In the concrete jungle, there are seasons of rain and plenty, followed by seasons of drought and scarcity. Whether or not we survive depends on how prepared we are for these changes, and how willing we are to evolve in order to remain relevant. Leaders who ignore the shifting seasons will soon find themselves and their firms fading into obscurity.

Whether we shy away from it or actively seek it out, change is never easy. In these rapidly changing times, surviving means stepping away from the herd and venturing out onto the road less traveled. It means sharpening your claws and taking a bird’s eye view of where your business is at, and learning and evolving during the times of plenty before the season of drought and hunger returns. This may mean taking down predators, it may mean diversifying or specializing, and it may even mean seeking out new hunting grounds. Whatever it is, the secret is never to lose hope.

Join us on an African safari as Gary Sturisky, a world-renowned transformation consultant, takes you on a journey through the vast open plains of the Serengeti and down the narrow corridors of the concrete jungle to uncover practical tools to help your company evolve into the CPA firm of the future.

Winner of a Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award! At the heart of Lean and Six Sigma is the same, unique business operating system: hoshin kanri. It is a method of strategic planning and a tool for managing complex projects, a quality operating system geared to ensuring that organizations faithfully translate the voice of the customer into new products, and a business operating system that ensures reliable profit growth. The true power of hoshin kanri, however, is two-fold -- it is a superior organizational learning method as well as a competitive resource development system. Hoshin Kanri for the Lean Enterprise, by Tom Jackson, explains how you can implement, identify and manage the critical relationships among your markets, design characteristics, production systems, and personnel to satisfy your customers and beat your competition. This practical workbook provides- A new understanding of hoshin kanri as a grand experimental design implemented through a system of team agreements. Clear explanations of the steps of hoshin kanri. A measure of overall business effectiveness used to determine the focus of corporate strategy. A new, improved X-matrix that incorporates a lean "balanced scorecard" for identifying improvement opportunities and converting them readily into bottom line results as a value stream P&L in terms that financial managers and accountants can understand and support. Downloadable resources containing forms, meeting agendas, and examples of X-matrices that serve marketing and design engineering as well as manufacturing. This workbook will show you the mechanics of implementing hoshin kanri, so that you can systematically improve your brand equity, implement Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma, and integrate your suppliers into a Lean and Six Sigma organization.