2009 Management Improvement Carnival

By Kevin Meyer

Evolving Excellence is proud to be part of the 2009 Management Improvement Carnival, coordinated by John Hunter at Curious Cat.  Several of us are reviewing a variety of 2009's best posts from some of the best blogs.  Links to all carnival participants and the summary can be found here.

This year we'll be taking a look back in time at TimeBack Management, Lean Six Sigma Academy, Curious Cat Management Improvement, A Lean Journey, and Stats Made Easy.

Let's start with Dan Markovitz' TimeBack Management.

• Standardized Work: The Source of Creativity – There is often a perceived conflict between structure and creativity, especially with knowledge work.  Dan describes how standardization can actually create the ability to be more creative.
• The Calendar as Kanban – Using the calendar as your scheduling tool, instead of LIFO email processing, can make you more effective and organized.
• Visual Management, Production Schedules, and the Tyranny of the Urgent – It is very critical to consciously schedule time for improvement.

Now on to Ron Pereira's Lean Six Sigma Academy.

• Seven Practical Ways to Respect People – A favorite topic of ours as well, as most supposed lean-oriented companies completely forget this second pillar.  Here are some ways to truly respect people every day.
• The Complete Meaning of Shitsuke – No it's not a mushroom, but Ron gives some thought to the importance of using Japanese lean terminology.
• Knowledge and Thinking – Lean and six sigma, can't we just get along?

And of course John Hunter himself at carnival coordinator Curious Cat Management Improvement.

• No More Executive Bonuses! – More commentary on Henry Mintzberg's article on bad compensation systems.
• Five Managerial Fallacies Concerning Layoffs – Layoffs should be the last resort, not the first.
• Management by IT Crowd Bosses – How often do we see this?  Find an ineffective tool and then have it forced on us?

Scooting over to Tim McMahon over at A Lean Journey.

• No Fat Behavior Please – Why hasn’t the concept of waste been extended to the behaviors of individuals and groups within the workplace?
• The Rudolph Factor and the Eighth Waste – Finding and nurturing the stars that will drive change in your organization.
• Sustainability – Ten Factors for Making a Culture Change Stick – Keep an eye on these factors to avoid slipping backwards.

And finally we have Mark Anderson's Stats Made Easy.

• New Math Sums Digits from Left to Right – Talk about teaching an old dog new tricks… or fundamental change?
• Experiments for School Now Safer, But Less Educational – Besides dumbing down experiments, isn't learning about safety also a worthwhile goal?
• An Ideal World: Ball Park Beer Cost Correlated Completely with Quality of Baseball – Unfortunately it's not… yet.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to pen your thoughts… and teach us all something new.