Membership: Member Interviews
Deborah Tomusko
(Interview continued from e-mail newsletter.)
| Q. |
Do you think Northeast Ohio manufacturing can "lean" its
way back to a good economy? |
| A. |
Lean is necessary, but not sufficient. Lean is not
just about low cost. It's about high quality, timely
delivery and focusing on what your customer values, and
it's amazing to me how many companies still have not
implemented the lean principles. Toyota, which is the
master of Lean, still seeks out five to ten percent improvement
a year. They truly understand continuous improvement.
But even that's not enough to survive in today's global
economy. Innovation is also key, and that's where we
can truly excel. Lean and innovation go hand-in-hand.
They are not mutually exclusive. Companies have got to
do both. |
| Q. |
You mentioned a homing device; you really do have
one, from what I hear. |
| A. |
Yes, I am a real homebody. I actually live in the
house where I grew up. My father was a carpenter, and
he built our home in Brooklyn, on the near west side,
and I just couldn't bring myself to sell it. It's a
great house, and has a lot of sentimental value to
me as well, though I am gradually updating it to personalize
it more. I have a nice yard with big beautiful trees
and lots of quiet. So far, I share that space with
a very spoiled bichon frise named "Foo-Foo."
|
| Q. |
What is the best HBS NEO event you ever attended? |
| A. |
When I was first accepted into Harvard, there was a
sailing event where George Kaull, the CEO of Premix at
that time, took new admits sailing on Lake Erie, and
then hosted a barbecue at the yacht club. It was so cool
because I felt so welcome, and sailing on Lake Erie was
such a Cleveland thing to do, and I had never had the
opportunity to do it before. He was so gracious, and
we stayed in touch. |
| Q. |
What could the club do better? |
| A. |
It would be nice to see us get more active in the
turnaround of Cleveland, because there is such a great
combination of brains and passion in the club and such
a need in the city/region. It's sort of like GM; in
my mind, the city is not focusing on the fundamental
problems, and it's off doing things that don't have
high impact. Until someone addresses the fundamentals,
the problems won't go away. They will only get worse,
but that doesn't have to be the end of the story.
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Programs 