 | Working Great!: Lean Leadership Lessons for Guiding Your Organization to Excellence Subjects: Economics Finance Business & Industry; Business Management and Accounting; Production Operations & Information Management; Management Education; Leadership; Significant sustained Lean success depends almost solely on leaders and the culture they foster. No doubt some area-specific and short-term gains can be realized via a top-down, tools-based approach. But broad, ongoing and organic improvement that is embraced by almost all employees requires a unique environment, one carefully defined and nurtured by leaders. Unfortunately, many leaders and managers embark on their Lean initiative with a focus on tools either observed during a benchmarking tour, disclosed during a short symposium presentation, or peddled by their chosen Lean partner. They are ill-equipped to understand the critical behavior and attitude changes that will be required of them and their staff to sustain tools-based improvements and, more importantly, to effectively promote and harvest employees' innovation to remove waste. Working Great! provides an overview of a successful Lean journey. Just as a would-be traveler consults a travel brochure and websites prior to reserving a seat on a given vacation tour, this book provides potential Lean leaders with an overview prior to embarking on a Lean initiative. And unlike purely promotional materials, Working Great! provides an honest, culture-first assessment of Lean with an emphasis on the leaders' responsibilities for a successful mission - and the information required to determine if they and their organization are up for the journey. Working Great! gives readers: A clear understanding of the relative importance and relationship between culture and tools for lasting Lean success Advice on various key strategic decisions such as choosing an external consultant and an internal coordinator Lessons to help take the mystery out of culture A heavy emphasis on specific critical leadership behaviors which support the desired culture Suggestions for selecting new employees and, more importantly, supervisors that will thrive in a Lean environment Recommendations for effectively "rounding" on employees; a vital habit for Lean leaders An appreciation for the importance of - and tools to aid in - prioritizing and managing personal time as leaders shift their focus to building a Lean organization (including the significance of time off) Information on how various Lean tools support a Lean culture and are not a destination in themselves Case studies to describe realistic aspirations and to provide inspiration and encouragement during inevitable setbacksPrior to founding his own company in 2009, Rick enjoyed a 25-year career at Sauer-Danfoss (now Danfoss Power Solutions), a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of engineered hydraulic and electronic systems and components, used primarily in mobile equipment. Rick's career includes more than 22 years in leadership positions in engineering, operations and continuous improvement. Rick's accomplishments in engineering include leading the development of two new products in record time, which accounted for over $30M in sales in 2007. He has served as production manager for union and non-union factories in Iowa and Illinois, with responsibility for as many as 300 employees. His real passion, however, involves continuous improvement. While at Sauer-Danfoss, he served as the Six Sigma Master Black Belt for the company's North American plants and was the lead Lean practitioner for the North American Propel division. While in the latter position, he guided a $13MM value stream to world class metrics of 100 percent on-time delivery, 280 defects per million at the customers' assembly lines (99.972 percent good), and 35+ inventory turns. Throughout his career, Rick has been recognized as a people developer, hiring and growing leaders now located around the globe. He has created and delivered several training courses, and thoroughly enjoys helping adults learn and apply new knowledge. His blue-collar upbringing allows him to relate to hourly employees as well as senior leaders. Rick serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for PowerFilm, Inc. and serves on the Board of Directors for Fairfield Line, Inc. He has coached the senior leaders of several companies ranging in size from $2MM to $60MM. He served as interim GM for a key client for most of 2008 and led the company to record results. Rick is the author of 5S Leader's Field Guide: Practical Advice for Establishing a Healthy 5S Culture Within Your Organization . Janet (CPA) and Rick have been married for 35 years. They have three married children and five grandchildren. Rick enjoys reading and playing guitar as well as outdoor activities such as biking, hiking and fishing. |
