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If It is Good, Do it Quickly

by Pete Abilla on June 8, 2011

if it's good, do it quickly, zen wa isoge

We know that Lean is both a systematic method for improving an organization, but it’s also a wordview – the lens by which we see and understand the world. I want to highlight a phrase that describes one aspect of the Lean worldview quite well: Zen Wa Isoge. Zen Wa Isoge (善は急げ). In other words, [...]

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Genichi Taguchi

by Pete Abilla on May 25, 2011

Continuing our series on the leaders that have made a significant impact to the quality movement, lean manufacturing, and six sigma, we’ve featured Sakichi Toyoda, Walter Shewhart, and Armand Feigenbaum, and today we feature Genichi Taguchi. Perhaps Taguchi is best known for his influence on modern day website optimization, better known as A/B Testing or [...]

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Lean Logistics in Luxury Mattress Industry: An Interview

by Pete Abilla on April 18, 2011

Today, we’ll hear from Ronald Rudzin, CEO of Saatva Mattress, an efficient manufacturer of Luxury Mattresses; their current business model is disrupting the luxury mattress market, and Lean Manufacturing principles are at the heart of their innovation. What is Saatva Luxury Mattress? Saatva is a manufacturer of luxury mattresses and sell direct to the customer [...]

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Mark Zuckerberg: I’d Rather Them Believe the Company Was Broken

by Pete Abilla on March 29, 2011

mark zuckerberg interview, byu with orrin hatch

On Friday March 25, 2011, I had an opportunity to hear Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook and Senator Orrin Hatch speak to a group at Brigham Young University. The event was held at the Marriott Center and was Mark Zuckerberg’s first time speaking to a University audience that large. There were about 10,000 [...]

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5 Life Lessons Learned from Multitasking

by Pete Abilla on March 28, 2011

I’ve written about the Myth of Multitasking before; but despite knowing that Multitasking often doesn’t lead to good outcomes, I find it difficult to stop. So, instead of reprimanding myself too harshly, I thought I’d document the 5 Life Lessons I’ve Learned from Multitasking. 1. Multitasking Means That Things Will Take Longer I wrote about [...]

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Shoulders of Giants: Sakichi Toyoda

by Pete Abilla on December 17, 2010

In keeping with our series of honoring those that came before us and, on which shoulders we stand, today we’ll revisit the life of Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of the eventual Toyota Motor Corporation. We are indebted to Sakichi Toyoda primarily for his invention of the Toyota Automatic Loom and, specifically, one piece that, at [...]

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Benchmarking: Best Practice, Pros, and Cons

by Pete Abilla on December 8, 2010

In my experience, companies seem to enjoy comparing themselves to other companies, often in the spirit of “grass is greener on the other side”. The term “Benchmarking” is often invoked within the context of learning about how so-and-so company is doing, how they are doing it, and why they are doing it. But, less often [...]

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Shoulders of Giants: Walter Shewhart

by Pete Abilla on December 4, 2010

On this episode of “Shoulders of Giants”, we remember Walter Shewhart. Walter Andrew Shewhart (pronounced like “shoe-heart”, March 18, 1891 – March 11, 1967) was an American physicist, engineer and statistician, sometimes known as the father of statistical quality control and the person who developed the Control Chart. From the late 1930s onwards, Shewhart’s interests [...]

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