Getting Lean at Amazon

by Hal on November 14, 2008

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My son Garrison is reading the book Lean Solutions, by James Womack and Dan Jones for his class in operations management. We were just speaking about examples of company practices that are unfriendly-to-consumers when the Industry Week newsletter arrived with a story about Amazon.

Many products that could be easy-to-shoplift are packaged in oversized hard plastic cases…blister packs. These packs are very hard to open requiring the use of a knife or scissors. Amazon doesn't have to worry about shoplifting…no need for unfriendly packaging. They are working with suppliers to provide frustration-free packaging. It's a lean and green solution right out of the book. Have a read: Amazon Just Reformatted Your Packaging

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Ten New Rules for Project Managers
By Hal, Project Reformer

These ten ideas will dramatically improve your projects. Are these ten rules the top ten? You decide. But don't take too long. Share these rules with your team. Your team members are sure to help you carry them out!
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- Social Media for Supporting Projects
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  I did an interview with Bas de Baar via Skype video. We discussed how my company is using collaborative tools in support of our clients' projects. Enjoy!
- Pursuing an Elegant Foreword
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  Did you catch the Foreword to In Pursuit of Elegance? Guy Kawasaki wrote, "Less is the new more." Easy to learn: symmetry, seduction, subtraction, and sustainability. Very valuable to do. Step 1: Read Matt's book!! just 140 keystrokes.
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  The Lean Project Coaches hit the 50 posts mark on Friday. Quite a milestone for just 6 weeks blogging at Coaches Corner. They are writing on all aspects of lean projects. Tap into that for your projects.
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  04/23/2009
  Chris Slivon shares a bit of her journey in being a lean coach in the post
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  04/16/2009
  
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  Daily improvement to make our jobs safer, easier and more interesting is a corner-stone for Toyota. My colleague Rebecca Bettler describes how Quick 'n'Easy Kaizen is even more powerful when it's team sport. Read A Hidden Beauty...
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  04/15/2009
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  04/14/2009
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  04/06/2009
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- All Ya Gotta Do Is Ask
  03/25/2009
  Read the latest story of how green meets lean, or should I say kaizen? It's a Wall St Journal article that you don't want to miss.
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  03/25/2009
  It irks me when people play games with their writing. It wastes the readers' time, turns them off to what one has to say, and creates idealogical warfares. Write clearly...for the readers. Sorry for this outburst. Let's speak (and write) so we can be understood. Our projects will benefit from that.

My Twitter Updates
- @shmula 2nd in series on #TOC http://is.gd/cSWem Read a series of co-blogging posts on TOC for projects http://is.gd/cSWah #leanproject 13 hrs ago
- @toyotagal nice post Common Mistakes when We Are Problem-Solving http://is.gd/cSIz1 Looking forward to more of your posts #lean #leanproject 16 hrs ago
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- Oops :( my earlier references to Dave Maister should have been Dave Meier coauthor of Toyota Talent + Toyota Culture #TWISummit #leanproject 2010-05-11
- Don't set goals based on what's possible. We don't know what's possible. Set goals on what you need. Dave Maister #TWISummit #leanproject 2010-05-11
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