprise Excellence in Auckland Council Pools and Leisure
November 7, 2017 – Chris Butterworth, Louis Sylvester, Richard Steel
A Plan for All Aucklanders / TE MAHERE A TĀMAKI MAKAURAU – MĀ TE KATOA O TĀMAKI MAKAURAU The Auckland Plan is the strategy to make Auckland an even better place than it is now, and create the world’s most livable city. It shows how Auckland will prepare for the additional one million people they may have to accommodate by 20...
Read Full ArticleShingo Principles + Gritty Resilience = Sustaining a Learning and Improvement Culture in a Healthcare System
October 11, 2017 – Geoff Webster
“It’s hard work,” Dr. Richard Shannon, Executive Vice President of Health Affairs at the University of Virginia Health System, recently told the audience of healthcare leaders and performance improvement professionals at the Bay Area Performance Improvement Network (BAPIN) executive summit in Oakland, California. “You have to be res...
Read Full ArticleEmployee Survey Pitfalls
March 6, 2016 – Dominic Bria
Employee surveys can be useful tools that show organizations where gaps exist between employee perceptions and those of managers and leadership. There are several kinds of employee surveys available to leaders who want to measure various attitudes and perceptions their employees might hold. There are surveys that measure employee engageme...
Read Full ArticleCreate Constancy of Purpose
March 6, 2016 – Mark Baker
When I was a young mechanical engineer at Honda Motor Company, Mr. Honda was still alive and he used to always say, “Unless we have 100% of the people in the organization engaged in making the company better, we will never be able to realize our true potential.” I remember hearing this for the first time, and over the years I have found i...
Read Full ArticleHoshin Kanri: Translating “Big Vision” from Strategy to Execution
March 1, 2016 – Rick Edgemen
Part 1: Hoshin Kanri – Concept Origins Prior to World War II, the U.S. share of the world export market was approximately 30%. In the aftermath of World War II that share grew to more than 70% – a result of a generally healthy and educated workforce, as well as a U.S. infrastructure that remained largely untouched by the war. In contra...
Read Full Article24 Elements of Successful Organizational Change
October 14, 2015 – Mckinsey & Company
In this survey, we asked executives about 24 practical actions most important to the successful implementation of an organizational transformation. Below are the specific actions in order of their impact (from greatest to least) on the likelihood of a transformation’s success, according to the results. 1. Senior managers communicate op...
Read Full ArticleShingo Institute has a new Director of Research, Dr. Rick Edgeman
August 6, 2015 – the Shingo Institute
The Shingo Institute recently gained a new director of research. Rick Edgeman, Ph.D. joined the Shingo Institute at Utah State University in August 2015 as research director and clinical professor of management. His role at the Shingo Institute is to conduct studies and help us bridge the gap between scholarly knowledge and practical appl...
Read Full ArticleBest Ways for Manufacturers to Boost Employee Engagement
March 6, 2015 – Dominic Bria
One of the roles we play here at the Shingo Institute is that of a connector between practitioners of process improvement (by which I mean most of you) and scholars. The research done by scholars ought to answer questions asked by practitioners. Practitioners ought to use research (when feasible) as evidence on which to base their managem...
Read Full ArticleProcess Problems: Hidden Treasures, Part II
February 4, 2014 – Randy Cook and Allison Jenkins, McKinsey & Company
Most of the leaders we meet pride themselves on their problem-solving ability. But when we watch how they work, we often see them behaving instinctively rather than following a rigorous problem-solving approach. All too often they fail to define the real problem, rely on instinct rather than facts, and jump to conclusions rather than step...
Read Full ArticleProcess-Problems: Hidden Treasures, Part I
February 3, 2014 – Randy Cook and Alison Jenkins, McKinsey & Company
When a company engages its people in problem solving as part of their daily work, they feel more motivated, they do their jobs better, the organization’s performance improves, and a virtuous cycle starts to turn. Such an approach can tap enormous potential for the company and its customers. At one auto-parts manufacturer, each employee...
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