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A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 95 - Conclusion - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book SUMMARY (The 90 Day Schedule)How to win the War on Waste in 90 days? Having read the book, you can now ask me again: “How can I win the War on Waste in 90 Days?”First of all, you sign up with me.[1] Or do it on your own with a consulting phone support from me. Or you just do it and if you get in trouble, call me.It really is pretty easy to do.I also have training manuals that you can buy to follow the progr...
2021-09-0920 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 94 - Chapter 11 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio BookThe 7 things listed below are items that you need to do to make the War on Waste work successfully.Begin the 6 Steps of the War on Waste! Of course, that is what this whole process is about. Start it up and stand back. This is really a fun process.Use the tools of the War on Waste. Tools of the War on Waste were explained throughout the book. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 describe a number of tools that we use extensively as we deliver the War on Waste. Check in often with each team personally. D...
2021-09-0912 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 93 - Chapter 10 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book10. FAQs Have you ever done a company like ours?This is one of the most interesting questions that I get asked. The answer is pretty easy. Probably not or if I did one like yours, it still wasn’t yours. And that doesn’t matter a bit.The War on Waste is about fixing a company’s processes. It doesn’t make any difference what business you are in, the first question that we ask in the program is, “What do you do here to make money?”That is what...
2021-09-0807 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 91 - Chapter 8 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book8. Strategy This is not a chapter to compete with other treatises on strategy. There are a number of great tomes on the subject. This chapter is merely to place it in context within the War on Waste. The War on Waste led to the idea that strategy became aligned with process in the program. We referenced Michael Porter,[1] who is the pre-eminent strategy scholar in the United States. But this observation is not Porter’s. It is ours. This came out of our field research. It was a remarkable outcome. And we didn’t see it c...
2021-09-0815 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 92 - Chapter 9 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book9. The TKC The War on Waste creates the ideas and a process to get ideas into play. But it still requires a formal process to get new ideas into the system. Once the War on Waste is completed, the company still wants new ideas to continue. When the War on Waste is over, the implemented ideas need to be tracked. That is achieved with the Tribal Knowledge Council, the subject of this chapter.The TKC is the control point for the input of all ideas. Its purpose is to be the clearin...
2021-09-0809 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 90 - Chapter 7 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book7. Tools of the WarOver the years, we used tools of the trade in unique ways. We borrowed tools from friends. And we made up our own tools. Some of these are worth noting. 120/20 Rule of Profits.There is a corollary to the 80/20 Rule. A business “turn around” consulting friend showed us this rule. We have all seen it. It is the 120/20 Rule of Profits. · 120% of a company’s profits come from 20% of the customers. · 120% of profits from 20% of the salesmen.· 120% of the profits from 20% of the products or...
2021-08-0514 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 89 - Chapter 6 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book6. Value-adding There are a number of ways to define this term. We define it simply as “what customers are willing to pay for.” In any business, everyone needs to understand why the business exists and how it makes money. As we do the War on Waste, we ask a very simple question, “What does this company do to add value?” The answer to this simple question serves as the basis for the War on Waste.So the question “what is waste” is intimately tied to the company’s value-added activity. There is an interesting thing that happens in...
2021-08-0509 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 88 - Chapter 5 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book 5. Using the Mission StatementWe made an observation early on. It wasn’t a life changing experience but it was part of many of our conversations. We noted that the Mission Statement is rarely involved in decision-making. Once a few bright MBAs put a Mission Statement together, it goes somewhere to die. It just isn’t involved in the daily routine.So we wondered why? Why is so much time spent on developing a “Mission Statement” and it isn’t actively used in running the business? It is almost as if it were part of a...
2021-08-0408 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 87 - Chapter 4 - Part 2 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio BookNo Excuses The No Blame motto was developed to encourage employees to come up with ideas. It serves as their protection from the Black Knights that fight change in the organization. But there is a downside. When an employee invokes “No Blame” there is no accountability and that’s why we came up with the idea of “No Excuses”. When an employee team fails to measure up to its capabilities, they accept the consequences and report the data honestly. They do so with the understanding that “No Blame” is the operating philosophy of the company. And tha...
2021-08-0407 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 86 - Chapter 4 - Part 1 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book4. No BlameThe War on Waste (waste is anything in the company that keeps money from being made) begins with an idea. It doesn’t matter the size of the company, if you want to find out what’s wrong with the company, listen to an employee’s idea. The idea is not just any idea; it is an idea that identifies a waste in one of the business processes. In our definition, the War on Waste is a company-wide affair. Everyone participates. And all parts of the company are open to review. No...
2021-08-0408 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 85 - Chapter 3 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book3. The War on WasteThe War on Waste consists of the 6 steps noted in the previous chapter. We would like to expand on them a little bit here.If the program is a company initiative, the CEO or top Exec needs to announce the campaign and require that everyone get on board. If it starts with a single team, working a project through the Internet eWOW program, the team can influence the company to follow suit and get others involved.Engage – En Ga...
2021-07-2815 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 84 - Chapter 2 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book2. How I Got StartedThe story began twenty-nine years ago, as I stood in front of a group of employees who had been forced to attend a class I had been contracted to deliver. It was a training program that introduced a small manufacturing company to the principles of the Toyota Production System (TPS). The Toyota Production System is the basis of current Lean Manufacturing and 6-Sigma programs. In essence, I was teaching a method for identifying and eliminating waste in business processes. To illustrate my thoughts about how this system should be applied to A...
