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Yogi Berra is often quoted. When asked how he came up with these nuggets of wisdom, he replied: “I use simplexity.” What’s simplexity and how can we use it in quality improvement?
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Agile Process Innovation” as well as QI Macros [software].
“A friend of mine and I went to see the Yogi Berra movie and it was all about Yogi. He won like [10] World Series rings and… what a guy, right? But he was always known for ‘Yogi-isms,’ right? One of his Yogi-isms was: “If they don’t want to come out to the park, how are you going to stop them?”
Continue Reading "Embrace Simplexity"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
If you try to learn everything about any topic, including Lean Six Sigma, you are more likely to become confused than productive. Here’s why:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“You know, when I went to college I got 148 credits in systems engineering, but actually I’ve only ever used four of those credits: FORTRAN and CDC Assembler Level Programming. You know, that’s all I’ve done in my life is write code, right? So, differential equations, Laplace transforms, all that stuff. I learned all kinds of things… hey, never used that.
Continue Reading "Stop Learning Everything"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
Ever heard a word or phrase that you’ve never heard before? Might just be jargon for something you already know. Here’s how to avoid being baffled by jargon:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“Very often, we get calls from people and they [ask], “Do you have an XYZ chart / plot / whatever / stat?” It’s like… well, I’ve never heard of it before. Somebody called up and said, “Do you have a titration plot?” I thought, “I’ve never heard of it that way,” but I went out and did a little Googling.
Continue Reading "Don’t Be Baffled by Jargon"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
John, a senior executive who went to Japan, saw that his hosts were accomplishing in a single minute a task that took his plant over 45 minutes. After seeing that it was possible, his team managed to collapse cycle time at their plant. If you keep your eyes open, you might see someone solving an “unsolvable” issue.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I’ve been telling you my story about John, the senior leader who went to Japan. He said when they were over there they discovered something called SMED: Single Minute Exchange of Dies.
Continue Reading "SMED – Single Minute Exchange of Dies"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
How do we get people up to speed in Lean Six Sigma? I have found that the traditional approach leaves a lot to be desired. Here’s how I’ve modified the approach to accelerate learning and application.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“You know, ever since I got started in the phone company, we were teaching people for weeks at a time. I kept trying to think, “How can I get these people up to speed so that they really embrace Quality?” It took me a while to start to figure out how to collapse the training and everything using QI Macros to get people trained in one day and up to speed and delivering results.
Continue Reading "Getting People Up to Speed In Lean Six Sigma"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
John, a senior executive with a large lumber company, went to Japan with 30 other leaders for 30 days. Everywhere they went, in every corner of the company, they found one quality tool over and over again.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“I started telling you a little bit about my new friend John who worked for the big lumber company and went on that trip to Japan. He said, “Everywhere I went, Pareto charts, Pareto charts, Pareto charts, Pareto charts, Pareto charts, Pareto charts, Pareto charts.”
Continue Reading "Pareto Charts Everywhere"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
How do you start a quality transformation? Maybe it’s in safety and housekeeping.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I was telling you about John (the executive from the lumber company), and when he was in Japan they noticed something interesting: Everything was spotless. Even the corners and the production line were spotless. It led him to this idea that a place to start with quality is with safety and housekeeping because it tells the employees that you care about them. It’s not a bottom line thing, it’s about them, right?
Continue Reading "Start with Safety and Housekeeping"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
John, a senior executive who went to Japan said he felt like he got a PhD in leadership, but probably not the kind they teach at Harvard. Probably the Leadership Deming spoke of.
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“I’ve been telling you a little bit about my discussion with John, who was a senior executive at one of the large lumber companies, who went to Japan for 30 days. He said he felt like he got a PhD in leadership… a PhD in leadership.
“Now I think this is the leadership that Dr.
Continue Reading "A PhD in Leadership – Deming Style"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
John, a senior executive who went to Japan, told this story of using the “Weapon of Quality” to help out a cabinet making business:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma For Hospitals” and the QI Macros [software].
“I’ve been telling you my story about John, who was a senior executive at a lumber and wood company. It was interesting to me just listening to him talk.
“Once he retired, he was just sitting around and one of his friends who ran a cabinet making business gave him a call and said, “Can you help me out?
Continue Reading "Cabinet Making Quality Story"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
John, a senior executive with a large lumber company, went to Japan with 30 other leaders for 30 days. They struggled to connect what they were seeing in Japanese manufacturing plants until one day toward the end of the trip. Here’s what happened:
“Hi, I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].
“This summer my wife and I took a river cruise that we booked for 2021 (but of course, that didn’t happen). They had these community tables where you’d sit around for lunch. One day we’re sitting with another couple of couples and somehow we got on the subject of “What do you do?”
Continue Reading "When Did Your Light Switch Turn On?"
Posted by Jay Arthur in Improvement Insights.
