CEO Blog

JUNE 19, 2011

Liker, author of esteemed lean production manual The Toyota Way decided he should again focus on Toyota’s cultural efforts, but this time with a bit of a twist. Methods of improvement during the recession were not limited to Toyota staff and production facilities, but extend to suppliers as well. Co-authors Jeffrey K.

Kaizen 140

Kaizen Lean Production Crisis Reputation 140

Harvard Business Review

MAY 20, 2014

And Toyota changed the auto industry forever with a systemic process innovation (the lean production system). Finally, innovation (and hence strategy) is not just the CEO’s job. The CEO will have the most difficulty in forgetting, especially if the CEO was responsible for creating the status quo.

Bottom-up 8

Bottom-up Business Model Lean Production Innovation 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 22, 2015

Many companies still compete this way and there continue to be successors to Taylorism, including business process reengineering and lean production. Some companies brought together Six Sigma and lean production into “Lean Six Sigma” as a way of competing with both lower costs and higher quality.

Six Sigma 8

Six Sigma Company Lean Production Taylorism 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 25, 2014

Developing focused expertise can be a challenge when you’re starting a company: a founder has to do some of everything, but the role of startup CEO is not nearly as transferrable a skill as domain expertise, since your employability strongly depends on your company’s success (in which case, you won’t need the job).

Career 8

Career Company IPO Christensen 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 23, 2012

On a far larger scale and more caustically, former JCPenney and Macy's CEO Allen Questrom ripped into current JCPenney CEO (and Apple Store innovator) Ron Johnson's turnaround strategy for the struggling retailer. The Department of Transportation, however, had insisted such a pilot unnecessary. The particular object of his ire?

Leadership 13

Leadership Innovation Lean Production Learning-by-Doing 13

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 17, 2013

They created and maintained a close connection to frontline staff — what Jim Womack , the expert in lean production and thinking, calls “going to gemba ” — Japanese for “the actual place.”. At Mid Staffs, instead of this essential connection, there was a yawning gap.

Crisis 9

Crisis Health Care Quality Welch 9

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 28, 2011

Japan is famous for its lean production systems and efficient supply chains. Large companies such as Toyota and Sony were forced to halt production not because of damage to their own factories, which were quickly checked and ready to go back online, but because they were dependent on a small number of parts from suppliers in Tohoku.

Supply Chain 12

Supply Chain Long-term Lean Production Globalization 12