Searching for Superman – why CI/Lean initiatives often fail (Part 2)

Failure is not an option… but most of the time it is assured One common set of factors that can affect success or failure for a Continuous Improvement/Lean Initiative is the recruitment, selection process, and use of a CI/Lean leader. Leadership at all levels has an impact on every initiative but this becomes more critical […]

A new day

Today was a special day. My business web site went live today! I will still continue to add stories and commentary to the Lean Submariner but the website bobmacpherson-speaker.info is my way to satisfy my passion for business process improvement, training services, and speaking. Check it out if you get the chance. In the next […]

Are you “Value Added”?

In the “lean” world, a lot of time is spent in determining which of your processes are “Value Added”, “Non-Value Added but Necessary” or “Non-Value Added”. There are a lot of definitions for these phrases depending on which consultant is trying to sell a new book this week. I try to keep my definitions pretty […]

If you want jobs, quit b!tching and join the 21st century

The name of this blog is the lean submariner. Most of the stories I write are based on leadership and submarines because those are my passions. But I am afraid for my country. Without embracing new strategies and new methods, we will lose the rest of our manufacturing capability at the very time we may […]

What is the most important part?

Systems thinking is an important part of Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline. In an organization, it mostly means having the ability to see the whole while balancing the importance of the parts. For me, this has always been a touchstone of lean thinking. Every part has its own role and in any system, their interactions make […]

Prepare to Dive, Prepare to Dive

“Chief of the Watch, verify boat is ready to submerge” “Aye aye sir … Straight Board” “Very well Chief, Diving officer, Submerge the ship” “Aye Aye sir, Chief of the Watch, sound two blasts of the diving alarm and open all main vents” “On the 1MC… Dive Dive” The boat slides beneath the waves and […]