Posted by business901 on May 31, 2010
Jim Luckman has had the unique experience of leading three separate lean transformations, as a Plant Manager, as a Director of a Research and Development Center, and as a CEO of a small start-up company. During the podcast, we discussed Value Stream Mapping and delved into Value Stream Concepts as they applied to Lean and Agile Software Development. I found it interesting his take on the "Newer" Lean concepts and how they are viewed by a more traditional practitioner. 
Jim is the Past President and CEO of iPower Technologies, a company serving the distributed generation market of electrical power. Luckman has worked in the auto industry for 34 years working at Delphi Automotive (formerly part of General Motors). Jim current efforts include leadership coaching, application of lean in R&D and application of lean to software development. He currently coaches companies interested in company-wide lean transformation. Jim is a partner in Lean Transformations Group, LLC
Jim will be the instructor for this LEI Workshop in Indianapolis on June 22nd - Value-Stream Mapping for the Office and Service: This interactive workshop demonstrates how to apply value-stream mapping, a fundamental and critical tool, to address what many companies find difficult to do: making a fundamental change in business processes such as administrative, professional, and transactional activities. You will see how the key elements of lean thinking and value-stream mapping apply to such activities by identifying key processes to tackle, drawing an accurate current-state map of each process, applying lean principles to envision a leaner future-state for each process, and implementing the future-state in a way that can be sustained.
Related Information:
Learning to talk their talk helps you walk your walk! Lean Rock Stars assembled for Indy Management Workshop LEI Workshops 6 Lean Management Workshops for Indianapolis
Lean Transformations Group Website: http://lean-transform.com
Posted by business901 on May 24, 2010
My guest on the Business901 podcast was Tracey Richardson, president of Teaching Lean Inc.. She has over 22 years of experience in Toyota methodologies including: Lean Problem Solving, Quality Circles, Lean Manufacturing tools, Standardized Work, Job Instruction Training, Toyota Production System, Toyota Way Values, Culture Development, Visualization (Workplace Management Systems), Continuous Improvement (Kaizen), Meeting Facilitation/Teamwork, and Manufacturing Simulations. 
Tracey will be the instructor for two of the six Lean Enterprise Institute workshops June 22-24, 2010, in Indianapolis, IN. She will be facilitating Managing to Learn: The Use of the A3 Management Process and Lean Problem Solving workshops. This link will take you to the full list of Lean Management Workshops. The sessions, which will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis, address how to apply basic and more advanced lean concepts.
On occasion Tracey still works for Toyota as a contract consultant when specific needs are requested in Training and Development area. Her goal whether inside or outside of Toyota is to develop the capabilities of Team Members, Leadership, and Executives in Lean Thinking, that will align their role with the company business plan (Hoshin). These capabilities are vital to sustain a positive relationship between Leadership and team members ensuring mutual trust and respect within the company (Lean culture). Tracey is passionate about assisting Organizations or Companies who are on the “Lean journey” and wanting support implementing key elements for success.
Tracey’s Website: http://www.teachingleaninc.com
Lean Enterprise: http://www.lean.org
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Posted by business901 on May 17, 2010
David Anderson, author of the recent book,Kanban
appeared on the Business901 podcast and added 50 minutes of Kanban discussion. David covered a lot of ground in this discussion and answered a lot of questions for me that his book raised. David is a thought leader in managing highly effective software teams. He is President of David J. Anderson & Associates, based in Seattle, Washington, a management consulting firm dedicated to improving leadership in the IT and software development sectors.
David has been part of the agile and lean methodology movement since 1997 when he participated in the team that developed Feature Driven Development at United Overseas Bank in Singapore. He has 26 years experience in the software development starting in the computer games business in the early 1980’s. As a pioneer in the agile software movement David has managed teams at Sprint, Motorola and Corbis delivering superior productivity and quality. At Microsoft, in 2005, he developed the MSF for CMMI Process Improvement methodology - the first agile method to provide a comprehensive mapping to the Capability and Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) from the Software Engineering Institute (SEI).
His first book, Agile Management for Software Engineering: Applying the Theory of Constraints for Business Results
, published in 2003 by Prentice Hall, introduced many ideas from Lean and Theory of Constraints in to software engineering.
