WHAT ARE WE READING?
"Improve LESS" by Chad Bareither. Chad will be joining us for the discussion!
Feeling busy? Want your time back and better results?
Well, Improve LESS. Change fewer things, but the right things.
That is the entire premise of this book.
Authored by seasoned consultant Chad Bareither, Improve LESS draws from his extensive experience and deep knowledge of methodologies like Lean, Six Sigma, and Industrial Engineering. Chad distills complex ideas into a practical framework that can be quickly absorbed to fuel immediate action.
The Focus and Align FrameworkTM is a simple yet effective approach to sustainable continuous improvement that centers around three key elements:
- Strategy Deployment
- Process Improvement
- Daily Management
Improve LESS isn't your typical business book filled with jargon and elusive strategies. Chad's message is clear: Focused change and aligned efforts ensure you get your time back and improve performance.
If you're tired of the endless cycle of busyness, the constant battle between calendars and productivity, and the backsliding of improvement initiatives that don't stick, this book isn't just a read. It's your catalyst for meaningful change in business and life.
PRE-WORK
Please read the whole book before the discussion session.
AUTHOR
Chad Bareither
Owner and Principal Consultant, Bareither Group Consulting
As the owner and principal consultant of Bareither Group Consulting, he enables continuous improvement through the application of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies. Chad partners with his clients to clarify and deploy their strategy, make process improvements to achieve those goals, and establish a system for daily management of the business. These three elements of a Business Management System are the foundation of sustainable gains and the subject of a forth coming book to help even more organizations and leaders get their time back … and improve performance.
Chad is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University as well as master’s degrees in both Industrial & Systems Engineering and Applied Statistics from Rutgers University.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Melissa Sherman,
Sr Quality Improvement Consultant,
Consumers Energy
Melissa has worked in the utility industry for over 27 years, both for an Investor Owned and Cooperative, gaining experience in Electric and Gas Distribution Engineering, Business Support for Pumped Storage, River Hydro and Renewable Generation, Online Scheduling for Fossil Generation, and Enterprise Change.
Throughout her career, Melissa has instituted lean methodology while embedding change management methodology. From scheduling to warehouse redesigns, to value stream analysis. Melissa analyzes and measures the effectiveness of existing business processes and develops sustainable, repeatable, and quantifiable business process improvements. She analyzes data to drive problem solving, root cause analysis and functional area process improvement. Responsible for delivering significant results in Company Breakthrough Objectives.
She is passionate about leading others on their continuous improvement/lean and change management journey. She enjoys being able to share her love for teaching/coaching others and seeing the “ah ha” moments when someone truly understands the methodologies. It is through breaking down those methodologies in terms they understand that they can then tackle those big problems.
Melissa has also taught higher education since 2008 both in-seat and on-line in management, entrepreneurship and engineering disciplines, relating a lot of her teaching to the utility industry.
Melissa holds a Bachelors in Industrial Engineering Technology, a Master’s in Leadership Studies from Baker College, along with a Graduate Certificate in Leadership Strategies from Davenport University. She also holds an Associates Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University and is certified in Change Management through Acuity Institute.
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