Blogs
To secure long-term survival in a complex and volatile world you need to develop an organization with the ability to collectively adapt and continuously improve as one synchronized entity. Better information technology and more efficient structures for keeping daily efforts aligned with long-term goals won’t be enough.Read More…
“The Emperor’s New Clothes” is a short tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes that is invisible to those unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. When the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, it takes the untainted mind of a child to point out the obvious fact that the emperor is naked. Read More…
Experts are held in esteem. To be an amateur on the other hand, is not as attractive. Often the word amateur is used as a condescending term for an unprofessional person whose actions are questioned. Still, I claim we need more amateurs in our organizations to succeed with continuous improvement. Read More…
Succeeding with Continuous Improvement has proven harder than expected for many organizations. One big reason is that there are a few challenges most organizations sooner or later encounter and where your intuitive responses actually prevent you from succeeding. Read More…
For managers, time is a scarce commodity. Actually, it’s equally scarce for everyone but I start off this way to show that I know how tough it is to be a manager. When I meet managers of various kinds – CEOs, division managers, middle managers, indeed all sorts of managers – I take their lack of time into account and let them know that there’s only one thing they need to do to develop a culture of continuous improvement. This is what I tell them..Read More…
Endorsements
“I love it! This book is exceedingly well written. The writing style is perfect for revealing insights and lessons learned from a lean journey. I like the reflections at the end—a nice way to share overall lessons learned. The use of language and examples of lean (with supporting illustrations) are very well done. People new to the lean journey will feel empowered with the simplicity of these concepts. This book deserves a big audience!”
—Mike Morrison, Founder of the University of Toyota
“This book is more than inspiration on your journey to implement continuous improvement. It also gives you valuable methods that can easily be applied and understood by everyone. It is the most valuable and lean book I have read about lean and will help any organization to become the best in the world.”
—Göran Martinsson, Continuous Improvement Manager, IKEA
“Using a story he lived through Joakim vividly brings to life for us the transformation from a mediocre top-down organization depending on a few internal experts for its survival to a high performance organization of empowered employees engaged in continuous improvement.”
—Ajinkya, Founder of SEO Agency in India
“Everyone who wants to improve should read and keep this book on their desktop. It is entertaining and shows that it does not have to be difficult to create an improvement culture. I should warn you, though, when you are done reading it you will not be able to think of anything else than your next improvement project.”
—Patrik Färdow, CEO, G4S Cash Solutions Sweden
“Follow Joakim’s recommendations, simplicity is key, do your improvement work this way to deliver world-class results. Quantity gives quality—the best ideas really come from a high number of ideas—which really has been proven at Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden during our improvement journey.”
—Anna Greisz, Operations Director Supply Chain, Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden