Overview

I have spent my 45-year career primarily in two fields: war and manufacturing. These endeavors are not so different as might be imagined. I have learned much about people and the way work is done, not only in two decades at Boeing and another decade as a management consultant, but also as part of an Army that was facing issues of education, motivation, and the successful or unsuccessful waging of war. My journey has taken me all over the world, and I believe that journey has formally concluded at the intersection of people, lean principles, and the Toyota Production System. Along the way, I have gained the understanding that striving for perfection is a way of life, one that applies equally to not only a lean, world-class production system, or to business in general, but also to every human endeavor, from war to the delivery of health care.

My experience was won the hard way. After receiving my ROTC commission at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, in 1963, I served two tours in South Vietnam as an infantry advisor and adjutant general, five years in Europe as an Army major in the Human Resource Development Division of U.S. Army Europe, and in a number of stateside assignments, helping West Point graduates and three-star generals administer what would soon become an all-volunteer army. My education included the U.S. Army Infantry School, the Army's Adjutant General Career Course, and the Army Command and General Staff College. One of my most challenging...