Jeff Liker is considered one of the leading experts on how work gets done at Toyota.
Over the years, thousands of companies have attempted to implement Toyota’s ideas around lean manufacturing which is at the heart of the fabled “Toyota Way,” writes Robert E. Quinn in his book The Deep Change Field Guide. Implementing lean involves eliminating waste through a process of continuous improvement.
Yet, according to … continue reading
This week we’ve been looking at the perils of slow death which result when the situation calls for us to adapt. If we don’t, if we distort reality and deny what the world is telling us, we begin the process of slow death, writes Robert E. Quinn in The Deep Change Field Guide.
There is a better way.
Deep change.
Deep change requires a new way of thinking and … continue reading
We don’t stay the same.
People and organizations are either getting better or getting worse.
“We tend to think of an organization as a machine-like object,” Robert E. Quinn writes in his terrific book The Deep Change Field Guide. “Yet it is often more fruitful to think of an organization as a living system that has a trajectory: it is either gaining energy or losing energy.”
The second … continue reading
Some years back there was a problem at one of the military academies. Some of the students were cheating on their exams.
The senior officers believed that corruption in society was to blame, writes Robert E. Quinn in his terrific book The Deep Change Field Guide: “They argued that by the time some eighteen-year-olds arrived at the academy they were irredeemable.”
Robert had been invited to a meeting of … continue reading
The executives at General Motors had had enough.
It was 1982. General Motors’ Fremont auto assembly plant was in crisis. The plant ranked at the bottom of the GM’s quality and productivity metrics. Absenteeism was high. Costs were 30 percent higher than GM’s Japanese competitors. Sales and overall customer satisfaction with the Chevy Nova which was manufactured in Fremont were poor and getting worse.
But that wasn’t the worst of … continue reading
At first, it felt like a homecoming.
It was 1989. Sony had just purchased Columbia Picture and hired Peter Guber as CEO. Earlier in his career, Peter had served as Motion Picture Chief of Columbia.
The honeymoon was brief, Peter writes, in his excellent book “Tell to Win“ on the power of storytelling. This week we are looking at the raw material we can use to tell stories to … continue reading
“Hello, Peter, this is Bill.”
Presidential candidate Bill Clinton was calling Peter Guber, CEO of Sony Pictures.
It was early 1992. Bill was being pummeled in the media for allegations of sexual infidelity. He had just lost the New Hampshire primary. Not since 1952 had a candidate won the presidency without first winning New Hampshire.
Bill was desperate: he needed to raise $90,000 by the end of the day … continue reading
One day early in his career, Peter Guber, the young studio head at Columbia Pictures, was talking with Jack Warner, the legendary founder and chairman of Warner Bros.
During a lull in the conversation, Jack asked him casually, “How are things going for you at the studio?” He seemed genuinely interested, Peter writes in his wonderful book, Tell to Win.
He found himself venting: “It’s like a … continue reading
It was opening night. There was a line out the door of the restaurant as people clamored to get inside.
The famous restaurateur Wolfgang Puck had been in Atlanta all week, writes Peter Guber in his terrific book Tell to Win. Wolfgang wanted to make sure his staff were properly trained and understood the standard of excellence Wolfgang was famous for.
The results were impressive. The restaurant more than doubled … continue reading
One night, Hollywood mogul Peter Guber stopped by the Border Grill in Los Angeles.
What happened next surprised him.
First, he took a bite of his fish taco. “The taste blew me away,” he writes in Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story.
Then, his waiter noticed the look on his face and remarked, “You know, there is an adventure in that taco.”
This week … continue reading
