Lean Six Sigma Academy

Given the state of the economy finding and keeping new jobs isn’t always easy. Further, finding a recruiter (aka headhunter) you can trust isn’t always easy.

Well, luckily, I met my friend Frank Laux several years ago at church. Frank is an amazing person that has mentored me and helped me grow in ways words cannot explain. I’ve actually written about Frank before when we made 700 peanut butter sandwiches for the poor (Frank leads this volunteer effort at our parish).  In short, I trust Frank completely.

Professionally, as you probably guessed, Frank is an executive recruiter. So from time to time (probably monthly-ish) I’ll throw up a post highlighting some of the positions I feel may be a match for readers of LSS Academy. If you have any interest in the jobs all you need to do is email Frank directly with your resume in MS Word format.

Anyhow, here are two searches Frank is currently working on.

World Class Manufacturing Performance Improvement Leader

Based in Mexico City – Position will pay $105-$120K + bonus

ABOUT THE JOB

Based in Mexico City, Mexico. Looking for someone who is a Six Sigma Black Belt practitioner, not just a strategist. Want a degreed engineer, chemist, or business degree from almost any manufacturing background who can sell Six Sigma Projects and implement the changes. Will have a world of people to Matrix Manage on Projects, but no direct reports.

This is a fortune 100 company who needs someone to work at multiple manufacturing sites in Mexico. Evaluating systems and procedures within the Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Business/Customers in solving strategic business problems. Someone who has dealt with Quality, On Time Service, Order Fulfillment, Sales and Operations Plan, and possibly plant process issues.

Will be looking at the bigger picture problems, step change projects, doing things more effective to enhance the Divisional and Regional goals, not just a plant level. Heavy Cross Functional team activities between the company and the customers. Will travel 40% in the region to elevate performances. Will work on Key Success components for the business unit.

Company is a leader in their field and looking for a business executive to come out of this role.

SKILLS / QUALIFICATIONS

• Black Belt Certification and MBA are pluses. Have had good luck with Mechanical Engineers in this role, but open on the degree, looking for results.
• Great promotability and visibility in this position. The company sells itself well.
• Need to be a great communicator and executor of Black Belt Projects.

FOR IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION – APPLY NOW

BEST WAY TO APPLY

If qualified and interested, EMAIL YOUR RESUME IN A WORD ATTACHMENT to: info@searchssp.com.

Attention Frank Laux.  No calls, please.

Supply Chain Manager / Inventory Management – DFW Area – Experience with Oracle 11i preferred - Up to $100K+

LOOKING FOR A SUPPLY CHAIN LEADER – INVENTORY MGT Background required.

Our client is a leader in the consumer products industry.

ABOUT THE JOB

In this role, you will be responsible for managing raw material, component, and finished good inventories to ensure maximum customer order fulfillment rates and minimum inventory investments. You will minimize premium freight fees related to expediting materials, support the sales forecast and production schedules with timely, high-quality, best value raw materials, components and finished goods. In addition, you will manage, train, and/or develop 3-5 Buyer/Analysts.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Analyze latest sales forecast reports to determine material and product requirements for net independent and dependent demand.

Apply concept of best value, price, quality, delivery, communications, and supplier support to vendor selection and purchasing decisions. Perform supplier cost and service benchmark comparisons for supplier selection, consolidation, and cost reduction opportunities, and subsequently execute against these opportunities.

Manage communications and relationships with all suppliers providing raw materials, components, and finished goods.  Manage inventory levels to maximize customer service and inventory turns. Manage excess and obsolete inventory to minimize or eliminate.

Perform analysis and make recommendations on inventory levels, costs, forecasts, suppliers, and product consolidations.  Expedite orders as required per the forecast or actual sales changes to balance inventory levels in support of targeted inventory levels.

Maintain accurate system parameters, such as costs, lead-times, order quantities, and order multiples.  Resolve product quality, quantity, and damage issues reported by receiving, warehousing, production, and quality control.

SKILLS / QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 10 years related inventory management experience; excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills are a must; proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access is required, plus a strong working knowledge of Oracle. Bachelor degree is required.
• Experience in inventory management, analyzing and interpreting purchasing and inventory data, and effective communications.
• Excellent knowledge of inventory management principles, purchasing best-practices, and negotiation techniques.
• Good organizational skills; analytical skills; problem solving skills; multi-tasking; flexible and able to manage multiple projects.
• Microsoft Access database development and management. A working knowledge of Oracle purchasing and inventory management modules

COMPENSATION

Excellent package includes a base of $90-100 plus a bonus, 401K plan, outstanding medical and other benefits.

FOR IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION – APPLY NOW

BEST WAY TO APPLY

If qualified and interested, EMAIL YOUR RESUME IN A WORD ATTACHMENT to: info@searchssp.com.

Attention Frank Laux.  No calls, please.

This post is my contribution to Blog Action Day, joining thousands of other bloggers to write about one topic for a single day. This year’s topic is poverty. Finally, this post is deeply personal and not related to lean or six sigma in any way.

I’ll never forget the day I broke my Mom’s heart. It was the morning of my 7th birthday.

