Day 186. Show me the working system, not a 10-pounds document! We must base our milestones on objective evaluation of working systems. Is documentation now wasteful? Continue reading
Time ... is irreplaceable. Why waste it shopping in store? Order online and pick it up later! Lean is all about eliminating waste. Walmart delivered value: irreplaceable time savings to customers who would rather spend their irreplaceable time on something other than shopping in store.
Have you seen companies that run like clockwork? Very efficient (Lean) -- doing things right. I bet you have seen such companies. Too efficient, however; the practices that made them very efficient directly limited their ability to adapt and to innovate. Why change a perfectly good and efficient model? Just keep making more of the same! Right? Then came along the innovators; the disruptors of status quo. Suddenly, the efficient companies have a problem...it is not an efficiency problem; they have an adaptability problem. Netflix in, Blockbuster out What are those companies that failed or were too late to adapt?…
Babies got this 'baby steps' figured out: on their way to their first steps, they initially find themselves falling down... but they get up and try again... and again. Then, something clicks in their brains, they experience their first successful steps -- a series of steps without falling down going from dad's arms to mom's arms... smiling and happy! With that seemingly small win, encouraged, babies go on further with casual walking, then faster walking... then running. Toastmasters (TM) International have 'The Ice Breaker' speech category created for their first-time TM speakers. That is their (the first-time TM speakers') 'baby…
Have you ever found yourself in a long queue? Long checkout line at the grocery store... long queue to the bank teller... long queue to the Ticketmaster booth... just recently, first day of school this Monday, I have experienced a long queue !!! Here is another visual: have you ever flushed a toilet that was draining slowly ...that the flushed water rushes in and then backs up and eventually overflows (yuck!)? The rate of draining is slower than the rate of water rushing in...as a result, forming a "queue" of water (and waste) backing out to a point that it…
April 29, Sunday afternoon. It was a very nice weather -- sunny, blue skies, breezy and a balmy 67F; my family and I were at the UNCC -- University of North Carolina, Charlotte -- Science Expo. Lots of university students showing their stuff; kids and families gathering around them. It was a very festive scene. As we walked around to check various exhibits/booths, we came across a robot doing a two-finger push up. I immediately took out my iPhone and started filming it. It was so awesome (check it out at https://vimeo.com/leanagileguru/bruce). This robot's act reminded me of a film on…
"Pivot is a change in strategy without a change in vision" -- unknown. On April 17, 2018, we made a key decision: change the name and web address of our Blog site ( referring to another Blog site of ours, the predecessor of this Blog site). Why?  The new name makes more sense in portraying what our Blog site is all about: Sharing knowledge and absorbing knowledge; providing enlightenment, guidance, coaching and encouragement; and being a Servant-Leader and a Guru.  There were other things — that were observed (as part of the learning process) and measured — that were…