David can be found at AgileManagement.net
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Posted by business901 on May 10, 2010
Dr. Kai Yang was the guest on the Business901 Podcast. Our conversation addressed the message of his latest book, Voice of the Customer: Capture and Analysis (Six Sigma Operational Methods)
. I found it interesting that Dr. Yang has worked with Apple and questioned him about it. Black T's and blue jeans didn't seem like a cultural fit with Six Sigma. Listen to find our the how's and why's of Capturing and Analyzing Data, the Blue Ocean Strategy
of Apple and Dr. Yang's description of survey's and the practical example of a restaurant may surprise you. I actually listened to that part twice before I really understood what he meant.
Dr. Yang is a Professor in the department of Industrial and Manufacturing, Wayne State University. His areas of expertise include Six Sigma, statistical methods in quality and reliability engineering, lean product development, lean healthcare, and engineering design methodologies. He is a world well known expert in the area of Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma and quality for service and an author of five books in the areas of Design for Six Sigma, Six Sigma and, multivariate statistical methods. Prof. Yang’s book, Design for Six Sigma: A Roadmap for Product Development is an influential book that provides a framework to integrate both innovation methods, and traditional statistical quality assurance methods into the product development process. Dr Yang also published over 70 research papers.
He has been awarded over 40 research contracts from such institutions as US National Science Foundation, US Department of Veteran Affairs, Siemens Corp, General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Corporation and Siemens Corporation. Dr Yang is also a well-known trainer in the area of Six Sigma, lean, he conducted numerous training for many companies, such as Apple Inc and Siemens. Dr. Yang obtained both his MS and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan.
Related Posts: Six Sigma Search on Business901
Posted by business901 on May 5, 2010
Joan Friedlander, owner of Lifework Business Partners was my guest on the Business901 Podcast and we had the opportunity to discuss creating realistic and executable marketing plans for self-employed service business owners and key members of a business team. One of Joan’s specialties is working with Introverts and our conversation extended into using those introvert tendencies as an advantage in today’s business climate. 
Joan was my facilitator when I became a Get Clients NOW™ Facilitator and still offers the program and has a program starting on May 11th. She is an outstanding instructor and I have never met anyone that facilitates a teleseminar better. As a bonus, she had offered my listeners this download: 5- Steps to effective Follow-up.
Lifework business Partners works with solo-entrepreneurs and small business teams that are stretched to their limits. She works with them to improve effectiveness through a 3-pronged “workstyle approach:” focusing on high-priority outcomes, tapping into the key talents of each member of the team, and working in harmony with an individual’s unique “energy signature.”
Joan is a lifelong student of human potential and behavior. She enjoys playing in the game of business and, as she'll readily tell you, finds that's it's an excellent playground for personal growth, self-expression and learning. At the heart of her work is a purpose that she first articulated in her teen years, that all human beings have a right to pursue and engage in work that they enjoy, is satisfying & fun.
Before graduating with a degree in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley, Joan started studying alternative models for understanding and maximizing one's full potential. She brings her diverse business background - she held 21 jobs before launching her coaching business in late 2000 - and various studies to her work with her clients. Joan focuses on personal productivity and work-life balance issues.
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Posted by business901 on May 3, 2010
Tim Schipper and Mark Swets were my guests on the Business901 Podcast. They are the co-authors of Innovative Lean Development: How to Create, Implement and Maintain a Learning Culture Using Fast Learning Cycles
. I have been quite intrigued by their book and if you listen to the podcast I would encourage you first to download the Single Point Lesson that was initially published by Association of Manufacturing Excellence’s (AME) Target Magazine. 
Tim Schipper is a graduate of Calvin College (Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering) and the University of Michigan (Masters of Science). He has been a tool designer, engineering educator, CAD specialist and trainer, senior product engineer, IT manager, and most recently a lean expert and internal consultant for Steelcase, Inc., in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Mark Swets has facilitated more than 30 lean workshops at Steelcase, Inc., in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has led teams who have applied lean development techniques in product development, information technology application development, sales strategy development, and business model development.
Related Information:
Single Point Lesson
Innovative Lean Development Website Amazon: Innovative Lean Development: How to Create, Implement and Maintain a Learning Culture Using Fast Learning Cycles
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