TimeBack Management is proud to be part of the 2009 Management Improvement Carnival, coordinated by John Hunter at Curious Cat. Several of us are reviewing a variety of 2009′s best posts from some of the best blogs. Links to all carnival participants and the summary can be found here.

I’ve picked posts from three of my favorite blogs: Mark Graban’s Lean Blog, Jason Yip’s You’d think with all my video game experience that I’d be more prepared for this (which surely sets a record for longest blog title relative to the length of the posts), and Kevin Meyer’s Evolving Excellence.

From Mark’s LeanBlog, I’ve chosen the following:

• “Love” or “Lean,” This Quote Rings True: Mark explains how “respect for people” doesn’t mean being soft on people, and how accountability should be the real watchword in management.

• Where Would I Be Without Lean, by Andy Wagner, explains how the lean journey starts with the simplest step: listening to Joe (not the plumber, but the person on the front line).

• This Year’s WSJ “JIT”-Bashing Article, Again Misguided: you shouldn’t talk about the Lean Blog without picking at least one post on LAME. This one explains how the Wall Street Journal (once again) gets it wrong on lean. Thanks to Mark for helping expose the mainstream media’s misperception of lean.

Jason Yip’s posts are generally quite short, but pithy and thought-provoking. There’s always more than meets the eye.

• Productivity Is Not The Primary Goal: no, really, it’s not. Read to find out what is the main goal.

• The Toyota version for Information Refrigerator: a brilliant, concise image of why a computer is not the answer for your inventory issues — or any other problem, for that matter.
  

• Don’t just make it visible, make it tangible: a thoughtful challenge to go beyond mere visible management.

Evolving Excellence is an awfully wide-ranging blog, but these posts are enlightening, funny, and powerful:

• When The Neck Bone Isn’t Connected To The Head Bone: guest blogger Bill Waddell explains how the business school academics’ devotion to “core competence” and other management theories can have devastating effects.

• 5S: Reality or Lean Illusion explains the difference between the core of 5S and the appearance of 5S, and why it’s important.

• Chief Brain Officer: it would be a mistake to talk about Evolving Excellence without choosing at least one post on treating employees as more than just a pair of hands. Kevin is at his eloquent best in talking about how terminology affects the way we think about employees.

Finally, a special shout-out to Bill Waddell’s masterful manifesto on the Hollowing of the American Economy, which was first introduced on the EE blog. This piece was probably the single most powerful article I read all year. Download it here.

Many thanks to all of you for entertaining, enlightening, and educating me over the past year with your wisdom and creativity.