Lean CEO Archives - Page 8 of 10

Recent Articles

Expecting Changes and Adjusting to Them

I saw this quote the other day and it reminded me of our efforts on “lean” operations: “The problem is not that there are problems. It is expecting otherwise and thinking having problems is a problem.” – Theodore Rubin Problems are coming every day. I don’t know about you, but the longer I live, the more complex things become. Conditions change. Abilities change. Markets change. The pace of change increases. It doesn’t get easier. Change

Howe Q. Wallace July 25, 2012

Perspective, Priority and Practice

Perspective.Priority.Practice. Breaking a habit or creating a new habit is difficult. That’s why New Year’s resolutions are so tough to create. Our “lean” manager Steve Roberts shared some psychology that he learned recently by listening to a sermon. The speaker was talking about 3 P’s: Perspective, Priority and Practice. According to the speaker, the mistake that we make is that we begin to practice before we align our thoughts. Steve explained it this way: “If

Howe Q. Wallace July 6, 2012

Lean Example in Maine Assembly Area

Here’s how lean works: I’ve been in Maine to tour our operations there and visit with the team before their annual maintenance week. Most of you haven’t seen our other facilities. If you could see all of them, you would be surprised about how different each of them is. They are distinctive by the raw materials and the formats by which we receive them. Sawing equipment may look alike but is always configured uniquely. There

Howe Q. Wallace June 29, 2012

Don’t Give Up on Change

Change isn’t easy. One of the things that makes it difficult is that the outcomes you seek with change don’t always come that easy. In fact, most often they don’t come easy at all. I experience it this way. I accepted the weight loss challenge. I changed what I’m eating – mostly giving up things I enjoy. In exchange for this significant sacrifice, this monumental change of direction, I expected significant, monumental results. After two

Howe Q. Wallace June 22, 2012

“Lean” Contributes to Improved Safety

Eddie Stokes of Butner wrote me back about my safety note from Tuesday. He thinks our May safety results have more to them than just us paying attention to new guys as they come in 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 is working at a different pace than before lean. Before lean we worked in what

Howe Q. Wallace May 31, 2012

Lean Values People

While spending the week in Guatemala, I was watching how things get done and thinking about “lean.” In some respects, they aren’t lean at all. In others, we could learn some things. A short statement about what “lean” is: eliminating wasted time, wasted motion and wasted material. Underlying assumptions are that time, energy for motion and materials are scarce. Being scarce, they are relatively expensive. Thus, if you waste any of them, you are incurring

Howe Q. Wallace May 21, 2012

“Lean” Will Be a Constant Factor

I’ve been in Bentonville, Arkansas for a Wal-Mart sustainability conference. Sustainability has become a big word and Wal-Mart has embraced it. The idea follows closely our thoughts on “lean” – except it has an environmental twist. To operate our business in the most sustainable fashion, we should use as little material as possible, operate as efficiently as possible and minimize our impact on the environment by cutting down the use of fossil fuels and limiting

Howe Q. Wallace May 9, 2012

6S a Good Tool for Improving Our Facilities

I have seen tremendous efforts on 6S in our operations since we began to implement “lean” techniques. The 6S’s are: Sort Straighten Shine Standardize Sustain Safety Initially, it takes an effort to get it right. It takes awhile to get the methods documented and the habits formed to maintain it. There are several benefits. The first is the satisfaction the team gets from getting it done. Another is that it builds confidence and increases the

Howe Q. Wallace April 27, 2012

Being Open to Ideas from Everyone

The best ideas don’t always come from the guys in the office or from the people in charge. Once upon a time, I was part of a team that received an extraordinary opportunity. A customer called, told us that they had received a big order and they needed as many pallets as we could build as fast as we could build them. That had never happened to us before. It has not happened since. Excited

Howe Q. Wallace April 20, 2012

Be Willing to Question Our Processes

I was sitting with some guys talking about ways to help “lean” catch on. One of the things said was that those who are in authority have to learn to be less “certain.” He explained: “When you are in charge, people ask you for solutions and you get used to giving them. I’m learning that the solution that I give may work but it may not be the best solution. So, I’m taking the time

Howe Q. Wallace April 19, 2012

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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