2021-07-2810 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 83 - Chapter 1 - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 Days - Audio Book1. What is Waste? In the Toyota Production System, Taiichi Ohno, its developer, identified 7 major wastes:· Waste of over production (largest waste) – making too much of a product and not being able to sell it. Idle inventory is a waste. · Waste of time on hand (waiting) – of course this would be waste because while a worker is not adding value, he or she is costing the company money.· Waste of transportation – while products are moving around the factory floor, no value is being added to them and that is a big waste.·...
2021-07-2814 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 82 - Introduction - How to Win the War on Waste in 90 DaysI told a client about the title of this book and he laughed. “Len,” he said, “I grant you, we got the processes under control and we made a lot of money as a result of your efforts in less than 90 days. But it is an ongoing effort. Paying attention to our inefficiencies is a continual struggle. But we know how to deal with them. And that is what the War on Waste did. It gave us the system to deal with the wastes and we keep our antennas up. It is management’s responsibility to pay attention to new wastes. Whe...
2021-07-2807 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 79 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 19 - Part 1 - Audio Book
2021-05-1709 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 80 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 19 - Part 2 - Audio BookAs I have delivered the War on Waste for 25 years, I have watched CEOs become shocked as their employees dissected their companies with laser precision as they developed and presented proposals to management. Many CEOs were flabbergasted that their employees could be so smart. Others knew the talent was there but didn’t want to spend the time to fix their companies.The observation of the War on Waste Paradox has given me a chance to revisit the story that I originally wrote over 17 years ago. I made several modifications but the story still stands up as a goo...
2021-05-1711 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 81 - War on Waste Paradox - Conclusion - Audio BookI love delivering the War on Waste over the years. We have recently migrated the program to the Internet and call it High ROI Problem Solving. There seemed to be some problem with people and the term "War on Waste." And we have changed the name of our Internet company to "The Consortium of Problem Solvers." We really have a consortium of Problem Solvers with our facilitators. They delve into their various projects with the same verve that Dr. Elbie did in the book. You can't help it. it is an intoxicating feeling to realize that you are moving people t...
2021-05-1717 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 78 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 18 - Part 2 - Audio BookAt the end of the War on Waste, Mr. Grimes will have completed the first phase of the process that is required to create an innovation culture that we call the “Quantum Leap Company.” The War on Waste is Phase 0. It gets the company started but that’s all it does. If the process dies out after a couple of months, which most lean manufacturing initiatives that we have observed seem to do, then that is too bad. But we put the CRB into the system to make sure that change and innovation become an integral part of the company.
2021-05-1713 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 77 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 18 - Part 1 - Audio BookIn a political war, treason is a capital offense punishable by death. A similar rule applies to the War on Waste. In a recent engagement, one of the CEOs who really understood what the War on Waste was about, stood up on the last day of class and gave a rousing speech to his employees. At the end, he said, “I am the General of our War on Waste. We are at war with our competitors who want to take business from us. There are some of these competitors who want to steal your jobs from you. As we go forw...
2021-05-1711 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 76 - The War on Waste Initiative - Chapter 17 - Part 4 - Audio BookA number of different types of initiatives have been sponsored by different CEOs. For instance, Ray Dolby of Dolby Laboratories has a culture that flourishes on the energy created by the company’s fixation on audio sound system perfection. That environment creates its own sources of energy. Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines creates energy initiatives with his Wing Ding flings. He gets employees excited to deliver their services to their customers. The CEOs job is to find that New Energy Initiative. In fact, we believe that this is one of the CEO’s job responsibilities as defined in the Quantum Le...
2021-05-1612 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 75 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 17 - Part 3 - Audio BookThis is what a War on Waste does and the energy is seen in the discussion with Chris in this chapter. It adds energy to a company. In the story of Quality Pump, at this point in the process, lots of Energy is going into the company and so order is being restored as seen in some of the early improvements that are taking place.Think of the War on Waste as an Energy Initiative. It will take about three or four years for the War on Waste energy to be sustained. When it nears the end of i...
2021-05-1609 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 73 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 17 - Part 1 - Audio BookIn this chapter, we find Chris is freaking out because his turf is being encroached upon. He is obviously protecting his special Tribal Knowledge and is resentful that any one would think that he could do anything wrong. As Jim points out, his information is not only wrong but it costs the manufacturing operation time and therefore the company a lot of money. We have observed over and over that those in staff positions with their Tribal Knowledge integrated into the value-added process are very often fair game for big wastes. And in most cases, that information is e...
2021-05-1615 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 74 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 17 - Part 2 - Audio BookA brief comment here on the role that Energy plays in our business model. Energy is one of the most important concepts to explain what happens during the War on Waste or any such business initiative. We use the term “energy” to describe the process of increasing the value-adding activity of a company. From my Physics days, I use the Second Law of Thermodynamics to describe energy conservation by introducing another term called Entropy. Entropy is a measure of the disorganization of a system. The Second Law tells us that if we increase Entropy (decrease order) we will decr...
2021-05-1612 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 72 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 16 - Part 4 - Audio BookStep 5: Define the Energy Initiative Plan for the Company. As noted under Energy Initiative, the key to a sustained corporate energy level is implementing a program to ensure on-going infusion of energy into the company. These energy initiatives will keep the company employees motivated. As noted in the energy initiative definition, every CEO must define his or her own approach to this. For example, these initiatives can be the "Big Deal" four-year projects of Jack Welch of GE or the six-month “Wing Dings” of Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines. Whatever the technique, the CEO has a serious responsi...
