Forging with dissent
Do you remember the scene in Animal House when Stork redirects the band during the parade? Under the direction of Marion Wormer, he takes...
top of page
- Feb 26
- 5 min
A problem brought to you may not need your help to solve.
My mother, sister, and I were conversing recently through Facetime while sipping on our coffee-flavored coffee of choice. And as mothers...
- Feb 5
- 5 min
What the water does is what counts.
Read any report, and the collateral damage of COVID can be seen and felt everywhere. Read research on COVID’s impact on workplace morale,...
- Dec 4, 2022
- 6 min
I had missed why I need to vacation
With the end of the year coming, there are a variety of staples that seem to exist year after year in the manufacturing world. We...
- Nov 20, 2022
- 3 min
This training is boring, so let's rip it up.
Like many people, I would have to imagine that most of us get sick of the same stagnant training approach that has been in place for what...
- Nov 13, 2022
- 4 min
Empowerment sure sounds like the power formula
Within organizations, we routinely hear the notion that we want our organization empowered to make decisions. This could be identified in...
- Sep 11, 2022
- 4 min
Conforming to wrong is wrong
In the 1950s Solomon Asch conducted a social experiment referred to as the Solomon Asch - Conformity Experiment. It was an experiment to...
- Aug 28, 2022
- 5 min
Yup, I did my first TikTok to explore the effectiveness of training videos.
Regardless of the type of manufacturing that we are in, it is safe to assume that we have plenty of standard operating procedures (SOPs)....
- Aug 14, 2022
- 4 min
A crispy approach to dehydration
Manufacturing and summertime mean one thing, it’s hot. Most people might complain about how hot it is after mowing a quarter-acre yard in...
- Aug 7, 2022
- 4 min
The impact of "when" recognition is given on retention
There are various data points and case studies on the benefits of recognition. Whether it is a form of financial recognition to an entire...
- Jul 31, 2022
- 6 min
Let's stop people from dying immediately after retirement.
The heavy manufacturing industry is tough and is not a career that many would embrace. Too often the career is compounded with long...
- Jul 26, 2022
- 4 min
I forgot. What do you do after a conference?
I assume most attendees of organizations are required to that write some form of “trip report” that reflects on the take-aways of a...
- Jul 17, 2022
- 4 min
You just drifted. Stay focused.
Organizations are becoming more connected than ever before with the complete office packages of Microsoft or Google. We can work on...
- Jul 10, 2022
- 4 min
Smile. Let's see those estimates.
Finding things in everyday life that empower you to evaluate statistics or theorize estimates on a scenario has always been fun for my...
- May 24, 2022
- 4 min
Concierge, we need ice under the overhead crane please.
Summertime brings beaches, vacations, warm air, and outages. Outages, for some of us, are the time of year when we shut down assets and...
- May 1, 2022
- 3 min
Congratulations for what?
Saturdays and Sundays are my days to slow down and write. I dedicate roughly two hours to reading, writing, and reflecting on the...
- Apr 24, 2022
- 5 min
Valuation of improving the non-bottleneck.
In a process flow optimization or value stream mapping project, the organization is seeking the ideal process steps that will maximize...
- Feb 28, 2022
- 2 min
What is operational empathy? Part 2.
Before getting into the definition of operational empathy as a continuation of Part 1, I want to describe a mindset that we realized we...
- Feb 20, 2022
- 2 min
What is operational empathy? Part 1.
A decade ago, I was part of a team training Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) to a group of middle and upper management. The audience...
- Feb 15, 2022
- 5 min
The Burden of Weekend Work Doesn't Always Start with an Action on Friday.
I have been told multiple times over my career, “Don’t send me a notification to approve something on a weekend.” Or do not send an...
bottom of page