If you've ever been ticketed at a parking meter, you might be surprised to learn that you were holding in your hand a symbol of an outsourcing failure. In a case study cited recently in a national newspaper, one city's outsourcing venture with parking meters was undertaken to save money, but the attempt actually cost $9 million over six years.

Can you imagine getting a...

Generally speaking, having a balanced life or taking a balanced point of view makes good sense. However, there is a case where a little imbalance can be beneficial to our personal success and help to make us more effective. In the early 20th century, an Italian economist's research formed the basis of what became one of the greatest universal principles of all time. Vilfredo Pareto was researching the distribution of...

Many people think that lean is only for high-volume manufacturers.  However, the Toyota Production System was born out of low-volume requirements; that fact should put to rest this false assumption about lean.  Lean is about finding ways to eliminate all forms of waste from an organization such that the customer is satisfied and profits and cash flow are increased.  Lean can be applied to any organization: from high...