AME Blog

  This past Wednesday marked my one-year anniversary as AME’s president and CEO. Since assuming this role, AME has accomplished so much, as have our members and the entire community of lean, continuous improvement practitioners. I am proud of our community’s collective efforts to pivot and adapt... More

  Happy New Year! Through a quick and unscientific Google search, I just learned that New Year’s resolutions date back 4,000 years to ancient Babylon — at least that’s what articles from Fast Company, History.com, Mental Floss and even Teen Vogue would have me believe. As lean, continuous improvement... More

  If you’ve been in a Zoom meeting with me during the past few months, you may have seen an unexpected visitor on the screen. I’m currently fostering a cat that is very curious anytime she hears voices coming out of my computer. There’s a running joke among the AME staff that my home may transition... More

  AME is made up of people who are dedicated to enterprise excellence. Members, volunteers and staff all seeking best practices to implement lean and continuous improvement. This pursuit of operational excellence inspires us and keeps us driving toward agile solutions, tools and processes that help... More

  On Wednesday in the United States and Canada we recognized military veterans and those who continue to serve. While Veterans Day and Remembrance Day are opportunities to thank veterans for our freedoms, it is incumbent on industry to provide veterans with the opportunities to use their skills in the... More

  Today, I want to talk about the importance of gratitude and celebrating. Regardless of your role in your organization, your family or your community, it is important to take a moment to thank those who make your successes possible. Let people know what sort of impact they have on you and your organizations.... More

  Big projects can feel overwhelming at times, but when you have a team with which you can brainstorm, troubleshoot, and share the load, it helps you power through and get the job done. Right now, there is a dedicated team of volunteers and staff working long hours behind the scenes to put the finishing... More

  The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) announced today that it has appointed five new members to its board of directors. Brian Fields, Robert Martichenko, Gregg Miner, Ellen Sieminski and Billy Taylor will serve as directors-at-large for a two-year term that began October 1, 2020. They... More

  Believe it or not, this Sunday marks one month before the 36th annual AME International Conference. I often mention AME events and programs in my weekly messages, but I try my best not to be overtly promotional. As a reader, I hope that you come away from each email with a valuable nugget or insight,... More

The leaves are still on the trees outside my office window, but I can tell we’re close to the changing colors and the beauty of autumn. The signs of fall are all there: schools are back in session, football has started and the AME International Conference is on the horizon. While you might not initially... More

  Taylor and Harrison-Chambers join to lead AME's Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Programs The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) is excited to announce the appointment of Billy Taylor to our Management Team as global head of inclusion, equity and diversity (IE&D), effective September... More

As I’ve mentioned before, I love movies. Enjoying a movie in the theater is the simple pleasure that I’ve missed most during the pandemic. Like many of you, I am focused on the many bigger issues at play in the world, but seeing a movie in the theater has always been where I escape from the everyday. You... More

  Like many of you on the East Coast of the U.S. and Canada and in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and neighboring islands, I am dealing with the fallout from Tropical Storm Isaias. I consider myself fortunate because, outside of power outages and connectivity issues, my neighborhood was largely spared by... More

  I have officially passed six months on the job as president and CEO of AME. Over these past few months, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard people ask if a global pandemic was part of my first-year plan. And, yet, AME members, volunteers and employees have done what lean practitioners... More

  They say, “It’s not the destination. It’s the journey.” For the continuous improvement community, we live this everyday as we move our organizations toward an ideal state of enterprise excellence. This is the lean journey, and AME considers itself a navigator or wayfinder on your pathway to... More