Lean Built: Manufacturing Freedom

Andrew and Jay talk about building in margin, feeding your interest and curiosity, doing life-giving things, why you might not want to tie up funds in overstock, why technology should never be the bottleneck, and more. Book mentioned: New Manufacturing Challenge: Techniques for Continuous Improvement  by Kiyoshi Suzaki.

Jay and Andrew talk leadership development, hiring when you don't need people, utility players vs bench players, where KPIs (key performance indicators) are useful and where they aren't, why the best expeditor is no expeditor, where to place a lathe, and more. Books mentioned: The New Manager's Handbook: 24 Lessons for Mastering Your New Role by Morey Sterner. How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules...

Andrew and Jay discuss some of the lessons from 2023. Topics include the need for lean to be flexible, how lean should align with a company's culture, the importance of intentional lean practices, setting diverse goals for different companies, establishing and executing measurable goals for employees, fostering employee ownership in their respective areas, and delegating tasks to enable more time...

Jay and Andrew discusses Andrew's new company truck (which he bought in the least lean environment possible), how buying ahead to appease short-term tax write-offs can be a long-term bad investment, avoiding long term accounts receivable, cash flow vs cash position, trusting employees with their own credit cards, same day shipping and package tracking, and how prototyping is not necessarily lean....

Jay and Andrew talk about Andrew’s forklift and how he’s applying “digital training wheels,” how robots and automation can lead you astray, seeing how pain and expense add up, using AI to make expertise scalable to a wider audience, and much more.

How do you handle a backlog with lean? Andrew gives a little masterclass on that, since he just had to do it, thanks to the holidays and employee sickness. Then Jay talks about why he's thinking about getting a space pod (office pod or silence booth). Plus, they talk about why adding Credit Key was good for Jay, making quality of life improvements at the end of the year instead of hoarding cash, s...

Jay and Andrew talk about Andrew's new forklift, the pros and cons of handling inventory for other shops, tax incentive buys at the end of the year, as-needed budgets, systems vs goals, "use it or lose it" mentality in bigger companies, delaying gratification for wants (but not needs!), and how to avoid being at the mercy of the supply chain.

Andrew and Jay continue to talk about what kind of lathe would Andrew like, as well as false ways of achieving economy, the drawbacks of big sales, seeing where you only partially think of things, the value of high-priced CEO meetings, and more. Books mentioned: How to Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitor  by Lawrence Steinmetz. Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense b...

Jay and Andrew discuss the benefits and dangers of allowing people to buy on a payment plan, nurturing good relationships with vendors, reevaluating the company after the loss of a key employee, job prioritization, custom software, and calculating true cost. Additionally, they pose an important question: Does your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system truly work for you?"

Should Andrew buy a lathe? This is the question of the hour, leading to all sorts of useful discussions, such as ... do you spend money on a crummy machine just to learn? Or buy your good one first? If you have a machine, will the work come? What happens if getting use out of a machine relies on one rockstar employee? How do you play the odds in a small business? How do you avoid "monkey like shin...

Jay and Andrew talk 3D printers, color matching vs color coding, after-market mods, and ponder what it would take to sell their companies and start from scratch with what they know now.

Andrew is putting off buying a lathe, which leads to a discussion of what to prioritize in buying machines, returns and exchanges, how Amazon makes it easier for people to rip you off, and more.

Andrew and Jay talk about teamwork, pushing a machine until you break it (to learn how far you can push it), onboarding new vendors (plus vendor management in general), over-communicating as a violation of lean principles, organizational clarity, and more. Books mentioned: The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A leadership Fable  by Patrick Lencioni Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Comb...

Jay and Andrew talk about Jay's new Zeiss CMM, how to not burn up somebody's goodwill, documenting processes, face to face versus shoulder to shoulder versus face to screen, the high cost of small errors, and the dangers of automation. Plus Jay pushes back on whether Andrew should get a lathe ... side quests are dangerous!

Jay and Andrew talk about lean drift in other shops, waiting on other contractors, construction crews doing wrong things, shop layout improvements, inventory systems, known knowns vs. known unknowns vs. unknown unknowns, when routine becomes inhibiting, customers wanting to modify equipment, and more. 

Andrew and Jay talk a lot about the philosophy of buying machines ... do you buy a piece of junk first just to learn? Or sink money into something great when you don't know what you're doing? They also talk about hiring, finding good candidates, company culture, how the manufacturing industry is and isn't like the software industry, and much more.

Jay has some riggers coming which leads to a discussion of memory and checklists, dealing with dishonest sales reps, give-aways and order returns, plus Andrew's new 3D printer!

Andrew and Jay talk updating workflow, picking battles, the "three-legged stool", optimizing processes, top line vs bottom line, the importance of trust, helping people in an efficient way, and much more.

Andrew and Jay talk about fixing problems (not symptoms), teaching employees without making assumptions about what's intuitive, Fusion 360 vs Solidworks, stress and control in decision making, half measures, the 95% rule, and a lot more!

Andrew and Jay talk about communicating lead times, managing customer expectations, the mystery of memory, malice vs. incompetence, and much more.

Jay talks about why he walked away from a big purchase because of a feeling, Andrew talks about the perils of moving shop, they both talk about perceived value versus psychological value, and a whole more.

Jay and Andrew talk about customer service software, systemization, and problems with shipping, plus Jay talks about how he smokes everyone on building a lego set ... and the business application of said skill.

Andrew and Jay talk about buying used equipment, navigating vacations, interoffice communication, the "Lego test", competitive advantage, and more.

Jay and Andrew talk about solar panels, insurance, Relevant Selling by Jaynie Smith, selling machines, minimizing decisions, and more.

Andrew and Jay talk abut giving every employee the right to see what's not working, how to decide what to fix when, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, customer satisfaction vs company sustainability, and more.