"...keeping you great"
HEADLINES:
Warren Buffett's Annual Letter is Out -- my favorite excerpt is below, but first...
Most Important Tool to Hit Growth Firms -- March 17 next LIVE video webcast with LEAN guru Guy Parsons 11:58am -- 2pm EST (US) -- and archive available afterwards -- don't miss learning about the most important tool to hit growth firms -- sign-up and also access Pat Lencioni and Seth Godin's webcasts.
Drive Revenue, Eliminate Waste, Save the Team -- I've been pushing hard on tools and techniques for driving revenue. Next I want to push on the waste side (you have much more than you think -- see definition of 'waste' below!). Many of you have heard me say "the first company in any industry that fully embraces the Toyota LEAN methodology will dominate their industry." Toyota, so far, has had no layoffs -- and I'm betting they come out the strongest of all the weakened competitors. It's not by accident. Now is the time to put their practices to work in your mid-market firm -- service or manufacturer.
It's John's Fault -- John Stepleton, who built a 500-person, three-time Inc 500 winning research company, was the first CEO to turn me on to the Toyota Production System called LEAN (I thought it was just for large manufacturing firms) -- and he implemented LEAN inside a non-manufacturing business model. So successful was his implementation, he was recognized by the Northwest Shingo Prize as an innovative implementation of the LEAN principals.
$10/hour Employees Realized 28% Productivity Improvements within a Week -- in a note from John this week, he shared "What better time to take the plunge. With the economy struggling, it is the perfect time to begin integrating LEAN into your business. I began my journey more than four years ago and of all the strategies I've implemented over the years (and I've tried a lot of different things) -- LEAN proved to deliver the biggest bang for the buck. If you're not sure it's right for your business -- I implemented LEAN into my call center business where I had $10/hour employees engaged in continuous improvement programs that realized productivity improvements of 28% in time periods as short as one week."
All of Vancouver Doing LEAN -- 100 Times Easier Than Six Sigma -- OK, not quite all of Vancouver, but it seems many of the CEOs in Vancouver have grabbed onto the LEAN movement, led by Mike Jagger, Provident Security (who has already saved $60k from his LEAN initiatives). And they've been using Guy Parsons, the co-founder of the Lean Institute, to teach them. What's brilliant is the simplicity of Parsons' approach to eliminate waste. In turn, you take the time your people get back from eliminating wasted efforts, steps, activities, etc. and re-purpose people to serve customers, make sales, and grow the business.
Five Minute Video on LEAN -- Jeff Booth, CEO of BuildDirect is one of those Vancouver CEOs implementing LEAN to dramatically speed up the time it takes to get a new vendor up on his website among many initiatives (BuildDirect provides high quality, low cost building materials via a website www.builddirect.com -- check it out if you're remodeling!), Jeff has produced a five minute video interview of Guy Parsons that explains LEAN to his people and details how they are using it in his web-based distribution company. Here's a link which will help you decide if you want to tune into the LIVE webcast with Guy Parsons on March 17
What We Can Control -- notes Booth in his latest blog "One of the things that a company can control in a market like this is operational excellence, by removing waste in a system. Waste is easily defined as anything that happens in a company that a customer would not want to pay for. Guy Parsons, President of Value Stream solutions and co-founder of the Lean Institute is one of the thought leaders in lean thinking. I hope the video helps. I would love your thoughts."
Warren Buffett's Four Simple Goals -- here's my favorite excerpt from Buffett's letter to his shareholders -- take this list to your next CEO Council or monthly management meeting and discuss:
"In good years and bad, Charlie and I simply focus on four goals:
(1) Maintaining Berkshire's Gibraltar-like financial position, which features huge amounts of excess liquidity, near-term obligations that are modest, and dozens of sources of earnings and cash;
(2) Widening the "moats" around our operating businesses that give them durable competitive advantages;
(3) Acquiring and developing new and varied streams of earnings;
(4) Expanding and nurturing the cadre of outstanding operating managers who, over the years, have delivered Berkshire exceptional results."
Panhandler Secret -- I get Seth Godin's blog everyday (so should you) -- and this one earlier this week was particularly insightful because of Seth's story about a panhandler and his secret to success.
Haute N the Kitchen -- if you're a foodie, check our Heather Antonelli's just released book entitled Haute n the Kitchen: Entertaining Inspired by My Travel and Traditions. Early Rockefeller Habits fan and BOGer, Heather enjoys exotic travel and food. And if you're into food and interior design, check out her blog as well.
