There are often huge disparities in performance among rivals that are otherwise similar by the products and services they offer, the markets in which they compete.  Understanding and replicating the same phenomenon is the shared objective of lean, six sigma, TQM, process re engineering and the like.
The disparities in performance are across the board in [...]

A question came in: How do we define a QI project for those new to the experience?
Answer:
I strongly encourage you all to look at continuous improvement and the achievement of exceptional performance as the result of a holistic approach to managing complex operating systems and not something achieved by QI projects or particular production control [...]

The inability to maintain continuity with a firm’s efforts around continuous improvement, operational excellence, and broad based product and process innovation has to be tied, in part at least, to poor succession planning and process.
Be it the CEO or board, there must be some criteria of critical skills and capabilities that leadership candidates must posses [...]

In a meeting the other day, a bunch of senior leaders were debating the cost benefit of workforce training, time and money in process improvement, and the line item budgeting challenge of pursuing excellence in design, production, and delivery.
Big words, censorious tone, all the rest that gave the appearance of gravity to the discussion.
Finally, there [...]

Lean efforts are aplenty.  Rare are successful ones—characterized by sufficient improvement in the ability to create great value by delighting customers with best in class products and services, offered reliably and responsively to change, done affordably, and profitably.   Nearly unheard of are sustainable successes—characterized by success over years and waves of market change and leadership [...]