Thanks for the suggestion Luke.

Toyota — Devil’s Advocate

From the article “The “devil’s advocate” approach to vehicle design is a key element of the new Toyota. Under the plan, the company gives engineers four extra weeks to tear down and evaluate new vehicles. The goal is to use the car in ways the owner’s manual doesn’t even consider.”

How well will this work?  Why or Why not?

Thank you for the recommendation Luke.

GM Knothole Process

From the article ““Good enough” isn’t good enough if General Motors hopes to win back sales and market share, says Mark Reuss, president of the maker’s core North American operations.”

Also from the article “With the Knothole Process, the evaluation process is a little more formalized though, Reuss suggests, it is anything but rigid.  “Experts in every field of the car development process” take part in the evaluation process, which takes place at several key points during the path between concept and production.”

So, do we think that GM will now have a number of winners?

Thank you Lane.

GM Names new PD Chief

Focus on Speed and Quality.  Humm, sounds like they are falling right into Toyota Lean Product Development clutches.

What do you think?

From Fast Company

Check out the graphs and trends.

State of Internet Music

From the article “Interestingly, it wasn’t Apple that Garland viewed as the most important name in music, even though the company’s iPods, iPhones, and iTunes indicate otherwise. “YouTube is increasingly the category killer,” argued Garland. “When people ask me what is the biggest name in music in my opinion, they want me to say Apple. I usually answer: YouTube.”

The music business is shifting.  It is setting the stage for our business models in “everything” to change.  Products?  Services?  Can you have a product without a service, or, for that matter, a service that does not somehow connect to the web?  There are lessons to learn in marketing, product development, strategy, information technology, and just about everything community and commercial.

From the article ” Pandora now represents 1.7% of all radio listening–really a shocking figure to think about.”.   Wow, FREE service, possibly paid service overtaking the ad space?   Lessons to be learned here?

Choice rules.  Custom selection of music is killing “album” sales.  From the article,  ”The music business historically has been built around albums,” explained Silverman. “This album-centrism is like saying the sun revolves around the Earth. We don’t listen to albums now; we listen to collections of songs.”

What are the Lessons to be learned from this article?

I am endorsing a program that I think will be great, so here goes the shameless re-posting…… 

For only $25!!

What does it take to become part of the new generation of emerging leaders?

MSOE’s Rader School of Business is conducting a half-day Emerging Leaders Summit on June 19 that will provide insight into leadership in today’s increasingly complex and demanding global business environment. It is an opportunity for current and emerging leaders to learn how to sustain and build their careers.

The featured speaker is Beebe Nelson, co-author of New Product Development for Dummies, who will cover the latest trends and tools in product innovation. This will be followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Tanette Johnson-Elie, Journal Sentinel business columnist, featuring four emerging leaders from JohnsonDiversey, Manpower, Harley Davidson, and Mercury Marine.

          Emerging Leaders Summit
          Friday, June 19
          8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
          Milwaukee School of Engineering*

If you attended, let us know how it was.  If you cannot attend, but would like to attend future events like this, let us know what you want here by adding a comment.