2021-05-1611 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 71 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 16 - Part 3 - Audio BookStep 4: Manage Change. The CEO must agree that he or she will be in charge of change management within the company. It is not the job of a Change Agent—the CEO manages the Change Agent, not the other way around. The CEO must also be alert for the next major change initiative that will drive the organization to greater success. We are averse to making a position called the "Change Agent" because it creates a job with no value. The Change Agent is in the job description of the CEO.
2021-05-1610 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 70 - War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 16 - Part 2 - Audio BookThe second and third parts of the characteristics of the Quantum Leap Company are:Step 2: Recognize Ideas. If you get nothing else from this book, understand this: recognizing the importance of ideas is crucial to the success of this paradigm. No Blame protects the idea from renegade managers and other Black Knights in the Quantum Leap Company. If ideas have an opportunity to thrive, profits will follow. In a way, this is the magic of this process. Step 3: Manage Innovation. In order to ensure a continuous flow of ideas, the CEO mus...
2021-05-1614 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 69 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 16 - Part 1 - Audio BookThe creation of the CRB is an important part of this process. It is the way that we are able to insure a continuation of the process and move the company to the Quantum Leap Company. It is through the continuation of ideation (the process of generating ideas) and conversion ot the ideas to innovations that our clients are able to sustain this culture. Recently, we have discarded the CRB because our Internet based video-teleconferencing found that there was another factor working here: The CEO's commitment to the on-going problem solving. We noted that earlier but the abil...
2021-05-1611 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 67 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 15 - Part 1 - Audio BookThe CRB is the CEO’s mechanism to manage change and encourage ideas. In the Quantum Leap Company, the CEO has three newly defined job responsibilities: 1) managing change, 2) coordinating ideas of innovation and 3) searching for the next energy infusion initiative. The CRB helps the CEO with two of those functions (change and ideas), and it is amazing how well it does that. It is important to understand why the CRB should exist. First, ideas need a place to go. If they are routed up the chain of command, nothing happens. For some reason managers have a hard time allowing ideas o...
2021-05-0412 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 68 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 15 - Part 2 - Audio BookYou will notice that we don’t call this the “Innovation” Review Board but the “Change” Review Board. Although the CRB manages the ideas that are submitted to it, when they are completed they become innovations or one of the four types of innovation: incremental, disruptive, organizational and new business structure. In a typical distribution 85% of the ideas coming in are incremental with the remaining 15% distributed across the other types of innovation. As the CRB does its job, new ideas that are submitted are more and more complex because the low hanging, obvious issues have already been addressed. Best, Len Bertain
2021-05-0413 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 64 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 14 - Part 1 - Audio Book Historically, the 80/20 Rule was the greatest tool in our bag of tricks before we discovered the 5/67 rule. The 80/20 rule tells us that 80% of revenues comes from 20% of customers, 80% of customer problem calls come from 20% of customers (hopefully they aren’t the same as the customers generating 80% of the revenues) and so forth. I remember learning about this several years ago. I think I learned it from my Dad. Just before my Dad died, I had a chance to visit him alone on one weekend. We talked about a lot of things. I remember telling him that he taught me a valua...
2021-05-0309 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 65 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 14 - Part 2 - Audio BookIn this chapter, we find that Bonnie has some Tribal Knowledge that is clearly untapped. When challenged with a problem, she brings up her credentials and contributes to a great idea. It represents another example of unused Tribal Knowledge. It is present in the company the minute that Bonnie joined. But then it sits untapped. When we try to get a handle on corporate skills, a lot of people do not let those unused skills out of the bag for any number of reasons. As we do the War on Waste projects, we love to find situations like this. On that...
2021-05-0313 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 66 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 14 - Part 3 - Audio BookAs a corollary to the major War on Waste Paradox, consider this. Why is it that companies care about their people but don’t care about what they know? I call these little gems, “War on Waste Paradox Corollaries.” The greatest waste is the mind. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. And that is what this book is really about. Enjoy, Len
2021-05-0309 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 63 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 13 - Audio BookAre we having fun yet? We talked in the chapter about 5/67 Analysis. In the real world of the War on Waste, 5/67 Analysis is what we call a “forcing function.” In the hands of an engineer, it serves as the forcing function to define the 5% of the features that give 67% of the benefit. It forces rapid prototyping. Today, the goal of the engineering of a technology company is time to market. By designing to that goal, 5/67 Analysis drives the engineering organization to think thru the features to give maximum benefit to the expected users. We use the 5/67 A...
2021-04-2214 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 61 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 12 - Part 1 - Audio BookSMED has application in just about all businesses. We did a project at a hospital that was planning to expand their facility. They were going to raise $6 million for this new hospital wing. When we did a SMED analysis on surgery we found that they were using the surgery rooms to only about 20% of their capacity. For instance, when a surgery was completed, there was usually a 2-hour wait before the next surgery could begin in that room. The doctors, in their unique Tribal Knowledge system, wanted to be businessmen on top of being doctors. After all, they w...
2021-04-2208 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 62 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 12 - Part 2 - Audio BookOver the years of doing this work in Problem Solving, I am always amazed about SMED as a tool. When you explain the concept of separating value-added steps from wasteful non-value-added steps, you watch the lights click on as employees grasp the concept. 30 years ago when I did a bank and I asked a stupid question, "Who in the bank adds value?" Talk about blank looks. None of the employees had ever thought about their jobs quite that way. So when I narrowed it down to a question of what are the steps in the bank to process a loan...
