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Being in control of your life and having realistic

expectations about your day-to-day challenges are the
keys to stress management, which is perhaps the most
important ingredient to living a happy, healthy and
rewarding life.
Marilu Henner

Health, Life, Happy

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the

right things.
Peter Drucker
Leadership

Good management is the art of making problems so

interesting and their solutions so constructive that
everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.
Paul Hawken
Leadership, Work, Art

Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our

control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we
lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to
maximizing the time we have.
John C. Maxwell
Time, Control, Lives

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective

management is discipline, carrying it out.
Stephen Covey
Leadership, Discipline, Effective

Employees who believe that management is concerned

about them as a whole person - not just an employee - are
more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied
employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to
profitability.
Anne M. Mulcahy
Mean, Concerned, Satisfied

A key to achieving success is to assemble a strong and

stable management team.
Vivek Wadhwa
Success, Strong, Team

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success;

leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning
against the right wall.
Stephen Covey
Success, Leadership, Against

Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is

about nurturing and enhancing.
Tom Peters
Leadership, Telling, Nurturing

The great myth is the manager as orchestra conductor. It's

this idea of standing on a pedestal and you wave your
baton and accounting comes in, and you wave it
somewhere else and marketing chimes in with accounting,
and they all sound very glorious. But management is more
like orchestra conducting during rehearsals, when
everything is going wrong.
Henry Mintzberg
Great, Wrong, Idea

Management is nothing more than motivating other people.

Lee Iacocca
Work, Motivating

Management is all about managing in the short term, while

developing the plans for the long term.
Jack Welch

While, Short, Plans

You can't grow long-term if you can't eat short-term.

Anybody can manage short. Anybody can manage long.
Balancing those two things is what management is.
Jack Welch
Short, Grow, Anybody

The first rule of management is delegation. Don't try and

do everything yourself because you can't.
Anthea Turner
Yourself, Rule, Delegation

Management by objective works - if you know the

objectives. Ninety percent of the time you don't.
Peter Drucker
Time, Works, Percent

Corporate culture matters. How management chooses to

treat its people impacts everything - for better or for
worse.
Simon Sinek
Culture, Treat, Matters

Most of what we call management consists of making it

difficult for people to get their work done.
Peter Drucker
Business, Work, Difficult

Success in management requires learning as fast as the

world is changing.
Warren Bennis
Success, Learning, Fast

Leadership is working with goals and vision; management

is working with objectives.
Russel Honore
Leadership, Vision, Goals

When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles

a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the
reputation of the business that remains intact.
Warren Buffett
Business, Bad, Reputation

There are six components of wellness: proper weight and

diet, proper exercise, breaking the smoking habit, control
of alcohol, stress management and periodic exams.
Kenneth H. Cooper
Diet, Control, Stress

You've got to know what you want. This is central to acting

on your intentions. When you know what you want, you
realize that all there is left then is time management. You'll
manage your time to achieve your goals because you
clearly know what you're trying to achieve in your life.
Patch Adams
Life, Time, Acting

This is the key to time management - to see the value of

every moment.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Time, Moment, Value

What is needed is the intelligent management of Earth's

resources. If we really wish to put an end to our ongoing
international and social problems, we must eventually

declare Earth and all of its resources as the common

heritage of all the world's people.
Jacque Fresco
End, Problems, Wish

Earlier, my priority was only work. I worked like a dog

before I got married. After marriage, once you have a
baby, time management is difficult. Your responsibilities
change, your priorities change. And you have to
concentrate on them if you have to work out your life. Your
career is just a part of your life. For me, my family is my
life.
Kajol
Life, Change, Time

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Quotes tagged as "management" (showing 1-30 of 173)

Start with the end in mind.

Stephen R. Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
tags: management
263 likes

like

In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.
Tina Fey, Bossypants
tags: management, work
214 likes

like

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and
self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.
Theodore Roosevelt
tags: leadership, management
171 likes

like

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.
John C. Maxwell
tags: inspirational, leadership, management
156 likes

like

Most of the upper management of I.S. were undead. I always thought it was because the job was
easier if you didn't have a soul.
Kim Harrison, Dead Witch Walking
tags: beaurocracy, humor, management
144 likes

like

Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.

