I’m not excited about autonomous vehicles. There’s a lot been said about the benefits of the autonomous vehicles that we’ve been promised will arrive in the next few years. On-demand use, energy efficiency, less congestion, improved safety, high reliability etc etc. But I’m not so sure… The ‘reliability thing’ (never breaking down and leaving you […]
Continuous Improvement. The tools ‘you’ve got’ and the right mindset beats ‘All the Gear and No Idea’
“The best camera is the one that’s with you”, is the title of a book by Chase Jarvis about some incredible pictures taken using an iPhone. While looking for the book I bumped into another relevant quote; “buying an expensive Nikon doesn’t make you a photographer. It makes you a Nikon owner” (source unknown). The point is, […]
The Spirit of 3 Loves v Zombieland. How you sense a Continuous Improvement Culture.
Warning. I’m going to talk about Love in a minute, nervous types can look away now. What does an organisation that is founded on ‘The Spirit of Three Loves’ look and feel like? How does love make any difference in a culture of continuous improvement? Surely it’s all about; logic, process, systems, targets and driving […]
5 Reasons Why Posters are a Great Knowledge Exchange Method
I’ve seen poster displays many times, in many places, but it never really struck me that not only are they are a very effective method of sharing knowledge, they also support staff engagement. Poster displays as part of Kaizen and Continuous Improvement processes in places like Ricoh Telford and the IdeasUK annual conference have always attracted me, but I’ve not seen […]
Busman’s Holiday. The Jefferson Memorial, Wastewater Treatment and Root Cause Analysis.
To avoid any confusion with my friends I need to put something on the record: I did not take my wife on a visit to a wastewater treatment plant (sewage works) on our honeymoon. We had a lovely time camping in a second-hand tent at St Cast, Brittany, NW France. I did visit the Barbados […]
Guilt Free Continuous Improvement with Cardboard and Sticky Tape
Good News! I’ve found a way of not feeling guilty about ‘over’ enjoying myself during the sort of team building events where I have to build the Eiffel Tower out of cardboard, pipe cleaners and sticky tape. Many people will have participated in similar exercises (with variable degrees of enthusiasm) but I suspect that most […]