Aaron U. Bolin, Ph.D.

The Lean Toolbox: The Essential Guide to Lean Transformation by John Bicheno My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Lean Toolkit is a concise reference of lean tools and techniques. Every tool is presented with a brief summary and some suggestions for how to apply it. Overall, I thought it was a valuable reference. It introduced me to several new tools and reinforced many of the tools that were already familiar. In terms of criticism, this probably isn't a book that you would sit down and read cover to cover. I browsed the topics, and I will return to it periodically as a reference. I liked it, and I would recommend it for lean students and practitioners. View all my reviews

Do any of these examples sound familiar: Example 1. We have this new communications system, and no one is using it. Our metrics for success are enrollment and utilization. Example 2. Our production capacity is going to be restricted by the mandatory inspections, so we need to increase the speed of our post-inspection processing by adding manpower. Example 3. Our production quality sucks right now; the issue is accountability. Once the managers start holding the production team responsible for quality, then quality will take care of itself. Example 4. The reports we generate do not have a consistent format or presentation. Once we develop standard operating procedures for each report... Jumping to the solution is the default problem solving methodology in many organizations. Because the seeds of the solution are always contained in the problem, responding quickly is often rewarded with initial success. However, a quick response is rarely a comprehensive response. A commun

5 Lessons I Learned from Watching Doctor Who - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com : 'via Blog this'

What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain My rating: 4 of 5 stars I thought Bain's "What the Best College Teachers Do" was excellent. It is well-written and packed with useful insight throughout. In terms of criticism, two things come to mind. First, the book seems to be an academic paper expanded to book form. As such, there is plenty of fluff. Some of the fluff is useful and adds embellishment to Bain's main points, but some of the fluff is just fluff. Second, Bain's tone throughout the book is one of objective reporter. The tone is a perfect fit for the subject matter and helps the book feel like a discussion. I loved it. In the last few chapters, the tone switches abruptly to preaching. I did not like the preachy tone; it was a big turnoff to me. Overall, I thought the book was useful and very well done. I recommend it to anyone (college profs, high school teacher, trainers, etc.) who ever tried to connect with students. The insights offered here will b

We just finished up another round of Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt training. The process simulation we use requires the students to manufacture Lego (c) pyramids. The goal for the final round is to deliver 60 pyramids in five minutes. It is possible to complete the order, but I've never had a student team deliver the final order. However, I did have one team break the previous record. The new world record is 59 pyramids in 5 minutes with 5 people.

I met my friend, Jay, in college. I didn't realize it at the time, but Jay taught me some very valuable life lessons. He often pushed the boundaries of ethics, but time has shown that Jay's approach to getting things done wasn't all wrong; it was just incomplete. He had style, but lacked substance. He had flair, but lacked polish. He drive and ambition, but lacked a moral compass and work ethic. To really capitalize on Jay's strategy, you have to cherry pick his good points and throw out the bad. Jay's Tip #1: "Models Don't Do Math." Always focus your effort in areas of strength. When it came to studying, Jay and I were polar opposites. I studied in a very traditional way. I took copious notes in class, completed all assigned reading, worked the exercises in the back of the book, and joined a study group. Jay, on the other hand, took a more relaxed approach to studying. He listened very carefully in class, but photo-copied a classmate's notes.

I have a lot of fun coaching youth sports (4 seasons of soccer, 2 of basketball so far), but I never really planned to coach. When my oldest daughter first joined a soccer team, I offered to help the coach -- my idea was to be like the team gopher, because I didn't know very much about soccer. I discovered two things very quickly: (1) the coach knew even less about soccer than I did and (2) her temperament made her unfit to coach young children. In fact, she was removed from the league after chasing her own daughter across the practice field with a belt. I very unexpectedly was promoted from gopher to head coach. Every season, I see two very different approaches to coaching young children. On one hand, there is the Cobra Kai method with lots of yelling, punishment for poor performance, and the explicit belief that winning is all that matters. On the other hand, there is the Mr. Miyagi approach of learning the game, trying to have fun, and the explicit belief that we like to win