Engineering Quote by James P. Womack
““Steve Maynard’s solution was to form a team for each product to stick with that product during its entire production life. This team—consisting of a marketer, a product engineer, and a tooling/process engineer—proceeded to enter into a dialogue with leading customers (major contractors) in which all of the old products and solutions were ignored. Instead, the customer and the producer (Wiremold) focused on the value the customer really needed.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Machine That Changed the World, James P. Womack et al., 1990
Cross‑functional product teams that stay with a product throughout its life can better align design with real customer value, discarding legacy assumptions.
In simple terms: Dedicated teams focus on true customer needs.
Key Takeaway
Build lasting product teams.
Themes
customer focus
team structure
innovation
value creation
Mood
optimistic
strategic
Type
practical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- new product development
- continuous improvement
- customer workshops
- engineering design
Key Concepts
Lean manufacturing
customer collaboration
product lifecycle
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you empower a team to own a product end‑to‑end?
- What barriers exist in your company to forming such teams?
A Different Perspective
May not work if organization lacks authority to break old contracts.
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