When we are faced with a problem, maybe a new competitor, a cost challenge, a product launch or simply a new job, we marshal our forces to deal with it. We reform our departments Shuffle our management teams Hire the right talent Politely ask those who aren’t performing to the standard we expect to leave. […]
Hot Chocolate Tastes Better in an Orange Mug
That is not a random provocative statement (though I am guilty of those on occasion) it is a scientifically proven fact. Charles Spence, of the University of Oxford and Betina Piqueras-Fiszman from the Polytechnic University of Valencia have statistically validated it. They served a group of people the same hot chocolate in white mugs, cream […]
Quality Control Doesn’t Work (and how to fix it)
Here is a bold statement, “inspection doesn’t work“; (literally bold). Yet every organisation I have ever worked for uses and pays for quality controllers. They can’t all be wrong can they? What makes me think I am so right? Maybe, if you read this I will convince you: The shadow illusion. Or perhaps this: Fooling […]
The Multi-Tasking Fallacy
I used to make sweets in a factory for a living. We obsessed about “set up time”. The amount of time it takes to switch from one product to another. Just think about it for a second, every time we switched from making a product with nuts to one without, maybe Snickers to Mars bars […]
Do You Need Lean Thinking?
The term “Lean Thinking” first came into use in 1996 when James Womack and Daniel Jones published their book of the same name. The book distilled their thoughts after studying the Toyota manufacturing business. A lean, waste free organisation. Since then, those first lean ideas have come on a long way. They are no longer […]