2021-04-2211 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 59 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 11 - Part 1 - Audio BookHow do you know that you have identified a good waste to work on? In the December, 2001 issue of Fast Company magazine, Tom Peters made an observation that I have been using in War on Waste projects since I started in 1985. Peters observed that good ideas came from someone who was “pissed about something.” In his perception, things only happen in the world when someone is angry about the status quo. Martin Luther was angry about 95 theses, or 95 issues with the Catholic Church. This anger led to the Protestant Reformation. Similar situations in which discontent has led to...
2021-04-2108 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 60 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 11 - Part 2 - Audio BookIn the last episode, the problem described was a good example of Tribal Knowledge gone amok. The scheduler loved to respond to crises and he and the shop foreman had an unwritten understanding that all jobs identified as priorities by the CEO would be introduced into the schedule to meet the targeted dead line. They did this knowing full well that the consequence would be the problem identified by the team noted above. In the course of the analysis, this fact was discovered and it took a good deal of coercion to get them admit how they did the sch...
2021-04-2108 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 57 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 10 - Part 1 - Audio BookNo one owns the market on ideas. This last sequence with our hero getting interesting and valuable input from someone who doesn’t know anything about his work, namely his wife, is very real. It comes from one of my most exciting moments as a consultant. I was in a class and a couple of machinists were arguing about the best way to do something. They were sitting on a project team with the company receptionist. After a few minutes of their bantering back and forth, she blurted out, “Why don’t you turn up the feeds and speeds...
2021-04-2013 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 58 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 10 - Part 2 - Audio BookIn my view, Tribal Knowledge applies to situations like this all the time. In this case, the Tribal Knowledge was contained in the past experiences of the receptionist. It was her unique skill set or her past experiences that defined the receptionist’s untapped Tribal Knowledge. The story of Sully, the plater, is again one of those real situations that cropped up at one of our clients. In fact, it was the inability to get the truck to leave on time that created the first Yes/No chart. The owner’s son couldn’t get up in time to ins...
2021-04-2014 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 55 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 9 - Part 3 - Audio BookIn the War on Waste Problem Solving, everyone is involved. It always seems that people in the accounting department want to hide out away from the rest of the company. They can in the old Quality Pumps. But in the new Quality Pumps, they will be involved. The problem that most companies create is isolation of functions. In fact, that is the basis of a hierarchical structure in a company. There are silos of information, of structure, of personnel. And dare ye to cross that line. I remember when I was doing a Just in Time project at one of the B...
2021-04-1912 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 56 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 9 - Part 4 - Audio BookDr. Elbie and Mr. Grimes begin the first serious discussion of the War on Waste Paradox. It concludes with an observation that a paradox exists when Managers say things like: “I trust my people." when he really meant: “I trust my people but not all of them." I don’t know how many people have heard this anywhere, but I sure have. People hear stuff like this all the time from management and that is what we are going to explore as the story at Quality Pumps unfolds. This isn’t all there is to it. There is a lot more. Enjo
2021-04-1916 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 54 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 9 - Part 2 - Audio BookDr. Elbie seems to be pleased with the way the training is going. Tony gets into the process and helps Bonnie understand how Sales can be more involved in what's going on in the plant. The interesting thing about Yes/No charts is that they serve as anchors for making it clear that No Blame is operational as a philosophy at the company. By that I mean that when you post a yes or a no, there is no blame involved. It won't work otherwise. If you get a No, get over it and fix it so that you don't...
2021-04-1912 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 52 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 8 - Part 2When you watch this process unfold in company after company, it is indeed a pleasure and an honor. The employees are telling me that they are on board and want to make the company better. And surprisingly, this happens very quickly.In this chapter, we delve into the Process Map and it is a mind blower. An interesting thing about doing a process map is that all the hidden components of the Tribal Knowledge get exposed. And because the people manning the process are not stupid, we get great ideas to address the solutions of these undocumented proc...
2021-04-1608 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 53 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 9 - Part 1Dr. Elbie does a pretty good job of explaining Yes/No Charts. When people first hear about them they dismiss them as primitive. But the bulk of the resistance to change or modifying of Tribal Knowledge and integrating it into the mainstream of the business process requires a formal behavior modification tool. And that is the Yes/No Chart. It is very powerful measure of a team, particularly one that is protecting or dealing with secretive Tribal Knowledge. Once the measurement is in place, you are measuring the team’s collective behavior and not an individual. That makes it easy to...
2021-04-1611 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 51 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 8 - Part 1Ideas generate enthusiasm for work. And sometimes that enthusiasm can get us in trouble, just like our hero. One of the greatest motivators for work is psychic reward from the job environment. People get turned on when they have opportunities to introduce ideas. If a company just allows ideas to happen, profits will follow. In the War on Waste, Mr. Grimes is making Roland uncomfortable because he has his own personal agenda that he is protecting and it is gradually getting exposed as keeping sales from rolling in to the company. In most cases of people...
2021-04-0413 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 50 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 7 - Audio BookTeams are integral to the success of No Blame Management enterprises. The problem with most efforts using teams to create value in a company is that personnel who are not familiar with the work objectives of the teams are assigned to head up these efforts. Perhaps the key to the success of any team, whether it is a work team or a sports team, is that the team has a crystal clear common cause. You may call it a goal or a team goal but when we are talking about team I like to use “comm...
