The Best Stuff I’ve Read Lately

1.  Time Management Training Doesn’t Work

Actually, according to the article, it does.  The basics of time management are the same now as they’ve always been.  Just like lean methods…you actually have to do them and stick with them to make them work. So, yeah, it’s kind of a “click bait” headline but a good article, nonetheless.

2. Why “Company Culture” Is a Misleading Term

It’s a bit academic and I don’t agree with the premise (see my comment below the article) but I’m a sucker for anything about organizational culture.

3. Defining Strategy, Implementation, and Execution

OK…three from HBR.  What can I say but I like their stuff.  Check out the comments.  Not everyone agrees that there’s a difference between implementation and execution but I found it an interesting idea.

4. Overkill:An avalanche of unnecessary medical care is harming patients physically and financially. 

If you only read one of these four articles…make it this one.  It’s long, but I guarantee you’ll stick with it.  It’s a detailed story, written by a surgeon, about one of the eight wastes of lean: overproduction (though the author doesn’t mention lean or eight wastes.)  The author wrote another article several years ago, The Cost Conundrum, that I’m going to read next.