My parents separated when I was only a few years old and my 3 siblings and I lived with my Mom throughout the school year and spent the summers with my Dad in Canada.

My Mom, who I love more than any woman on earth – short of my wife – worked at the phone company and didn’t make much money. In fact, it’s safe to say we were poor.

But back to the morning of my birthday.

I Want to Be a Cowboy!

As a young boy I loved watching Roy Rogers on Saturday mornings and wanted to be a cowboy more than anything. I dreamed of one day riding my horse through the prairies battling the bad guys day and night.

There was just one problem. I didn’t have a cowboy hat.

So, being the young problem solver that I was, I asked for one. It was the only birthday present I asked for and I was sure I was going to get it.

The morning of my birthday had finally come and I remember bursting from my bed and running to find my Mom. As I came around the corner I saw her carrying a large bag.

A Big Problem

I’ll never forget the huge smile my Mom had on her face as she handed me the bag. I tore the bag open and there it was. My cowboy hat. But there was a problem. A big problem.

It was obvious to me that this particular cowboy hat was not new. It also didn’t have the cool shape to it that my brother’s cowboy hat had. My Mom explained how she had bought it from a co-worker since she just couldn’t afford to buy a new one. I stood in silence holding the hat in my hand with my head hung low.

Then I did it.

I looked at my Mom with disgust and threw the hat on the ground and ran for my room. I was in total disbelief that my dream of being a real cowboy would not happen on this particular day.

Truly Blessed

Eventually I got over it and came to realize how truly blessed I was to have the things I did. I also later apologized – more than once – to my Mom for my despicable behavior.

Looking back on my childhood I vividly remember the sacrifices my Mom made for us – including sleeping on the couch in order for her kids to have their own bedrooms. I remember how tired she looked when she came home from work only to find the mess my siblings and I created in the house.

I remember having bad dreams and bringing my blanket out and laying beside my mom as she slept on the couch. She would hold my hand and all my fears and troubles just melted away.

I also remember how I would curl up with her after she came home exhausted from work. She would often heat up a frozen burrito for her dinner even though we kids always ate something much better.

What Poverty Taught Me

So, while it would be easy for me to sit here and say how poverty ravaged my young life I wouldn’t be telling the truth. You see, my big brother probably said it best when he explained, “We weren’t poor… we were just short of cash.”

So, the way I look at it, while we were technically facing with the problem of poverty I now realize those years formed me into the man I am today.

They taught me that no amount of money is more important than love and compassion.

They taught me that no amount of money is more important than holding your child’s hand in the middle of the night when they wake up from a bad dream (as timing would have it I have a lot of work to do with this one as I have a child getting out of bed all the time these days).

And those years taught me that no amount of money is more important than being truly thankful for the abundant blessings our mighty and powerful God sends us, even a used cowboy hat.

Thank you Mom for all you’ve taught me. I know I can never repay you, but I promise to die trying.

So check it out. A few months ago my wife noticed some suspicious charges on our Washington Mutual debit card at a Walmart in the Fort Worth area. After discussing it we realized someone had swiped our information and made two separate charges for around $300 total.

We called Washington Mutual and suspended our card. We then had to basically change ALL our accounts since we were given a new number. Since we pay all our bills online this was a supreme pain in the rear.

Violated

We felt violated and honestly a little freaked out since someone went to a lot of trouble to rip us off. My fear was it would happen again.

It did.

Walmart Fails Again

This time someone ripped off my corporate credit card number and attempted to buy a pizza in California for $5.00. The pizza company, to their credit, must have done their job and didn’t allow the transaction to go through.

But not Walmart. They failed again as the same person in California charged something for $150.

Check ID!

The process that should be followed is pretty easy. The Walmart cashier should ask the customer for a picture ID if a credit card is being used. If they don’t have one the customer can’t use the card. Simple as that.

Help Protect Me (and Yourself)

Over the past year or so we’ve build a decent following here on LSS Academy. So, while I’ve never done this before, I am going to request a ‘call to action’ for all LSS Academy readers.

The next time you are in Walmart, if you don’t mind, please try to pay with a credit card (not debit). Then, if the cashier doesn’t ask you for your ID kindly ask them why they didn’t.

Several thousand people read LSS Academy daily so if we all do this who knows… perhaps we can make a positive change to Walmart’s “Standard Work.”

Have you Ever Been Ripped Off?

Have you ever been ripped off like this? If so, what did you do to prevent it from happening again?

If you don’t already read Jon Miller’s excellent blog you’ll want to pay a visit and read his most recent article “Toyota’s Top Engineer on How to Develop Thinking People.”

The original article Jon references is in Japanese making it useless to most readers of this blog (and me)!  Luckily, Jon was raised in Japan and speaks and reads Japanese so he is able to translate it for us.

Here is a small snippet.

Hayashi: I was really afraid of Mr. Ohno when I was young. But I think he was developing thinking people. He never gave us the answer. When he gave us an assignment, he would just stand by and watch us fail, even if he knew the answer.

If you read one blog today (OK two since you are reading this one) make it Jon’s.  Here is the link.