Bernard Branson
tags: adult, african-american-romance, angels, baby, bible, bible-study, business, childrens, christian-living,christian-romance, college, creati
vity, dark-fantasy, dating, economics, education, educational, entrepreneurship,ethics, explicit, faith, family, family-relationships, fantasyromance, friendship, fun, funny, humorous-romance,jesus, leadership, love-story, management, marriage, meditation, motivational, nonficti
on, paranormal-romance,parenting, personal-transformation, relationships, religion, romantic-comedy, romantic-suspense, self-esteem, self
-help, sex, sexuality, sexy, spiritual-growth, spirituality, students, success, supernatural, teen, women, young-adult,young-adult-fantasy
125 likes

like

I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of "Admin." The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid
"dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour
camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried,
and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars
and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally
enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a
thoroughly nasty business concern."
[From the Preface]
C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
tags: administration, big-business, bureaucracy, corporations, corporatocracy, dictatorship, efficiency, evil, hell,management, police-state
114 likes

like

The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is
controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.
Robert Conquest
tags: bereaucracy, funny, management
96 likes

like

You can change only what people know, not what they do.
Scott Adams, God's Debris : A Thought Experiment
tags: control, management
55 likes

like

Employers are like horses they require management.

P.G. Wodehouse, Carry on, Jeeves
tags: employers, horses, management
53 likes

like

Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility.

Peter F. Drucker
tags: leadership, management, power
50 likes

like

What's measured improves

Peter F. Drucker
tags: management, metrics, quality-assurance
48 likes

like

People who don't take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks
generally make about two big mistakes a year.
Peter F. Drucker
tags: management, risk, taking-risks
48 likes

like

If you really want the key to success, start by doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.
Brad Szollose
tags: inspirational, leadership, management, self-help, success
44 likes

like

Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive
that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.
Paul Hawken

tags: inspirational, management, work

38 likes

like

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.
Peter F. Drucker
tags: management
32 likes

like

Too many companies believe people are interchangeable. Truly gifted people never are. They have
unique talents. Such people cannot be forced into roles they are not suited for, nor should they be.
Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to do.
Warren G. Bennis, Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration
tags: leadership, management
29 likes

like

People in any organization are always attached to the obsolete - the things that should have worked
but did not, the things that once were productive and no longer are.
Peter F. Drucker
tags: leadership, management, strategic-planning
29 likes

like

The show doesnt go on because its ready; it goes on because its 11:30.
Lorne Michaels
tags: funny, humor, management, snl, tina-fey
26 likes

like

No great manager or leader ever fell from heaven, its learned not inherited.
Tom Northup
tags: leadership, management
23 likes

like

In the minds of great managers, consistent poor performance is not primarily a matter of weakness,
stupidity, disobedience, or disrespect. It is a matter of miscasting.
Marcus Buckingham
tags: management
21 likes

like

Talent is the multiplier. The more energy and attention you invest in it, the greater the yield. The
time you spend with your best is, quite simply, your most productive time.
Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do
Differently
tags: invest, management, manager, productive, talent
18 likes

like

Instead of freaking out about these constraints, embrace them. Let them guide you. Constraints
drive innovation and force focus. Instead of trying to remove them, use them to your advantage.
37 Signals, Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Web Application
tags: business, constraints, management
14 likes

like

Anger can be managed to become

emotional content that raises power.
Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut
tags: anger, content, emotional, management, power
12 likes

like

Leash the anger on purpose.

Unleash it when falling apart.
Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut
tags: anger, management

10 likes

like

All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they are now getting. If we want different
results, we must change the way we do things.
Tom Northup
tags: leadership, management
10 likes

like

Accountants are in the past, managers are in the present, and leaders are in the future.
Paul Orfalea, Copy This!: Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic who Turned a Bright Idea Into
One of America's Best Companies
tags: business, leadership, management
9 likes

like

Its not the people you fire who make your life miserable. Its the people you dont.
Dick Grote, Discipline Without Punishment: The Proven Strategy That Turns Problem
Employees Into Superior Performers
tags: management, termination
8 likes

like

Management is, above all, a practice where art, science, and craft meet
Henry Mintzberg
tags: management
8 likes

like

His management philosophy, tempered in his rain-dancing days, was always to give the project to
whoever had the most to gain from success--or the most to lose from failure.
Michael Crichton, Congo
tags: management
7 likes