2021-04-0313 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 49 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 6 - Part 2 - Audio BookWe call the War on Waste process a discovery because as the process goes forward, all employees realize that they can contribute to the improvement process and each idea, small or large, is important. And as the dialogue of the classroom continues, the employees are starting to see the mess that they have created together. And yet, the process is starting to show them how they are going to fix it. There is a lot of the special and wasteful Tribal Knowledge finding its way into the discussion and before long most of it will be on the table.
2021-03-3112 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 48 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 6 - Part 1- Audio BookOne of the more interesting discussions that we have is what we call GAP Analysis. It is a way to describe the skills and opportunities that the company has to offer the market and what the company delivers to the needs and wants of the customers. Where this two capabilities and requirements intersect is the value added part of the equation. Where they don't are either waste (because it is a skill or opportunity that no one wants; and or the Gap, where needs and requirements of your clients are not met. When I put this up on the boar...
2021-03-3110 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 47 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 5 - Part 5 - Audio BookThey get into a discussion of a problem that requires input from all those in the room and a few that aren't. Problem Solving in this program is always a group effort. That is a recognition of the value of how extensive Tribal Knowledge really is. It is spread throughout the company and no one has total knowledge of what goes on in a company and how it all fits together. We call this the difference between what is written down and what is a secret. Later on we'll talk about how to get all that hidden knowledge out onto...
2021-03-3114 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 46 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 5 - Part 4 - Audio BookA word of caution: be careful when you get into a discussion of what is value added and what is essential support. The discussion with Buck is one that I have engaged in over a 1000 times. It is crucial to get this out on the table for group consumption. Once this is clear and all the anxiety is addressed, then the War on Waste can proceed. Buck is being annoying but he has a legitimate concern, so don’t ignore that. Enjoy, Len
2021-03-3120 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 45 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 5 - Part 3 - Audio BookThe discussion in this section about what is waste and value-added is very typical of what we experience in this program. No one wants to be doing a job that is waste. If it is, the next thing you know you are on the outside looking for a new job. So there is always some turf protecting when you get here. The Black Knights push back. Those protecting special Tribal Knowledge become edgy. The whole company is nervous because as you start to look at each job and how it should be measured. People will begin worrying and will resist...
2021-03-3120 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 44 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 5 - Part 2 - Audio BookFailure to manage change is our observation as to why so many lean, six sigma or similar programs failed. We have observed that in almost 100% of the failures, the CEO was not fully committed to change or s/he decided to hand off the change program to someone else. Jack Welch understood that managing change was his responsibility and it could not be assigned to anyone else. He definitely was concerned about the various “change” initiatives: the Work Out Program, 6-Sigma, and the Internet initiative. He understood that others could help, but the CEO was in control. In the W...
2021-03-3107 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 43 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 5 - Part 1Change is the responsibility of the CEO. The CEO has a number of job responsibilities. In the traditional sense, s/he is in charge of strategy, making key hires, overseeing change, driving innovation and overseeing the culture of the company. In the Quantum Leap Company, we find another responsibility. In this organization, the CEO is charged with finding the next source of energy infusion (maybe the next initiative). As we talk about later, energy plays a key role in keeping the company moving forward.
2021-03-3113 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 42 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 4Change can easily be managed with the simple process described in this chapter. If you think about it, most of us have a difficult time dealing with change. Change is usually OK as long as it means that others have to change, but we don’t. The refrain might go something like, “Go ahead and change others in the company but not my job.” Just like Tony in this chapter, he doesn’t want to alter his Tribal Knowledge. As we have seen, there are a number of examples of that in the book up to this point...
2021-03-3108 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 41 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 3 - Part 2 - Audio BookOver the years, I have tried ever technique in the books to get a client to get started with the program. The argument that you hear Dr. Elbie exchanging with Mr. Grimes is very typical. In fact, the 3 CEOs that I referenced having lunch with were all participants in that same argument. That was what made them think the book was modeled after their company. Sort of like the song, "You're so vain, I bet you thought this song was about you."When you think about it, a CEO rarely thinks about managing all his assets to get...
2021-03-3012 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 40 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 3 - Part 1 - Audio BookMr. Grimes is struggling with a dilemma: training is expensive, profits are non-existent and employees are angry. Fix that. Well, Dr. Elbie and Mr. Grimes argue about that and the success he has had in turning around companies just like his. Dr. Elbie pounds his case against a resistant client but finally wins. Mr. Grimes wanted to just train his managers and let them pass down the content to the employees.Dr. Elbie resists the training of managers for a reason. It is a waste of his time because the transfer of knowledge from managers and supervisors to em...
2021-03-3010 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 39 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 2 - Audio BookDr. Elbie talks to a few of the old machinists and they laugh at his idea to reduce setup dramatically, like 90%. It is an insult, a slap in the face. They know what they are doing and this scrawny consultant thinks he knows more than them. To add insult to injury, Mr Grimes, the owner of this company has signed up Dr. Elbie to teach them about Problem Solving in a classroom for several weeks. The fun part of this exchange is that it is one that I encounter in just about every client I have ever delivered this prog...
2021-03-3013 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 38 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 1 - Part 3 - Audio BookAs expected, our hero and Charlie are out of work and begin looking for work together. They find some modest satisfaction in the closure of the other plant also saw Darth Vader lose his job. Even better than that, the parent company fired him and blocked all communication for him to any folks at corporate. He was anathema and our hero and Charlie loved that part of the plant closure. As the chapter closes, our hero gets a job and Charlie doesn't and that leads to his death. In the immediate time after our hero joins the new company, the Ge...
