Harvard Business Review

MAY 8, 2012

Six Sigma , Kaizen , Lean , and other variations on continuous improvement can be hazardous to your organization's health. Admittedly, continuous improvement once powered Japan's economy. As Fujio Ando, senior managing director at Chibagin Asset Management suggests, "Japan's consumer electronics industry is facing defeat.

Six Sigma 17

Six Sigma Kaizen Govindarajan Telecommunications 17

Harvard Business Review

MAY 23, 2011

Almost all companies organize people in a hierarchy, and then run well known managerial processes (planning, budgeting, staffing, measuring, etc) with it. If you had told an average citizen in the year 1900 what this structure and those sets of processes were accomplishing everywhere today, they would have thought you daft.

Organization 15

Organization Kaizen Budgeting Short-term 15

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 15, 2011

Though charmingly valuable, Kaizen and suggestion boxes are 20th-century productivity anachronisms. If using a mobile app like Trimit accelerates information throughputs for an analyst processing large volumes of material, then the employee is freed up to find other ways to add value or pursue further automation explorations.

Kaizen 14

Kaizen Bottom-up Efficiency Technology 14

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 4, 2013

It has a more rigorous organization structure that divides responsibilities between the innovation team and development team, and strengthens management around the opportunity pipeline. These teams have disciplined processes to get the technology to market, generally with a one- to two-year product horizon. Executing on Innovation.

Technology 8

Technology Innovation Kaizen Chief Executive Officer 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 5, 2015

In other words, feedback compliance — or assurance — becomes integrated into the networked fabric of day-to-day performance and processes. Your calendar and contacts lists can be programmed to alert you to coordinate with the frequency and reliability your boss — or peer group — wants.

Kaizen 8

Kaizen Self-aware Construction Compliance 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 7, 2011

When they set out to turn around processes that have become woefully inefficient or ineffective, most companies choose one of four process improvement "religions": Lean , Six Sigma , Business Reengineering or Business Process Management (BPM). In some of these companies, senior managers were dubious about the claims.

Six Sigma 15

Six Sigma BPM Process Hammer 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 27, 2014

A mid-level manager in this 5,000-employee hospital, she is leading a 70-member group on patient flow as part of a larger organizational effort. Her ability to lead and inspire — to become a change leader from her position as a mid-level manager — is helping her team produce results. I found a few defining characteristics: 1.

Middle Management 13

Middle Management Six Sigma Taylorism Taylor 13

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 21, 2016

Soon what once was a satisfying process becomes a deeply troubling and threatening one (overload): plates start to wobble, and the spinner has to scramble ever faster to keep them all in motion. He’s just trying to manage the chaos and avoid catastrophe. His mission has changed. Celebrate and reward frontline heroes.

Company 9

Company IPO Price Loyalty 9

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 9, 2012

Instead of simplistic, one-note fixes, smart managers consider broader improvement plans, such as these: Set a cohesive sales strategy that focuses sales effort on the right customer segments with a compelling value proposition. Design a high-impact sales process for communicating and delivering value to customers.

Kaizen 8

Kaizen Incentives Market Segmentation Efficiency 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 30, 2015

I recently caught up with Sir Dave to learn more about his success in cycling and what lessons his experience holds for managers in other arenas. As an MBA, I had become fascinated with Kaizen and other process-improvement techniques. HBR: What was the process for identifying these opportunities? That was a harsh lesson.

Kaizen 8

Kaizen Critical Success Factor Competitive Advantage Brainstorming 8