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The power of big numbers is such that even a relatively small number of people or organizations can make a real difference with a minimum of effort.

An action plan is one of the most important parts of an A3 report. Turning ideas and conversations into crisp, focused action plans is something every lean leader needs to do.

Some people think life on the assembly line is tough. In fact, it’s Easy Street compared with life on the front line in our nation’s war against terror.

Recent advances in robot reliability and deployment cost, coupled with changing labor demographics, have sparked a new interest in automated agricultural equipment. Engineers around the world are busy developing a wide variety of robotic devices for seeding, tilling, weeding, spraying and harvesting applications.

My last three columns have touched on different aspects of applying lean thinking to projects and problems, including different aspects of A3 thinking and methodology. This month focuses on yet another aspect, the target condition.

The late Johnny Cash was one of the greatest of voices of our time. As it happens, he was also a prophet. In a real-life re-enactment of Cash’s classic song

"Cash for Clunkers" uses our tax dollars to pay consumers to do something most would have done anyway.

All the media commotion about clunkers and health care reform has diverted attention from the deceptively named Employee Free Choice Act, but don’t think for a nanosecond that big labor has given up on it.

Jan Allman is the first woman to run a Ford assembly plant.