Poll Update

We're currently running three polls at Evolving Excellence, so I thought I'd take a weekend moment to update readers on the current results.

First up is the poll of "Best Lean Companies for 2008."  At the end of the year I'll take the top 20 and we'll track the stock performance of those companies against various market indices.  Of course it can be argued, justifiably so in my opinion, that stock price is not an appropriate metric as it can be influenced by any number of lean-independent factors, but it can still add some entertainment and thought throughout the year.  Currently the top 20 after 336 votes are:

1. Toyota
2. Danaher
3. Deere
4. Parker-Hannifin
5. Illinois Tool Works
6. Wabtec
7. Caterpillar
8. Ventana Medical Systems
9. Coca Cola
10. Honda
11. Intel
12. Steelcase
13. Tesco
14. Textron
15. Stanley Works
16. Nike
17. Pentair
18. Dow Chemical
19. Newell Rubbermaid
20. Abbott Labs

I agree with most of them, in particular the top eight.  But Coca Cola?  Try as I might I can't find any significant lean stories on that company.  Similarly for Dow Chemical.  I worked for Abbott for many years, many years ago, and they were decidedly un-lean at that point.  In fact that frustration was one reason I left.  But I do know that they have embarked on a major and very serious lean program and were even a tour at the last AME annual conference.  Check out the poll to see the full list or to vote.

The next poll asks "Which Presidential Candidate Would Be Best for Manufacturing?"  After 260 votes the top ten are:

1. Michael Bloomberg
2. Mitt Romney
3. Rudy Giuliani
4. Mike Huckabee
5. John McCain
6. Hillary Clinton
7. Duncan Hunter
8. Fred Thompson
9. Ron Paul
10. Barack Obama

For obvious reasons I'm not going to comment much on this particular poll.  Ok, one comment: I took editorial liberty by adding Michael Bloomberg to the poll even though he's not officially running (yet), and I find it very interesting that many people apparently share my impression of him.  Check out the poll to see the full list or to vote.

And finally we asked "What Policy Issue is Most Important to Manufacturing?"  The top 10 after 222 votes are:

1. New free trade agreements
2. Private investment in R&D
3. Darwinism - let the free market decide who survives
4. Manufacturing is fine - job loss is from productivity gains
5. Enforce current trade agreements
6. Reduce OSHA/environmental regulation
7. Improved tax policies
8. Extend the R&D tax credit
9. Private support for lean manufacturing training
10. Reduce health care costs

Not too much commentary on this one; I'll just wait and see how it develops.  I intentionally left in numbers 3 and 4 which were added by separate people as they appealed to my libertarian tendencies, and it has been interesting seeing them stay near the top.  As with the others, check out the poll to see the full list or to vote.