like

scm quots
I consider a bad bottle of Heineken to be a personal insult to me
Freddy Heineken, founder of Dutch beer giant
Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing, layout, processes, and
procedures
Tom Peters
All we are doing is looking at the time line from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point
when we collect the cash. And we reduce that time line by removing non-value-added wastes
Taiichi Ohno ( ) 1912-1990, Toyota Executive and father of the Toyota Production System
If you can not describe what you are doing as a process, you do not know what you are doing
W. Edwards Deming 1900-1993, American continuous improvement management guru and father of the Deming
Cycle
The best supply chains aren't just fast and cost-effective. They are also agile and adaptable, and they ensure
that all their companies' interests stay aligned
Hau L. Lee, US Professor of Operations, Information and Technology in Harvard Business Review, Oct. 2004
Outsourcing is no panacea. It's often called the "make or break" decision. Well, let me tell you, it can quickly
become the make or break decision
Joe Neubacher, CEO of food-services firm ARA Services (1993)
Even though quality cannot be defined, you know what quality is
Robert M. Pirsig 1928-, American philosopher
Operational excellence remains a greater imperative than most companies and most executives
acknowledge
Gene Tyndall in Supercharging Supply Chains (1998)

Quotes on Problem Solving

Be passionate about solving the problem, not proving your solution.
Nail It then Scale It, p. 112

As soon as we start fighting for our solution, weve changed our focus from the customer to
ourselves. While explaining your reasoning is important, quickly supporting better ideas will
benefit your organization much more and shows true wisdom.
Sometimes no problem is a sign of a different problem
Reworded from Mark Rosenthal, author of The Lean Thinker
Since companies ultimately rely on imperfect people, businesses will always experience
variation. To say something has no problems is to indicate you lack awareness.
If you are constantly firefighting, you have the impression that you are surrounded by
many, many problems. However, careful analysis will point to a few core problems that will
solve all the fires.
Its Not Luck, p. 9495 (second part paraphrased)
If were able to solve the root cause of our problems, we suddenly find we have much more
time.
Problems are excellent guides to improvement, but only if the real problem is identified.
Paraphrased from The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership
This principal is especially applicable for successful managers. Focusing your attention on
the wrong problem or redirecting your teams efforts to ease symptoms instead of solve
problems is an easy mistake to make. Knowing how to explore deeply and find the real
problem is a true skill to seek. A similar sentiment that presents a great visual metaphor of
the same principal is next.
When solving problems, dig at the roots instead of just hacking at the leaves.
Anthony J. DAngelo, The College Blue Book
You are in the business of testing your guesses, not convincing yourself that you are right.
Nail It then Scale It, p. 5758
A relentless barrage of whys is the best way to prepare your mind to pierce the clouded
veil of thinking caused by the status quo. Use it often.
Shigeo Shingo
This is how three-year-olds learn. They ask why in response to everything. Even if you try
the infamous because I said so, they will respond with why. Thats why they learn so
much. We could take a lesson from them, as detailed in the article The Three-year-old Why
Technique
Asking why? five times helps lead you to the human error in a technical malfunction.

 Eric Ries, The Lean Startup

Costs do not exist to be calculated. Costs exist to be reduced.
Taiichi Ohno
Whenever I am overburdened by accounting paperwork, I remember this note of wisdom.
Then, I stand up from my desk and try to get real work done. (Note: I love accountants too
and appreciate their hard work)
We didnt have time for mistakes, so we had to spend extra time planning.
Its Not Luck, P. 265
Often, if you want to get something done quickly, you have to slow down. Thoughtful actions
are often more successful than quick, rash decisions. Youre either going to put in time
planning or cleaning up the mess afterward.
Stop production so you dont have to stop production.
Toyota Explanation of the Andon Cord, Referenced in The Lean Startup
This one makes me smile because it makes you think for a minute. Putting out a campfire is
much easier than putting out a forest fire. Again, this thought ties right into the previous
one. Youre going to have to stop production at some point. How much wasted money and
disruption that stop will cause is up to you.

Quotes on Innovation and Speed

A chess novice can defeat a master if moving twice each round.
Mark Goldenson, Ten Lessons from a Failed Startup, in VentureBeat. 2009. Quoted in Nail It
then Scale It, p. 96
Speed and agility are often underutilized advantages with which companies can succeed
especially small businesses. Imagine reducing waste and leaning your processes to the point
that you can move twice as fast as your competitors do.

Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing layout,
processes, and procedures.
Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence
Anyone can come into a department, position, or process and make it more complicated.
Beefing up staff, procedures, or budgets often feels like a temporary upgrade. However, true
innovation usually means simplification and reduction.
To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.
Leonard Bernstein
I previously wrote an article on this thought. I rarely have what I think is enough time for
many of the projects or initiatives I work on. Bernsteins recipe reminds me that time is
always tight, and great things happen because of that pressure. When you dont have time
to sit around and be fearful, you have no choice but to move forward. Tight deadlines make
my work much more efficient. Instinctively I begin cutting out the non-vale-added fluff. The
fluff is what often holds me back on a slow day.
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
C. Northcote Parkinson, 1958
I approach a two-hour deadline much differently than a twenty-day deadline. In most cases,
the deliverable is the same no matter how long I have.

