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Hoaxer Asks Companies about Lean
February 18, 2008

Analyze This: Hoaxer Haunts Earnings Calls - WSJ.com

Some guy (not me) has been spoofing his way onto companies' investor / analyst calls, asking questions about Lean and Six Sigma. He's using a fake name and uses a lot of jargon, but companies find it more annoying than funny and nobody's sure what the point is.Hoaxer Asks Companies about Lean

One company rep "speculates that Mr. Herrick is "some minion" at a consulting firm trying to do clandestine research on companies' use of Six Sigma techniques.

Mr. Herrick's questions are usually narrowly focused on details of a company's results from well-known cost-savings techniques such as "lean management" and Six Sigma, or else supply-chain issues. They're virtually the same on each call, and he often follows up aggressively. In the Newell Rubbermaid call, Mr. Herrick asked the company's president and chief executive, Mark Ketchum, to outline his "top initiatives regarding lean manufacturing" and Six Sigma.

I guess real analysts aren't asking about Lean or Six Sigma?

Posted by Mark Graban on February 18, 2008 | Comments (0)