2021-03-3015 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 37 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 1.- Part 2 - Audio BookOur hero and his Dad's buddy, Charlie, are working in a bad situation. The company that they work for is in trouble and the old man who owned it had been in a funk since his son, the heir apparent to the family business and a good guy, was killed in a car crash and the owner was devastated. The company is sold and the new owners bring in a hot shot to run the company and he is an idiot from everyone's perspective. He was insensitive to any input from anyone, he knew everything and he never acknowledged anyo...
2021-03-3010 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 36 - The War on Waste Paradox - Chapter 1 - Part 1 - Audio BookRather than summarize the first part, let me give you a heads up. This is the first couple of paragraphs of the first chapter."“…And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected…And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government or corporation (the authors words) which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about."John St...
2021-03-3011 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 35 - Introduction - The War on Waste Paradox - Audio BookThis book is a revision of my first book "The New Turnaround". I had to fix a few things to make it work with some issues clients pointed out. This book tells the story of a worker who goes thru my problem solving program. He starts out getting laid off at a company and then looks for work with his Dad's old buddy. The hero gets a job, his Dad's friend doesn't. Bad things follow. The CEO introduces everyone to Dr. Elbie, a modest avatar of the author. As the story unfolds, our hero becomes a believer in the approac...
2021-03-3018 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 34 - Chapter 8 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Miscellaneous" - Audio BookThis is the final chapter and I will be discussing the following items:The Hubris Meter (don't ever put on the Hubris Hat or be the Strutting Rooster)Trade Show Rationale (unintended consequence)A final thought (simplicity but most of all clarity)Best, Len Bertain 510-520-8011 len@Bertain
2020-12-2906 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 33 - Chapter 7 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "War on Waste Consequences - Part 2" - Audio BookThis segment concerns itself with 2 additional terms that have special meaning in our world. "Customer centric" is a term that is pretty clear but never successfully accomplished. When a customer calls up and a problem exists, there should be a sense of urgency that activates solutions to the customer's problem. No questions asked. Just do it. And finally, this is one of my favorites: "the edge of chaos." That is where all the good stuff happens. The edge of chaos is the place where there is enough innovation to keep a living system vibrant but enough stability to keep it from...
2020-12-2510 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 32 - Chapter 7 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "War on Waste Consequences - Part 1"The Quantum Leap Company"The main observation of this chapter is that our successful clients have gone thru a couple of steps to complete their journey to the ultimate version of the Tribal Knowledge Paradigm. I look at business with my training as a physicist and so I could see an analogy that I knew about because of my work in college on a solid state laser. To create the laser action, atoms get excited by the external source of light that leads to the lasing action. The resultant movement of atoms to various excited states gave me the analogy that I discuss. I ac...
2020-12-2411 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 31 - Chapter 6 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Scientific Paradigm - Part 2" - Audio BookMy background in science has allowed me to look at business through the lens of “science.” In many ways that has been good for my clients because they looked to me to help them understand what was going on during the War on Waste projects. The following terms and my use of them in describing what was going on in the War on Waste have evolved from these “science insights.” The term “paradigm” comes up as a way to describe these new rules of managing a business. With a scientific spin these rules just might help you. Some of the terms: T...
2020-12-1415 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 30 - Chapter 5 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Management Tools - Part 2" - War on Waste Encyclopedia - Audio BookIn this segment, we discuss a couple of our more interesting terms:Simplification as a Strategy - this is a new way to look at creating strategySense of Urgency - why things get doneUrgency Switch - pushing this switch activates an emergency situation, that everyone is prepared to respond to Work (Definition) - this helps set the stage for identifying problemsCreating the Quantum Leap Company - we don't define it like anyone else because as a physicist the quantum leap is something specialThe Quantum Nudge - to make the leap, a special condition has to be met.
2020-12-1413 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 29 - Chapter 5 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Management Tools - Part 1" - Audio BookThe first tool for management we call: The Energy Initiative. When we started analyzing our successes, we realized that there was a certain energy infusion process that went with every engagement. But what we observed when we looked at other such initiatives in the industry they all had this same feature. They all involved the CEO getting involved by adding their infusion of energy into the company. From my physics background this was nothing but a demonstration of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Stay tuned, it will blow you away. Best, Len. Phone : 510-520-8011.
2020-12-1410 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 28 - Chapter 4 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Change - Part 3" - Audio BookOne of my good friends is also a business consultant and he has fought with me over the discussion of this chapter. He thinks the discussion of the Constantine Model of Change is bullshit. I don't. You can learn from it. And that is what all of this book is about. Taking anew idea and pushing it to help people get a handle on how things work in a company. My clients have always been worker bees and of course managers and teaching these concepts some times works. But more that anything they stretch the thinking of all participants. Because...
2020-12-1412 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 27 - Chapter 4 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Change - Part 2" - Audio BookWe love the concept of the Black Knight as a teaching tool and as a way to warn internal Black Knights that the jig is up. Black Knights are those people who fight change. They don't want anything to do with our Problem Solving efforts and they fight it with all their nefarious techniques.
2020-12-1412 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 26 - Chapter 4 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Change Issues - Part 1" - Audio BookWOW is all about creating a changed work environment. To create this change, there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed. We try to understand how those issues can influence the resulting company of our efforts. Black Knights, for example, are hindrances to the change process. If you want to improve a business and survive in today’s competitive world you had better know about change. Included in this first part are: why change and the 3 keys to change.
