Uncommon Sense: What Separates the Winners from the Losers in the Manufacturing Game

"If you're unhappy with how your organization is running--whether the organization is a department, division, or company--you're probably looking for solutions. Read on. Uncommon Sense is filled with solutions from some of the best thinkers and practitioners in the business." --from the Preface. In Uncommon Sense, quality consultant Stephen George tells you straight off that he is not proposing the best way to manage successfully--because the way does not exist. Instead, the author utilizes his expertise in the field to draw on all the best contemporary management thinking and practices to present an "uncommon" approach that will give your organization immediate benefits and long-term success. Discarding esoteric theories, Uncommon Sense demonstrates the fallacy of pursuing "silver bullet" solutions that sacrifice ongoing, broad-based achievements for the quick fix of immediate short-term improvement. The solutions presented here are founded on systems thinking, a holistic approach to integrating a variety of improvement techniques into a platform for ongoing success. The improvement techniques are based on George's analysis of the top companies in the country. These world-class organizations --finalists for or winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award --all demonstrate certain "basics of business excellence" that have led them to spectacular success in production, revenue, profits, and market share. These basics represent a vision of how leading experts view management and how world-class organizations are doing business. By working with these ideas and insights, you can develop a vision of your own that incorporates what you want your organization to become. Once you've grounded your organization in the basics, you can then work toward improvement. George provides special "Strategies to Improve" sections that will help you translate ideas into action. Divided into three levels--jump start, tune up, and pull away--these strategies are "intended to stimulate thinking and offer options to consider as you develop a comprehensive action plan." Guiding you through every step of the improvement process, Uncommon Sense provides a thorough and accessible prescription for bettering your management system. Filled with real-life examples, proven strategies, and firsthand stories from company and operations managers, this is essential reading for any organization leader seeking continuous high performance and long-term profitability. Praise for Uncommon Sense. Creating Business Excellence in Your Organization "This new book by veteran organization transformation and change author Steve George is delightful to read . . . packed with many practical, pragmatic, and proven approaches and lessons learned to assist transformation of your organization." --Charles A. Aubrey, Vice President, Juran Institute, Inc., Former President and Chairman, ASQC "The 'Quality Movement' is awash with experts, charts, graphs, and books. But Uncommon Sense demonstrates once again that Steve George is our rarest asset--a great reporter. . . . A wonderful book." --Jim Buckman, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota "Steve George's book is a compendium of trenchant and perceptive observations of archetype organizations, revealing how any executive can aspire to create a winner." --Arthur D. Wainwright, Chairman and CEO, Wainwright Industries, Inc. "Uncommon Sense translates the Baldrige Award criteria into practical steps that any company can use to become world class. It describes a system for building an overall 'excellent company, ' which is what the Baldrige Award is really all about." --Jeffrey L. Pope, Partner, Custom Research Inc. "Steve George has managed to capture a profound theory of management, practical application guidelines, and vivid examples from world-class companies. Uncommon Sense is an uncommon book." --A. M. Weimerskirch, V.P. Corporate