Business Excellence Model Expert

The shortest way to success is to learn from experts. As this site grows, we plan to make interviews with the most famous experts in the business improvement field , starting with Jon Miller
 

1- Dear Jon , we would like to know more about you :   

Sure ,I'm Jon Miller from "CEO Gemba Research LLC". I was educated at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I work in Technical interpretation and translation , Co-founded Gemba Research with Brad Schmidt in 1998. Gemba  Research is a consulting company helping businesses achieve breakthrough results by applying the Toyota Production System
 

What about your years of experience?

I have been working in the business excellence field since 1993.
 

2- If we ask you to recommend to our readers ONE advice to follow in their own career, what you recommend ?

Never be satisfied.
 

3- During your years of experience , what was the most common non value add activity you find in most companies in different fields ?

Poor communication.
 

4- Achievinf business excellence is not easy  , there are so many ways , MBNQA , EFQM , Lean Six Sigma , TQM , etc… . In your opinion , what is the most effective  way , and how should a company achieve excellence ?

Kaizen is the most effective way. Companies should use the creativity of their people to find and solve problems. First it is necessary to set balanced targets and to make an environment where it is okay to expose problems.
 

5- During your years of consulting , I'm sure you faced a hopeless business case ( a company that can't be improved ) unless there is a  major change . What was the case, and how did you solve the problem ?

The only hopeless cases are when a company has no sales or completely runs out of cash and credit to fund their business. All other problems can be solved if you don’t give up.
 

6- If you become a CEO of  a 500 fortune company  ( Toyota for example ) , what will be your 1st decision , and why?

My first decision would be to study the current situation carefully, listen to customers, listen to the employees and understand where are the gaps.