by Nathan Meffert on May 22, 2012

(Photo credit: www.wellhappypeaceful.com)
If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.
-Attributed to Zen Master Linji
I spend a lot of time in the lean space these days. Most of my work is with an advanced manufacturing company and we are busy designing pathways to lean.
Personally, I find that the design perspective in general opens me to a broader range of problems and solutions and, by extension, a more integrated approach than does the lean method. But, here’s what I really think. I think Taiichi Ohno, the founder of lean, was really answering a design question for his business: How do we eliminate waste (and thereby increase productivity) in a production environment today and for the long haul? [Read More…]
by Nathan Meffert on April 7, 2012
Photo: danroam.com
Dan Roam solves problems with pictures and closes multimillion dollar deals on doodles alone.
Me? As an eighth grader, I spent untold hours holed up in my room with pencil and sketch book when I should’ve been doing my homework. I did art photography through high school. I actually applied and was accepted to art school. I chose a different path but, every once in a while, I’ll become inspired and do some sketches.
The fact is, I frequently use whiteboards to illustrate what I’m talking about graphically. I’m one of Dan Roam’s “black pen people”, to be sure. But, The Back of the Napkin showed me just how far I could take it.
And it’s pretty exciting stuff. [Read More…]
by Nathan Meffert on March 13, 2012
Photo: Josh Linkner, joshlinkner.com
Spring is in the air – and this blog has had a facelift.
If you’re receiving this via RSS, you may want to visit the blog. As I said – big changes. We’re well into version 2.0.
Where did the older posts go? We’ve taken them down and will be re-releasing the “greatest hits” as time goes by.
If you’re here for the first time – I’m really, really glad you made it.
We’re still in beta, BUT things are basically stable at this point. You’ll notice that certain features and functions aren’t exactly 100% online. They’re coming soon. I promise. Let us know if you’d like to see any features that haven’t been included in the redesign.
Anyways, that’s house cleaning. What’s on the menu this Spring? [Read More…]