The essential question is not, How busy are you? but What are you busy at?'
Oprah Winfrey
I have this one by my desk, constantly reminding me that to be busy doesnt matter if Im
not busy adding value. Thoreau had the same idea a century and a half earlier:
It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?
Henry David Thoreau, letter to H.G.O. Blake, 16 November 1857
Everyone is busy. Talent and productivity is busy doing something worthwhile, helpful, and
well.
The iPod story illustrates a crucial point: a big, successful venture can look in retrospect like
a singlestep creative breakthrough when, in fact, it came about as a multistep iterative
process based more upon empirical validation than visionary genius. The marriage of fanatic
discipline and empirical creativity better explains Apples Revival than breakthrough
innovation per se.
Jim Collins, Great by Choice
Great by Choice is by far the best Collins book yet. It emphasizes the powerful roles that
discipline, creativity, and risk-planning play in great companies and individuals. Collins tells
the story of how that the Apples iPod wasnt so much a result of creativity but of fanatic
discipline. In fact, when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, his priority was reinstating discipline,
not creativity. This story completely changed my conception of how to lead an innovative
company.
Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get
on with improving your other innovations.
Steve Jobs
Id rather have my team make seven wrong turns and three positive improvements than
zero wrong turns and one improvement. More than that, Id rather have the seven wrong
turns and three improvements over zero wrong turns and three improvements. If you dont
occasionally fail, then youre not aiming toward high enough goals.
Without changing our patterns of thought, we will not be able to solve the problems that we
created with our current patterns of thought.
Albert Einstein
Mark Rosenthal does an excellent job of describing the Next Target Condition in a couple of
his posts here and here. Essentially, we know theres a solution out there, but we dont know
what it looks like. However, we can start learning in that direction, which will help us get

closer to the solution. Just like Einsteins quote, we often have to improve our patterns of
thought before we can spot the solution that will improve the process.

Quotes on Lean Operations and

Process Improvement
When improving a process, try to visualize what it would look like if it were smooth. Smooth
has no wasted motions, no excessive activities. Anything that doesnt look smooth is likely
the result of an accommodation, an awkward operation, poor information presentation, poor
computer screen layout and workflow.
Adapted from Mark Rosenthal, author of The Lean Thinker
Continuous improvement is not about the things you do well thats work. Continuous
improvement is about removing the things that get in the way of your work. The headaches,
the things that slow you down, thats what continuous improvement is all about.
Bruce Hamilton
Whenever I find myself dreading a task on my to-do list thats a strong indication that I can
make a significant improvement. The reward from that improvement effort comes when
instead of dreading the task, I look forward to it. Removing the things that get in the way of
your work helps you create more value.
The signature of mediocrity is not an unwillingness to change. The signature of mediocrity
is chronic inconsistency.
Jim Collins [Source]
This quote is from an interview about education and government, but it applies very well to
a corporate setting. Being able to count on a process or person is much better than sporadic
big successes and large failures. This relates to a motto from a friend of mine, Bryan Braun:
You dont have to be amazing you just have to be consistent
Bryan Braun, BryanBraun.com
This corresponds with one of my favorite concepts: discipline and a steady stride of small
wins.
Small wins are a steady application of a small advantage.
Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Developing a habit of doing a bit extra each day has an extraordinary result. That small
advantage, like compound interest, grows and grows until it produces amazing results.

Amateurs work until they get it right. Professionals work until they cant get it wrong.
Author Unknown
This thought reminds me of Poka-yoke, or mistake proofing. Instead of just making a process
that works, a truly solid process cannot be broken.
There are many experts on how things have been done up to now. If you think something
could use a little improvement, you are the expert.
Robert Brault, RobertBrault.com
It took me a few years out of college before I realized that most of my work questions didnt
have a higher authority with an answer. Most of the time, we are the best person to answer
our own questions it just takes a bit of hard work, background research, creativity, and
faith.
Survival is optional. No one has to change.
W. Edward Deming, [Source]
A sobering reminder that not changing may mean not succeeding. Shigeo Shingo explains
takes a different approach on the same thought:
Are you too busy for improvement? Frequently, I am rebuffed by people who say they are
too busy and have no time for such activities. I make it a point to respond by telling people,
look, youll stop being busy either when you die or when the company goes bankrupt.
Shigeo Shingo
Most small businesses that fail dont lack hard work; they lack processes that help the
company succeed in a sustainable manner. When faced with those prospects, suddenly its
easy to find time to slow down a bit and improve. This makes me think of a fun graph of how
Geeks and Non-geeks approach repetitive tasks:

