I took a walk-jog this morning, something I’ve been doing pretty regularly since early June. Some days are better than others, and today started out sluggish. But as I turned the corner of my street, my neighbor drove by, rolled down his window, and gave me a friendly wave.

Driving home from a customer last week, I caught a glimpse of a digital billboard—the kind that flashes eight different ads per minute. From a cost and aesthetic perspective, these backlit displays are a big step up from the old paperhanger versions. But I wondered: What do drivers actually see and remember?

In recognition of GBMP's 21^st Annual Northeast Lean Conference, I’m repurposing a blog post from 2012 that I named They Assessment. It’s focus - on creating a work environment favorable to personal and organizational growth - is perhaps even more relevant today. Enjoy!

A High-Touch Beginning

In October 1989 my company hosted Total Improvement Process Week, one of the most productive experiences of my career. Our consultant was Dr. Ryuji Fukuda, a Deming Prize winner and author of Managerial Engineering, a book I still value for its emphasis on management’s role in continuous improvement. When the chance came to bring Dr. Fukuda in for a workshop, we jumped on it.

As the final days of summer shorten, I’m recalling the gear-shifting experience I once had as a 12-year old when it was time to go back to school. Lazy trips with my friends to favorite places like the beach or the park or the swimming pool were abruptly replaced by class schedules, tests and a classroom of – well – competitors. Not that I didn’t enjoy the classroom learning. The structured delivery of material was efficient. But compared to the summer experience, it felt more like mass production with a target of grades and credentials. Summer learning offered the excitement of experimentation and creativity; and the thrill of discovery. The classroom was not always so. With a good teacher, it could also be exciting, but more often, school days were for lectures or test preparation: “These are the books you should read and these are the assignments you must complete to get an A.“   At least in my case, this behaviorist approach did produce some short-term results: good grades – my apparent ticket to success. Does this sound familiar? Do this and you get that.

In last week’s Labor Day post, “Celebrating Our Frontline Scapegoats,” I observed that of the seven wastes, the one most people recognize is defects. This is understandable: workers are often blamed for defect-causing situations over which they have little or no control. Today’s post continues that Labor Day theme by highlighting another way defects indirectly burden workers.

With Labor Day just two weeks away, here’s a post to celebrate the folks that usually get blamed for the quality problems.😊