New Book Challenges Managers to Lead Kaizen
01/25/10By Norman Bodek
A manager’s job is to lead change. Yes, but how to do it? Hiroshi Okuda, former CEO of Toyota said, "Failure to! change is a vice! I want everyone at Toyota to change and at least do not be an obstacle for someone else who wants to change." A great concept, but how do you get everyone to change?
This book written by two masters of Kaizen: Bunji Tozawa is the president of Japan Human Relations Association and author of over 20 books on Kaizen. Norman Bodek, known as the ‘Godfather of Lean’, is president of PCS Inc., winner of the Shingo Prize, and author of six previous books on Kaizen. In their second book together, the authors take a hard look at the barriers to implementing Kaizen in America. In Japan every large company has an ongoing Kaizen process that goes far beyond traditional “suggestion systems” seen in America, empowering employees to implement their own improvement ideas. By utilizing the creative abilities of their employees, Japanese companies save on the average of $4,000 per employee per year. Some American companies ha! ve already heard this message. Autoliv, manufacturer of seat belts and air bags, received 63 ideas per employee last year. “How in world can you manage all of these ideas – it sounds crazy,” says Bodek. Yes, it sounds crazy but when you learn how simple it is to do it, you will kick yourself for not doing it sooner. How to do Kaizen is fun to read and filled with wonderful stories. Norman Bodek will be using the book in his upcoming class The Best of Japanese Management Practices at Portland State University. Price: $47.52 (420 pages, 120 figures plus 42 Kaizen examples from Japan, “5-1/2 x 8-1/2" format) ISBN 978-0-9712436-7-5 Order from PCS Inc. www.pcspress.com or 1-360-737-1883. Ask for preview chapter or review copies from bodek@pcspress.com
Dan O’Malley, VP at Gulfstream Corporation, every Wednesday walks his plant floor and asks five to ten of his associates to show him and his leadership team one of their creative ideas. Just look into the face of each employee to see what this means to them! The result: over 40 implemented ideas per employee per year (over 40,000 in 2009), millions of dollars in cost savings, higher quality and safety, and virtually zero turnover.
This book will show you how to empower employees to solve the small problems that collectively cause a large impact to your bottom line, and get the same results seen at Autoliv and Gulfstream.
- Steven Hatch, Lean Specialist “I love this book and can’t wait for it to come out. Norman brought Lean to America and continues to bring golden ideas to America through his contacts in Japan. This is truly a breakthrough idea!”
- Alan G. Robinson, Professor, University of Massachusetts and co-author of Ideas Are Free
“This is a timely book on a topic of great importance in these difficult times. The concepts in it will not only help you survive the recession, but emerge from it stronger. If you implement a high-performing idea system like those described in the book, it will raise your organization’s performance to a new level, one that would have been impossible to reach before. I have always admired both of the authors of this book because they have always been just enough ahead of their time to be agents of significant positive change.
Author interviews are available from PCS Press 809 SE 73rd Ave. Vancouver, WA 98664
More Books by Norman Bodek
How to do Kaizen
The Idea Generator
Kaikaku The Power and Magic of Lean
Rebirth of American Industry
Alll You Gotta Do Is Ask
|
|
|
|