[Source]
The three As of metrics: actionable, accessible and auditable.
Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
Dashboards, KPIs, and scorecards all depend on good measurements of progress toward
goals. Actionable metrics clearly direct what actions need to be taken to improve the score.
Accessible metrics are able to be calculated and understood by others. Auditable metrics
means that multiple people can calculate the same metric independently, which avoids
mistrust in the numbers.
The next is an excellent definition of the Toyota Production System for those who are new to
its concepts.
When I first began learning about the Toyota Production System (TPS), I was enamored of
the power of [onepiece flow, kanban, and other lean tools]. But along the way, experienced
leaders within Toyota kept telling me that these tools and techniques were not the key to
TPS. Rather the power behind TPS is a companys management commitment to continuously
invest in its people and promote a culture of continuous improvement. I nodded like I knew
what they were talking about, and continued to study how to calculate kanban quantities
and set up onepiece flow cells. After studying for almost 20 years and observing the
struggles [other] companies have had applying lean, what these Toyota teachers told me is
finally sinking in.
Jeffery Liker, The Toyota Way

The motivation and support of a companys management will have more influence on the
culture and potential improvement than any specific set of tools. To reach this level, many
companies need to transform and get better at the top as well as the bottom:
A corporation is a living organism; it has to continue to shed its skin. Methods have to
change. Focus has to change. Values have to change. The sum total of those changes is
transformation.
Andrew Grove, Former CEO if Intel

Quotes to Motivate Improvement

You dont have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
Zig Ziglar
My wife, a middle school teacher has a big poster in her room that reads, The expert in
anything was once a beginner. Few people are great the first time they try something. So,
you better go ahead and get those first few tries out of the way. Moving forward and gaining
momentum is both difficult and important. Heres another great quote about getting started:
A real decision is measured by the fact that youve taken a new action. If theres no action,
you havent truly decided.
Tony Robbins
The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an
opportunity.
Peter F. Drucker
Organizational changes, especially crises, are excellent opportunities to improve. As people
are pushed out of their comfort zone, many are willing to adopt better practices. However,
poorly managed changes can also create large amounts of waste.
You must have longrange goals to keep you from being frustrated by short range failures.
Charles C. Noble
Life brings many storms and setbacks. By instead focusing on the end destination,
emergencies and fires cause a lot less stress. Actively choosing long-range goals and striving
toward them creates great people, as expressed in the next quote.
A ship in port is safe but that is not what ships are built for.
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper

Whenever I feel risk-adverse, I remember this and act more boldly.

Improvement usually means doing something that we have never done before.
Shigeo Shingo
The impossible is often the untried.
Jim Goodwin (Adirondack Mountaineer)
Too many times Ive thought something couldnt be done until I tried.
The Toyota Production System continual improvements toward profound evolution through
full participation of all employees. There are no bound to improvement. This is the basis of
ongoing efforts by all employees to aim for kaizen, and refusing to ever by complacent.
- Toyota Museum, Nagoya Japan (from Picture taken by Mark Graban, posted on Lean Blog
Every action is an opportunity to improve.
Mark Graban, Lean Blog
Unfortunately, we are not perfect. Nevertheless, If we constantly look at our actions as
opportunities to improve, then we will accept constructive criticism better from those who
are offering suggestions. We will be more likely to look for changes along the way. We will
not be as likely to remain stuck in our old, ineffective ways.
It is more than probable that the average man could, with no injury to his health, increase
his efficiency fifty percent.
Sir Walter Scott
I would hate if my manager came to me with this quote as justification for doubling my
workload. Id much rather look introspectively and figure out how I could accomplish what
Im doing in half the time. Depending on the exact work, Scotts estimate is usually close.
You may even be able to say, It is more than probable that the average [business] could,
with no injury to [its] health, increase [its] efficiency fifty percent.

