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September 2009

Why Transformation Efforts Fail

by Pete Abilla on September 28, 2009

Change efforts sometimes fail. Specifically, transformation or Change efforts sometimes fail.  In fact, the numbers are staggering – most of them fail.  While the root cause is wide and varied, there are general themes or characteristics that are important to keep in mind in your own transformation efforts.  Think of these as symptoms also — [...]

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Respect for People, Underutilized People, and Waste

by Pete Abilla on September 24, 2009

The two pillars in Lean Thinking are Continuous Improvement and Respect for People.  What is not well understood is that most of what we know as The Toyota Production System comes from these two pillars.  The Lean sub-culture tends to over-emphasize the “tools” of Kaizen, but miss the point altogether, since the tools stem or [...]

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Off-Topic: Wednesday Waiting Child

by Pete Abilla on September 23, 2009

This is not a normal shmula.com post, but I felt compelled to write this in order to help 3 beautiful and good kids find a family.  In order to get the word out, please consider Retweeting, Facebook, Digg, to spread the word – perhaps together we can help these 3 wonderful kids find a family. [...]

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Turnaround and Change Management: Do Not Waste a Good Crisis

by Pete Abilla on September 3, 2009

I’ve been part of several turnarounds and have led a few in my short career. One thing that I’ve learned is this: one cannot underestimate the people-side of a turnaround.  In fact, it’s very likely that your turnaround will fail, if your people aren’t with you. In this article, I’ll share a simple, pragmatic model [...]

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