2020-12-1413 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 25 - Chapter 3 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Problem Solving Tools - Part 9" - Audio BookThis chapter concludes the discussion of War on Waste tools and includes discussions of: Moments of Truth, the 5 Whys and Multiple Points of Control.
2020-12-1411 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 24 - Chapter 3 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Problem Solving Tools - Part 8" - Audio BookThis segment discusses a concept that we fiddled over the years called the Tribal Knowledge Council. Over the years it has a number of names: War on Waste Innovation Continued, Ideas tracking Process, Kaisan In Action, et cetera. No matter how we did this it was a struggle. It was just too much work to keep going because our CEOs lost interest. But we solved it very nicely but it isn't discussed in this book. This is because the on-going process of. problem solving doesn't continue without some system to make it easy to begin problem identification and then solvi...
2020-12-1316 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 23 - Chapter 3 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Problem Solving Tools - Part 7" - Audio BookMore on World Record Reports.
2020-12-1311 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 22 - Chapter 3 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Problem Solving Tools - Part 6" - Audio BookIn this part, we discuss world record reports. This turned out to be a strange experience because I had never thought of World Records before as a tool to measure business performance. As the name implies, it is a powerful tool to measure people and reward them with a kudo when they break their previous best performance record. People loved this. Listen to it and then think about how this tool would be useful in your organization.
2020-12-1314 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 21 - Chapter 3 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Problem Solving Tools - Part 5" - Audio BookIn this segment, we discuss the power of using a Yes/No chart to keep track of company outcomes. Does something happen that needs to happen, Yes or No? This will never work unless No Blame is active. Why would you want to report data on a friend that might get him/her in trouble, if they didn't perform. Once that is clear, no problem!
2020-12-1310 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 20 - Chapter 3 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Problem Solving Tools - Part 4" - Audio BookWe have used a number of tools to help identify and analyze a waste. These tools have evolved from others of greater insight as well as from our own unique look at the problem solving process of identifying, quantifying and getting rid of wastes with high ROI solutions. How we look at the root cause of the waste and the way that we measure our accomplishments is often unique. But almost more importantly, the process is exciting for the participants. We love this segment where we introduce what we call "Report Honest Data" and to illustrate that we use a vi...
2020-12-1315 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 19 - Chapter 2 - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "The CEO's Job" - Audio BookWe found out a lot about the CEO’s job when we did all those War on Waste initiatives over the last 25 years. We learned that the CEO has to be in charge of change or our problem solving initiative. We also found that the CEO needs to manage innovation because that is the source of new products and lots of money from Internal Growth. And finally, and most importantly, we found that the CEO needs to continually drive to improve Tribal Knowledge. We used to think this was done as serial initiatives but realized that it needs to be a c...
2020-12-1313 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 18 - Chapter 1 (part 3) - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "The War on Waste Innovation" - Audio BookThe key issues of this chapter are: added value (how we make money), No Excuses, and a term we use called "Discovery."
2020-12-1115 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 17 - Chapter 1 (part 2) - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "The War on Waste" - Audio BookLike the other chapters, we are going to spend some time discussing: Ideas, Black Knights, Change without reprisal, No Blame and No Excuses.
2020-12-1110 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 16 - Chapter 1 - "The War on Waste (an Overview) - (Part 2)" - The War on Waste Paradox - Audio BookAs I noted in the earlier chapter overview, this book is all about the terms that I use when I discuss the War on Waste. I use many of the same terms that others use, but I put my own spin on them, hence, this book. It merely shows how we all look at innovation with a different set of lenses. This just happens to be my set. Best, Len
2020-12-1016 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 15 - Introduction and Chapter 1 (Part 1) - War on Waste Encyclopedia - "Introduction & The War on Waste (overview)" - Audio BookAs I note in the introduction, I put my own spin on over 100 terms, phrases and concepts. Because of that, I needed to explain those "spins" for the followers of my problem solving approach. I merged the introduction with a little of the material from Chapter 1 to make a longer reading. In this segment, I review Tribal Knowledge and the War on Waste again.
2020-12-1011 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 14 - Chapter 12 - "Conclusion" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookThe Tribal Knowledge Paradigm provides the guiding principles to manage this approach to business management. It provides a set of processes, forcing functions and touchstones. These actions "chalk the field" for a corporate culture of growth. It is a "Best Practices Incubator" to improve process, strategy, and leadership. Thank you for listening to this point. Best, Len and George.
2020-11-1702 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 13 - Chapter 11 - "Quickstart" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookIn this chapter, we give you the formula to implement the Tribal Knowledge Paradigm. We have been doing this for 35 years and we know it works. The Problem Solving Process is laid out for anyone who wants to start this process at their own business can do so. It is both profitable and fun. Best, Len
2020-11-1713 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 10 - Chapter 10 - "Tribal Knowledge Paradigm Tools - Part 1" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookIn this audio of Chapter 10, it has been broken up into 3 parts. This is part one. We cover one of the more important tools of our offering: the 120/20 Rule of Profits. This is a pretty powerful tool as it tells us that 120% of a company's profits come from 20% of your customers or 20% of your products or 20% of your salesmen. If you think about it, how can that be possible? Just think of it another way. Are any of your customers costing you money? And if some are unprofitable and others are profitable then, the 20% top quintile of the customers must ac...