Quotes on Providing Value to

Customers
As long as I listen to my customers, I never need to have another original idea.
Niel Robertson, founder of Trada, in Do More Faster

When working to improve product offerings and internal processes, you cant go wrong
letting the customer dictate the direction. While this is obvious for end-consumers, the
principal is also enlightening when you focus on pleasing internal customers. How can I
improve what Im doing so that my work better satisfies marketing, accounting, sales, or
another department? How can I create internal value that eventually results in value to all
stakeholders and customers?
Do not be competitor focused, be customer focused.
Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com CEO)
If you always please the customer, then youll always be competitive. Your customers can do
your competitive analysis for you and let you know how to change better than competitive
analysis can. Your competitor may be beating you because they are better at listening to the
customer. Jeff Bezos even offers a simple but effective blueprint:
Determine what you customers need, and then work backwards.
Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com CEO)
A manufacturer or retailer that responds to changes in sales in hours instead of weeks is no
longer at heart a product company, but a service company that has a product offering.
Bill Gates, Business @ the Speed of Thought
Providing quality and service beyond just the physical product is how most successful
product companies are able to differentiate themselves and add value. By focusing on the
job the customer needs to accomplish, instead of the product youre trying to sell, you can
begin adding value that goes beyond the item in the box. This is explained by Clayton
Christensens idea that the reason we buy things is because were trying to accomplish a
job. By focusing on the jobs customers are outsourcing to our products, we can better help
them accomplish that job. This is how Christensen puts it:
The jobs-to-be-done point of view causes you to crawl into the skin of your customer and go
with her as she goes about her day, always asking the question as she does something: why
did she do it that way?
Clayton M. Christensen, How Will You Measure Your Life?
By taking this point of view and listening to the voice of the customer, you can find creative
solutions to take your business beyond a product and offer a full package to happier
customers.
The absolute fundamental aim is to make money out of satisfying customers.
John Egan

Reminding ourselves that our goal is to satisfy customers often brings clarity to confusing
decisions.
We see customers as invited guests for a party and we are the hosts. It is our job every day
to make every aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.
Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com CEO)
Bezoss quote demonstrates the correct attitude to have toward customers. The more we
treat them as guests that we are honored to have, the less likely we are to create local
optima and waste. Whether internal customers or end customers, constantly asking what
can I do to better please the customer will point toward the path toward success.

Quotes on the Value of Employees

and People
The economic losses from fear are appalling. To assure better quality and productivity, it is
necessary that people feel secure.
W. Edward Deming
Anyone thats survived layoffs will agree with this thought. It underscores Leans success
through investment in people. When people work in fear, local optima through self-centered
objectives abound. Very few are going to sacrifice for the good of the company if that could
lead to a pink slip letting them go.
Brilliant process management is our strategy. We get brilliant results from average people
managing brilliant processes. We observe that our competitors often get average (or worse)
results from brilliant people managing broken processes.
Toyota Management [Source]
Often when team members fail, its because the organizations processes arent strong
enough. Few people withhold their best efforts especially when they know exactly what is
expected of them. Bad processes take away the feeling of security and accomplishment that
creates true satisfaction. Conversely, the right processes can take even the least-stellar
employees and make them shine.
[All the patterns] that exist in most peoples lives how we eat and sleep and talk to our
kids, how we unthinkingly spend our time, attention and money those are habits that we
know exist. And once you understand that habits can change, you have the freedom and the
responsibility to remake them. Once you understand that habits can be rebuilt, the power of
habit becomes easier to grasp and the only option left is to get to work.
Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Busines s

Charles Duhiggs book changed the way I looked at my life. At least 90% of the decisions I
make each day are just replays of earlier decisions that have become habit. Learning how to
change habits has helped me change my life. The same applies with work. As we recognize
the habits in our organizations, we can work to improve them. We can also manage change
better as we realize others must develop new habits for changes to work.
We tend to get what we expect.
Norman Vincent Peale (Minister and Author of The Power of Positive Thinking)
If you expect your people to waste time when youre not looking, thats often what your
culture becomes. On the other hand, if you expect dedication and hard work, youll also be
right. My father-in-law coached sports for a long time. When my wife started teaching he
gave her this advice from coaching that she carried into the classroom. Treat your weakest
player (or student) like they are your star athlete (or scholar). People will meet whatever
expectations are set for them, so set them high.
It doesnt matter how much you invest in technology or processes if you dont also invest
in people, you wont succeed. If you dont have a well-defined strategy and execution plan
upfront around finding, screening, hiring, and onboarding talent, you will pay for it later in
lost productivity, quality and safety issues, and high turnover rates.
Adrian Gonzalez, Logistics Viewpoints
Payroll is an easy target for expense reduction. However, the savings is often an illusion as
lower-paid, less-qualified employees result in higher expenses elsewhere. Bringing on and
rewarding talent is a best practice that most successful companies follow closely.
The manager that can see the furthest gets the trust of the team.
Jeff Durham, CEO of Durham Brands
This is motivating advice for managers and leaders from a good friend I worked under. A well
understood and communicated vision really helps guide improvement and unite people
together.

