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Alan G. Robinson

Goodreads Author

Website

http://idea-driven.com/

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alangrobinson

Genre

Business

Member Since

January 2014

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Dr. Alan G. Robinson specializes in lean production, managing continuous improvement, creativity, ideas and innovation, and is the co-author of six books, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. His new book, The Idea-Driven Organization (co-authored with Dean Schroeder) is scheduled to be released on March 31, 2014.

According to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), Modern Approaches to Manufacturing Improvement -- his 1991 book with Shigeo Shingo, one of the developers of the Toyota Production System -- "remains a must-read for anyone interested in lean production".

Corporate Creativity (co-authored with Sam Stern) was named "Book of the Year" by the Academy of Human Resource Management, was a finalist in the Fin Dr. Alan G. Robinson specializes in lean production, managing continuous improvement, creativity, ideas and innovation, and is the co-author of six books, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. His new book, The Idea-Driven Organization (co-authored with Dean Schroeder) is scheduled to be released on March 31, 2014.

According to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), Modern Approaches to Manufacturing Improvement -- his 1991 book with Shigeo Shingo, one of the developers of the Toyota Production System -- "remains a must-read for anyone interested in lean production".

Corporate Creativity (co-authored with Sam Stern) was named "Book of the Year" by the Academy of Human Resource Management, was a finalist in the Financial Times/Booz Allen & Hamilton Global Best Business Book Awards, and has been translated into thirteen foreign languages.

His 2002 book Vos Idées Changent Tout (co-authored with Isaac Getz) has been translated into six languages. In his preface to the German edition of this book, Heinrich von Pierer, President and CEO of Siemens AG, called this "an important book on a topic that is fundamental to every business".

Robinson's book Ideas Are Free (co-authored with Dean Schroeder) was based on a global study of more than 150 organizations in 17 countries. It describes how the best companies go about getting large numbers of ideas from their front-line employees, and the competitive advantages they gain from this. The book was named Reader's Choice by Fast Company magazine and one of the 30 best business books of 2004 by Soundview Executive Books, and was featured on ABC World News and CNN Headline News. A syndicated small business columnist for Scripps-Howard, Paul Tulenko, wrote about Ideas Are Free, "I rate this book 5 1/2 stars, a first in this category. It's that powerful. (Only the Bible and the Constitution receive 6 stars.)".

Robinson has advised more than 200 companies in fifteen countries on how to improve their performance. Some of his more well-known recent clients include: the Federal Reserve Bank, Lucent Technologies, Interbrew, General Electric, IKEA, Mass Mutual, UBS, Alcan, Volkswagen, Standard and Poors, The Washington Post, Danaher, Wyeth, Medtronics, Blue Shield of California, Toyota, Northeast Utilities, Millitech, Bemis, Pyosa (the Mexican chemical company), Fanuc (the Japanese robotics company), Schneider Electric, the Japan Industrial Training Association, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Coor Service Management, Lafayette 148 and the Applied Physics Laboratory.

He has served on the Board of Examiners of the United States' Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and on the Board of Examiners for the Shingo Prizes for Excellence in Manufacturing.

Dr. Robinson is on the faculty of the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts. He received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A./M.A. in mathematics from the University of Cambridge.

He has also taught at St. Petersburg Technical University in Russia, the Athens Laboratory of Business Administration in Greece (affiliated with INSEAD), the Jagiellonian University in Poland, the University of Porto in Portugal, the Hanoi Business School, and Tianjin University in China. ...more

30 posts
Alan G. Robinson's Blog

Are your Supervisors Straw Bosses, Clerks, or Leaders?

Supervisors are the people directly responsible for coordinating how work gets done, how a company’s goals and strategies are achieved through daily actions, and how routine improvements are accomplished. For most employees, their supervisor is the primary representative of their company – he or she is the most immediate human manifestation of their employer. Consequently, Are they bei

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Alan G. Robinson’s books

Average rating: 3.8 · 422 ratings · 48 reviews · 16 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas by Alan G. Robinson (Goodreads Author), Dean M. Schroeder (Goodreads Author) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 223 ratings — published 2014 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ideas Are Free: How the Idea Revolution Is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations 3.60 avg rating — 156 ratings — published 2004 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Corporate Creativity: How Innovation & Improvement Actually Happen by Alan G. Robinson (Goodreads Author), Sam Stern 3.51 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 1997 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	L'entreprise créative: Comment les innovations surgissent vraiment - collection IQM by Alan G. Robinson (Goodreads Author), Sam Stern 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	コーポレート・クリエイティビティ―創造力発揮の6つのポイント 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Innovations-Power. 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ideile nu costa. Revolutia ideilor elibereaza oamenii si transforma organizatiile 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	BONNES IDEES NE COUTENT RIEN 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ideas Are Free: How the Idea Revolution Is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations: Easy Read Comfort Edition 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ideas Are Free: How the Idea Revolution Is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations: Easyread Super Large 24pt Edition 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Alan G. Robinson (?)

“Very few managers know how to effectively tap the biggest source of performance improvement available to them: namely, the creativity and knowledge of the people who work for them.”
― Alan G. Robinson, The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas

tags: creativity, knowledge, leadership, management, teams

4 likes

“Across organizations in services, manufacturing, healthcare and government, eighty percent of an organization’s improvement potential lies in front-line ideas.”
― Alan G. Robinson, The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas

tags: companies, government, healthcare, ideas

1 likes

“After years of operating in a top-down manner that emphasizes control and conformance, organizations are rife with obstacles to bottom-up ideas that front-line staff are forced to overcome.”
― Alan G. Robinson, The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas

tags: ideas, organizations, problems, staff

1 likes

See all Alan G. Robinson's quotes »

Alan’s Quotes

“As managers rise up the hierarchy, a host of situational forces come to bear on them which can easily undermine their respect for the people on the front lines, and hence cause them to disregard the value in front-line ideas.”
― Dean M. Schroeder, The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas

tags: hierarchy, ideas, managers, team

1 likes

“From reserved parking places to separate bathrooms, the last things managers need are extravagant status symbols that tell them that they are better than the people who work for them.”
― Dean M. Schroeder, The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas

tags: employees, managers, status-symbol

0 likes

“People with power listen less carefully, and have difficulty taking into account what others already know.”
― Dean M. Schroeder

tags: ideas, listening, managers, power

2 likes

“People with power do not regulate their behavior as much. They become egocentric and preoccupied with their own self-interest, which eclipses their awareness of the interests of others.”
― Dean M. Schroeder, The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas

tags: behavior, egocentricity, leaders, managers, power

3 likes

“Convincing a leader of the value of front-line ideas alone is rarely enough for that person to overcome years of entrenched bad habits and to change his management style.”
― Dean M. Schroeder, The Idea-Driven Organization: Unlocking the Power in Bottom-Up Ideas

Alan G. Robinson’s Followers (6)

Alan’s Bookshelves

Alan’s Friends

Alan G. Robinson

Goodreads Author

30 postsAlan G. Robinson's Blog

Are your Supervisors Straw Bosses, Clerks, or Leaders?

Combine EditionsAlan G. Robinson’s books

Alan’s Quotes

Alan’s Friend Comments

30 posts
Alan G. Robinson's Blog

Combine Editions
Alan G. Robinson’s books