“Children too are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward.”

~Psalm 127:3

Yesterday my family was blessed with the arrival of our 4th child, a baby girl. While the births of all my children have been amazing, this one was extra special since we decided to not find out the sex of the baby before hand.

Words simply can’t describe how special it was or how proud I am to have four beautiful children to call me Daddy. This, as they say, is priceless.

I’ll be taking some time off to play, what I can best describe as, a one man zone defense against my 3 “older” kids (almost 6, 4, and 2) as we get settled with our newest addition. With this said, blogging will be light over the next few weeks.

Until then, you might want to check out (if you don’t already) some of my favorite blogs. Here is a short list and you can find more in the related sites section.

• Lean Blog
• Evolving Excellence
• Seth Godin
• Curious Cat Management
• Gemba Pantarei
• shmula (Pete and his wife just added their 8th addition to his growing family!)

“Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

A message to all my American friends… please call your mom, kiss your wife, hug your kids and be sure to tell them all you love them.

Enjoy the day and please remember the sacrifices so many men and women have made, and continue to make even today, for our freedom. God Bless America.

I’d like to think I am a relatively intelligent person.  I graduated with a 3.8 GPA during my undergrad studies and a 3.7 GPA while getting an MBA. 

But, alas, today I realized I still have much to learn as I attempted to use the toilet in the Lyon, France airport.  The picture (click to enlarge) is what I saw when I opened the stall door. 

When I opened the door I was initially taken aback for a second… then I smiled… then I giggled… and then I quickly shut the door and grabbed my camera.

I have 20 minutes to go before boarding my flight… I sure hope the time goes fast since I really have to go!

As a young boy growing up in Ohio I learned to love Ohio State.  I was watching them play football before I even knew what football was.  It’s hard to explain to most how much I love them. 

And it’s hard to express how sad it makes me to see them lose in yet another National Championship game. 

This game tonight was bizarre and much different than the beating we took last year.  I need to double check but I believe we actually out gained LSU.  But in the end we made far too many mistakes… especially all the personal fouls. 

Brian Robiskie also dropped a key touchdown pass that would have really helped out!  But he has made many good plays this year so I don’t want to be too hard on him.

And with that LSU took full advantage of the mistakes and beat us fair and square.  Congrats to them.  They seem like a bunch of good kids and hopefully the win does some good for that city.  Lord knows they need it.

Let it be known… I am proud to be a Buckeye fan and plan to leave my flag waving outside my house for the rest of the week.  They are my team and I am sticking with them.  Plus, with only 3 seniors leaving and probably just a few juniors we are going to be loaded again next year. 

GO BUCKS!

From my family to yours… we wish you a very Merry and blessed Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.  I hope you are able to take some time off and relax with your friends and family.  I will speak (or write) to you in the new year.

Let me just say this past weekend rocked!  As regular readers of the blog know I attended the Ohio State versus Michigan football game this past Saturday. 

Well my Buckeyes handled Michigan with ease and won the Big Ten championship.  We will most likely play in the Rose Bowl.  We still have an outside shot of reaching the National Championship game but I am not counting on it. 

My experience in the Big House was excellent.  The Michigan fans were excellent starting with my good friend Scott who scored me the ticket!  When we first arrived on the scene in Ann Arbor (about 4 hours before kickoff) I got to experience tail gating Michigan style.  Scott’s friends (all Michigan fans) were great.  Of course they got some good natured jabs in on me… all of which I took with a grin.  I mean I was getting free beer so what could I say!

We then made our way to the stadium and saw the ESPN Gameday crew taping the show.  Well we didn’t actually “see” them since the line was massive to actually get into where the cameras were.  But we saw it nonetheless.

After that we went into the stadium to watch the teams warm up without pads.  The stadium was basically empty and what a massive site it was.  It’s weird… when you first walk up to the stadium it looks smallish.  Then when you actually enter into it you are like… holy Buckeye!  It is truly massive inside. 

I got some great pics of the Buckeyes warming up.  Vernon Gholston is shown in this picture.  He pummeled Chad Henne and just about Michigan’s entire offensive line all day long. 

Once the game started I was not able to take as many pictures for a few reasons.  First a steady rain started before kickoff and never stopped so I didn’t want to ruin my father in laws camera! 

Second, being the overly nice person that I am… I gave my spare batteries to this guy (a Michigan fan no less!) before the game as his had run out.  Well you guessed it… my batteries went dead late in the 3rd quarter!  Oh well.  This picture was taken after Beanie Wells took it to the house for a score in the 3rd quarter.  Man I love that kid!

In the end OSU beat Michigan for the 6th time in 7 years and all is well.  I had a blast and hope to do it all again one day.  Special kudos to the folks at the University of Michigan.  Most of them were extremely kind and hospitable… even in defeat. 

Me and the fam are off to Ohio (from Texas) for Thanksgiving to visit my Mom.  I hope all my American friends and anyone else celebrating turkey day have a great and relaxing week.  Try to spend time with your families and forget all about lean and six sigma for a few days.  That is my plan for sure.