Quotes on Inventory Management

Kanban is like the milkman. Mom didnt give the milkman a schedule. Mom didnt use MRP.
She simply put the empties on the front steps and the milkman replenished them. That is
the essence of a pull system
Ernie Smith, Lean Event Facilitator in the Lean Enterprise Forum at the University of
Tennessee
Improvement usually results in something simpler and more common sense. Technology
sometimes gets in the way of improvements because the cores of many improvements are

low-tech solutions weve known in other circumstances for years. A process that feels
unnatural is often a great candidate for improvement.
[Substitute] information for inventory
APICS CSCP Learning System 2013, Module 1, Section D, Page 1176
This simple yet powerful principal helped me drive the implementation of our companys
S&OP planning process. The more information you can gather, the less inventory you need
to hold.
The words just for now are the origin of all waste.
Hiroyuki Hirano via The Lean Thinker
I started noticing how many temporary Band-Aid solutions we used after I realized I heard
just for now multiples times each day. Sometimes, in the spirit of moving quickly, these
stopgap methods work. However, slowing down and improving the process to solve the main
problem is often worth the work and time.
The most dangerous kind of waste is the waste we do not recognize.
Shigeo Shingo
I appreciate wise mentors who have developed the skill of recognizing waste that I do not
yet see. This makes me think of health and our bodies as well. The most dangerous kind of
waste/sickness is the one that we are not aware of, because we can make no effort to fix it.
Lean thinking defines value as providing benefit to the customer; anything else is waste.
Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
Anything besides providing benefit to the customer is a local optimum. Creating value for
employees and stakeholders is important to the long-term ability to serve customers.
However, when end customers are no longer the primary focus, you become vulnerable to
competitors with a stronger customer focus.
Variation breeds inventory.
Unknown, Attributed to Shigeo Shingo [Source]
Whenever the product development team asks me if we can carry additional variations of a
product, this principal guides my response. While variations can capture additional sales,
recognizing that each SKU will require its own investment in inventory helps push for lower
SKU counts. This applies to variety packs in the supermarket as well. I may think I want 20
different flavors of potato chips, so I buy the more expensive combination box. However,
when it comes time to pack my lunch each day, I realize there are only a few styles I love.
The rest stay on the shelf.

True startup productivity is not just making more stuff, but systematically figuring out the
right things to build.
Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
We can always try to do more. However, increasing productivity often involves finding waste
in processes and removing those steps. In tandem, we can listen more closely to the
customer and find out what truly adds value, which are the right things to build.
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AG ARCHIVES: QUOTES

A supply chain is
Posted on January 31, 2013 by gyoengyi | 1 comment

Again I asked my students to provide some metaphors for supply chain, just
completing the sentence starting with A supply chain is . Here are some flavours of
the results, a bit grouped around topics this year with favourite themes around nature,
humans, human activities (baking, theatre, sports):

Metaphors from nature

A supply chain is

like an army of ants or a group of honey bees. when they coordinate in group they
create something as magnificent as anthills or honey respectively. (Abhishek Abhinav)

a river that floats in opposite directions at the same time. (Annika Alftan)

the beginning of life until the final end. (Benjamin Andersson)

like a plant. It needs a variety of elements from different channels to grow, to be

whole, stay stable and eventually flourish. (Sara Brnns)

like a cell: a complex system in constant movement. Every component plays a vital
part and all the functions follow a specialized code that keeps the entire system on
track. A functioning cell is often taken for granted and but even the smallest
malfunction can have serious consequences. (Elina Hkkinen)

like a tree. Different components and products are gathered and processed by
different producers and processes like the roots of a tree. The final products or your
firm is symbolized by the tree trunk and the trees ramification including the foliage
symbolizes the distribution of the products to the consumers. The more complicated the
chain the bigger the tree. (Cecilia Mickos)

a caterpillar. All parts have to move in sync to get to the goal. (Kai Pietil)

critical path in organizations or ecosystems that secure the delivery of products or

