Lean CEO Archives - PalletOne Inc.

Recent Articles

Building a Lean Culture: Mindset and Action

“Lean” thinking creates a willingness to try new things. We have taught 6S, which focuses on safely reorganizing and establishing ways to maintain our spaces. We have conducted Kaizen events, which are intensive efforts to quickly transform a place or process. As you engage in these practices, we hope it changes your way of looking at the world, especially at work. We hope that when you see disorder, your mind says, “That’s not lean.” We

Howe Q Wallace December 26, 2024

The Power of “Why” in Lean Practices

Asking “why” is one of the key strategies for achieving better “lean” practices. If you are new to the company, you may see us doing something one way, and it seems like there is a better way. The tendency might be to step back and remain silent. Most new people assume that the long-term employees have been doing it longer and probably know what they are doing. But that isn’t always the case. It is

Howe Q Wallace December 24, 2024

Lean and Safety: A Better Pace for a Safer Place

A team member recently wrote to me about a previous safety note, sharing thoughts on our May safety results and their connection to more than just our attention to new team members entering the plant. “I truly believe that Lean is having a major impact on safety. Through the last several months of Lean, I’ve noticed that everyone works at a different pace than before. Before Lean, we worked in what could be described as

Howe Q Wallace December 3, 2024

Pallets

Reflecting on Our “Lean” Journey at PalletOn

At PalletOne, we talk a lot about “lean.” It occurs to me that some of you might not have been here when this approach was first introduced. “Lean” companies believe that customers only want to pay for “value.” To deliver that, we focus on eliminating any waste associated with producing the product. Waste can come in the form of wasted time, wasted material, or wasted motion. A “lean” company is always engaged in self-study—constantly looking

Howe Q Wallace November 12, 2024

COMPLACENCY…

“Complacency is a blatant disregard for what is right.” – Nick Saban, Alabama football coach. There is a three-part video series on Alabama football on an app called Athletic. I’m a fan of Coach Saban’s program and the approach he brings to things. He has a staff member in charge of the health and performance of his players. Turns out each player wears a sensor which records each player’s physical effort in the course of

Howe Q. Wallace September 12, 2019

What’s An Environment Where You ‘Earn” Respect?

If we are wise, we give people opportunities to “earn” respect as well as extend the courtesy of “owed” respect. What’s an environment where you “earn” respect? What does it look like? Our annual survey gives us a bunch of clues: We make expectations clear. When people know what is expected, they have targets for which to aim. Giving a person a target and letting them play is an invitation for respect. Hitting expectations is

Howe Q. Wallace January 28, 2019

When was hope introduced into your vocabulary?

When was Hope introduced into your vocabulary? If you’re like me, it was when you were a young kid. I think my Mom taught it to me. When I wanted something, but she knew it wasn’t going to happen, she might say “we can hope” We could “hope” someone could get well. We could “hope” someone would win. We could hope someone might come for a visit or go out for dinner. There was always

Howe Q. Wallace December 11, 2018

COMMUNICATION IS IMPERFECT…

If you are around me much, you know I latch on to phrases and use them to illustrate a point. I’ve used one several times in the last few days, so I’m prompted to share it with you: “No matter how thin you cut it, there are always two sides.” In my role of CEO, occasionally folks bring me disputes to resolve. Someone will contact me and tell me a grievance. More times than not,

Howe Q. Wallace November 2, 2018

Are You Always Looking For Ways To Get Things Done?

“In order to be a winner, you have to look for ways of getting things done and not for reasons why things can’t be done. People who live with excuses have things that can’t be done hovering around them all the time”. Mike Krzyzewski, Hall of Fame basketball coach This is a “happening to the world” statement. What needs to be done? What can be done? How do we change things to make this better?

Howe Q. Wallace November 1, 2018

Better or worse?

One of the questions you are asked each year in our annual plant survey is whether you are clear about what is expected of you. Years ago, when I was an HR Pro, I worked with supervisors and managers to find a way to summarize what we look for from our employees. We came up with a list of 10 Commitments that we would like each team member to embrace. You may have seen them printed up

Howe Q. Wallace March 19, 2018

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Articles About Leadership

THE JUICE IS WORTH THE SQUEEZE

“Everything you want is on the other side of ‘hard’.” – CJ McCollum, NBA player McCollum is a story of overachievement. He was undersized. Played college basketball at a non-descript school. Was a long shot to be an NBA player but worked his way to being a first-round draft pick and was a solid star in his 10th year in the league. I heard him describe his approach to the game and his development on a podcast called

Howe Q. Wallace March 25, 2024

HAPPENING TO THE WORLD – A SATISFYING WAY TO LIVE

PalletOne leaders “happen to the world.” What does that mean? A PalletOne leader is confident. Each situation creates an opportunity for service and contribution. We are talented and put those talents to work. We see those around us as having talent. We seek to unlock it. We realize that we can be called upon to take the initiative to improve things at any moment. We act when the situation calls for it. We inspire through

Howe Q. Wallace March 25, 2024

SUFFERING AND CHALLENGES

“Weep, trust, pray, think, shift, hope, grow. Ways to handle suffering.” – Tim Keller Tim Keller was a preacher from New York City. He passed away in 2023. I followed him on Twitter because he tweeted profound thoughts like the one above. You don’t exit life without tough things happening to you. It’s a fact. None of us are exempt. In specific order, Keller gave us seven verbs to consider when challenged: Weep – It’s

Howe Q. Wallace March 22, 2024