Number 7 – Complete Participation Audie Penn, May 24, 2024February 7, 2026 Actively lead and/or participate in process improvement teams. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic It may seem obvious, but when one examines the presence of all three participants, tactical, integrative, and strategic, how often do we see complete participation. Unfortunately, the answer is not often enough. Why is complete participation so…
Number 148 – Human Development is Part of Culture Audie Penn, May 21, 2024February 7, 2026 Set expectations that human development is an integral part of all employee-related practices and programs. Practitioners: strategic When I read this statement, I am immediately reminded of the three prime agreements between board and executive – value creation, resource allocation, and cultural aspiration. My own translation into my client organizations…
Number 124 – Time is Money Audie Penn, May 13, 2024February 7, 2026 Develop and enable the implementation of common management and reporting systems across the enterprise. Practitioners: strategic The first idea that surfaces when I read this concept is the impact of management and reporting from my past. Implementing this idea improved not only the use of my time, but also the…
Number 87 – There’s a Process Everywhere Audie Penn, May 8, 2024February 7, 2026 Develop lean models for selling and supplier development. Practitioners: strategic I have coined a term, PPX, or Process Performance eXcellence. My little catch phase is – wherever there’s a process and there’s a process everywhere. Naturally, we should broaden our perspective beyond the constraints of lean manufacturing. Some of my…
Number 109 – A Great Waste of Time Audie Penn, May 1, 2024February 7, 2026 Use single minute exchange of die (SMED) to assist in conducting projects. Practitioners: tactical, and integrative What is SMED? Sometimes it is translated quick change over (QCO) to help make sense of the idea. In its original conception, it was the reduction of change over time for a die in…
Number 37 – People Who Do the Work Audie Penn, April 29, 2024February 7, 2026 Identify waste and its impact on people who do the work. Practitioners: tactical, and integrative This is a loaded little sentence. We could simply start with what is waste. Or we could focus on the impact of waste. We could also debate this idea of ‘people who do the work’. …
Number 52 – Data and Information Audie Penn, April 26, 2024February 7, 2026 Gather, analyze, and use data and information to support problem-solving. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic Data and information are in abundance. Abundance Can Overwhelm. Some of it is useful and some of it is not. Do you know the difference? Despite this abundance, sometimes data is ignored in the problem-solving…
Number 171 – Develop and Manage Audie Penn, April 24, 2024February 7, 2026 Develop and manage toward SMART goals. Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic There will always be concepts that are shared across philosophical approaches. As I encounter them, my initial response is often to scoff. SMART goals did not originate in the Toyota Production System. I am not even sure where or…
Number 156 – Ownership or Execution Audie Penn, April 22, 2024February 7, 2026 Encourage and support the attainment of stretch goals that focus on increasing customer value. Practitioners: strategic The first system of the four that shows up in my thinking today, with this concept in mind, is the strategy system. It Starts with Strategy Deployment. Our annual strategy deployment process evolves out…
Number 95 – Building Our Problem-Solving Muscle Audie Penn, April 19, 2024February 7, 2026 Use A3 to conduct projects. Practitioners: tactical, and integrative A problem-solving system of some kind is a necessary element in the change process of the performance system. Consistency in practice is building our problem-solving muscle. The language used to describe this system varies, depending on who taught you continuous improvement….