services from the supplier to the dedicated consumer of this particular product or
service. An efficient Supply Chain operates in a balanced, optimized manner, so that the
customer service interface, related costs and risks involved, are on the desired, planned
level. From the receiving customer point-of-view the Supply Chain can be inward or
outward bound, when observing the supply flows (Juha-Pentti Rautalahti)
Metaphors related to the human body
A supply chain is

like the anatomy of a human body with arteries functioning as downstream and veins
functioning as upstream. (Mikael Holmberg)

like a human body. Everything is related and linked. There is one main objective for
every part of the body: the functioning and the health of the body (corresponding to the
final customer satisfaction). The heart can be assimilated to the focal company: flows
(blood) exist in order make the supply chain alive. Some suppliers (food, nerves)
provide raw material or information in order to irrigate the rest of the chain. The
interdependency and process links of the human body embodies very well the
interdependency of the different stakeholders of the chain: if something happens
downstream, it may have important consequences upstream. (Vivien Matthieu)

like the human body: all the organs are linked together and there is information
sharing between all of them, passing by the connections in the brain. If one of them
stops to work or dont work very well, there is a huge impact on the others and the
whole body is affected. The whole purpose is for the human being to be healthy, and for

this to work, all of the organs have to function well and together, each one of them
fulfilling its objectives. (Ana Zonari)
Metaphors from arts / sports
A supply chain is

a stage where the lighting is broken and youre trying to peer into the darkness
surrounding where you stand while simultaneously directing the play. (Johan Jrvinen)

like a team; the communication needed and networks that arise are complex and the
key indicators of how well the team is performing can be measured through the
customer satisfaction. (Janina Lindgren)

like the process of a rumor spreading within a group of people. When the first person
tells it to the next there is one version, but after several people have contributed to the
story the last version of the rumor tends to be different. (Charlotta Lnnfors)

a football game. The coach is the person who helps the players to reach their
destinations in an efficient way. The players are the interconnected businesses/parties
who bring the products/services, and their aim is to score a goal product/services will
reach to the destination. The goalkeeper is the customer and he/she is waiting for the
ball product/service. The players are always in contact with each other and they need
to do their best in order to score. They might have challenges during the game since
the opposing team can make different kinds of movements. Players need to pass these
challenges and score the goal. There are complex movements which they can do, but
they should choose which action would be the best and in this case, coach can lead the
team. (Zeynep Paukkio)

like a game of football, where a team tries to cooperate according to a rehearsed

game plan, in order to score a goal. The teams coaches and management outline the
strategy and train the players, and the players implement the strategy on a tactical
level. (Tom Turula)

like a puzzle. Every part has to be on its own place in order to make the big picture
work. (Diana Welander)

Metaphors related to cooking / baking

A supply chain is..

like cooking, all ingredients bring more value and taste to the food, and if one part is
missing it can destroy the whole meal. (Paulina Salin)

like baking a bun right amount of right and fresh ingredients at a right order, exact
time at the oven, baked with a decent effort and served to the nice people. (Helmi
Sihvonen)
and finally, a supply chain is

like a bridge which provides a way for linking the vendors, manufacturers, retailers and
customers to work together to achieve their goal respectively. (Yuqing Yang)
Beautiful, isnt it?

Gyngyi

1 Comment
Posted in Popular science, Socks and sandals, supply chain, Supply Chain Management
Tagged logistics education, metaphor, quotes, supply chain

Quote of the day: the whole process of business

Posted on January 7, 2013 by gyoengyi | 1 comment

Ok, this is a via-via-via reference, found through the logistics quotes discussion on the
Operations & Supply Chain Academic Group on LinkedIn. But the quote is nice
nonetheless:

Physical distribution is simply another way of saying the whole process of business.
Peter Drucker.
The entire discussion can be found here, and a white paper collecting all sorts of similar
SCM / logistics quote can be downloaded here. Add your quotes so that they can be
added to the white paper!
Gyngyi

PS. addition on Jan 9, just found another blog full of quotes, here they are.
1 Comment
Posted in Logistics, Socks and sandals, Supply Chain Management
Tagged business, logistics, Peter Drucker, physical distribution,quotes, supply chain

Quote of the day: A good paper is a good paper

Posted on November 12, 2012 by gyoengyi | 2 comments

Alan McKinnons article on starry eyed journal ratings and rankings is on IJPDLMs
EarlyCite and has been circulating around in logistics mailing lists creating
considerable discussion in the otherwise rather quiet Logprofs list, for example. Heres
my favourite quote from the article:
a good paper is a good paper
regardless of the journal in which it is published
As with everything else in the article, I couldnt agree more.

Gyngyi