2020-11-1420 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 11 - Chapter 10 - "Tribal Knowledge Paradigm Tools - Part 2" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookThis segment discusses the 5/67 Rule: 5% of your effort generates 67% of the benefit. This is a beautiful corollary to the more famous 20/80 Rule. In fact, I wrote another book on just the 5/67 Rule with my business partner Craig Humphreys. It goes into more detail. But the fact that we could write a whole book on the subject is a major statement. The reason that this is so important, it is critical to making the Tribal Knowledge Paradigm work. It has to be an integral part of the thinking of all parties working in the Paradigm. Listen up. It is probably the most...
2020-11-1427 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 12 - Chapter 10 - "Tribal Knowledge Paradigm Tools - Part 3" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookThis final part covers a range of tools but in particular goes into the Yes/No Chart as a powerful way to capture performance measure on personnel performance. It is tied to No Blame: Yes or No did what you were suppose to be doing happen? Did the truck leave on time? Yes or No? Did the software update get done on time? Yes/No? Etc. It only works with No Blame so that you can capture data accurately and honestly. When things don't happen as expected, then you can try to find out why. Listen, it is a fun proc...
2020-11-1421 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 9 - Chapter 9 - "Tribal Knowledge Council" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookGeorge and I wrote this book before we developed our on-line program. Because we were floundering with a mechanism to monitor all the ideas in a start-up queue, those in progress and those being monitored in the year following implementation. This Tribal Knowledge Council concept worked but it was complicated by people who wanted to used their position as the head of the Tribal Knowledge Council as a promotion and wanted to leverage themselves into a power position in the company. We didn't want that. So when we implemented the on-line Problem Solving system, these issues all went away. There...
2020-11-1317 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 8 - Chapter 8 - "Leadership" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookLeadership is an confusing concept. We have been blitzed with examples of leadership that would make anyone's head spin. And so any young manager who wants to learn about leadership needs to go to good sources for guidance. We are probably not the most noted but when you link our experience to what we want to achieve with our concept of the Tribal Knowledge Paradigm, I think we provide some good advice in this chapter. Best, Elbie
2020-11-1211 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 7 - Chapter 7 - "Organization, Structure and Process" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookThis chapter looks at how you organize a company to get the maximum output out of the organization. What does the structure look like and is the organization incentivized to give the optimum performance. Better yet, do you need to incentivize people to get the best results. Listen up. Our experience taught us a lot about what works. Best, Len
2020-11-1017 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 6 - Chapter 6 - "Strategy and Operations Alignment" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookIn this chapter, we give more detail about how Strategy gets aligned with Process (Operations) as a result of the problem solving process. It isn't complicated. Strategy describes how you are making money, the problems identified tell you how you are not making money. Strategy is a statement of your value proposition to the market. So we think that CEOs ought to be able to manage their strategy better if they have a better view to the problems that are being addressed by their organization. And that's what we do with our current on-line problem solving system. Enjoy. Len B
2020-11-1014 minA Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 5 - Chapter 5 - Improving "Know How"- Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookWhen you look at Tribal Knowledge you are looking at all the knowledge of the company, right or wrong, true or false, fact or fiction. But "Know How" is the part of that Tribal Knowledge that is real. It is what works and how things really are. This is a short chapter and can be absorbed over a short cup of coffee.
2020-11-0909 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 4 - Chapter 4 - "Mission Relevance" - The Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookWhen you try to align your problem solution to strategy, sometimes it is easier to align it to the mission. To do this we use a 2x2 box to help put the idea in context relative to the company's mission statement. We liked to force that on the employees because at some point a CEO gets a Bee in his/her bonnet to write down a Mission Statement and never look at it again. So this chapter is about the value of the Mission Statement and how you can use it to judge the relevance of an idea and its...
2020-11-0509 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 3 - Chapter 3 - "What is the Tribal Knowledge Paradigm?" - The Tribal Knowledge ParadigmLen Bertain and George Sibbald. In this chapter, we define what we meant by Tribal Knowledge. There were really no acceptable definitions, so we made up our own. It fits the way we look at business. And then we needed to define what we meant by the Tribal Knowledge Paradigm. We have identified 4 Principles of the Paradigm and in the chapter, we explain what we mean.
2013-01-0617 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 2 -Chapter 2 - "Addressing the Fatal Flaw" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookBy Len Bertain and George Sibbald. Chapter 2 discusses the Tribal Knowledge Paradox, the subject of a book by one of the authors, Len Bertain. It reviews the issues that happen when employees get involved in helping companies reduce waste or increase productivity by offering suggestions with 50 to 1 ROI. And making them happen. This chapter plays heavily off the authors experience over their 25 years of consulting. Their results were spectacular and this chapter reports on why they were.
2013-01-0212 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 1 - Chapter 1 - "Do We Need Another Paradigm" - Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio BookBy Len Bertain and George Sibbald. This chapter is entitled "The Tribal Knowledge Paradigm" but tries to answer the question, "Do we need another paradigm?" Of course, the answer is Yes, but...even more so, why? And that is what this chapter answers as a lead in to the next chapter which defines the Paradigm.
2013-01-0222 min
A Consortium of Problem Solvers Podcast of Len Bertain's Audio BooksEpisode 0 - Introduction - The Tribal Knowledge Paradigm - Audio Book - Bertain & SibbaldBy Len Bertain and George Sibbald. The Tribal Knowledge Paradigm has evolved from the authors', Len Bertain and George Sibbald, 25 years of consulting experience and field research. It addresses a number of questions: Do we need another paradigm? What is Tribal Knowledge? What does the paradigm look like and how do you make it work?
2013-01-0206 min