Lean Quote of the Day February 12, 2010

On Friday’s I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve. \


Feel free to share some of your favorites here as well.

"The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades."

— John P. Kotter, Leading Change

This quote reminds me of the Bear Story.  Not familiar with the Bear Story then check out this post on Lean, Competition, and the Bear Story from last fall.

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Think Systems to Avoid Pitfalls in Lean Management

A management system is the framework of processes and procedures used to ensure that an organization can fulfill all tasks required to achieve its objectives.  A Lean management system consists of the discipline, daily practices, and tools you need to establish and maintain a persistent, intensive focus on process.  It is this process focus that sustains and extends lean implementations.

Peter Senge, an influential systems thinker from MIT and author of book "The Fifth Discipline", suggested 11 systems laws that help us understand systems better.  The laws are:

1. Today's problems come from yesterday's solutions.

We, humans, are happy when we solve problems. We often don't think much about consequences. Surprisingly, our solutions could strike back and create new problems.

2. The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back.

We have this stubborn reaction to push our way through when things are not working out as we want. We charge without time to stop, think and find better alternatives. Sometimes we solve problems, but often we find ourselves up to ears in the swamp of other problems.

3. Behavior grows better before it grows worse.

Short-term solutions give us a short break and temporary improvement, but don't eliminate fundamental problems. These problems will make situation worse in the long run.

4. The easy way out usually leads back in.

We learn few solutions in our life, which brought easy success earlier. We try to vigorously apply them in any situation disregarding particular context and people.

5. The cure can be worse than the disease.

Sometimes the easy or familiar solution is not only ineffective; sometimes it is addictive and dangerous.  They may even induce dependency.

6. Faster is slower.

When we get a taste of success we start to advance at the full speed without much caution. However, the optimal rate of growth usually is much slower than the fastest growth possible.

7. Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space.

We are good at finding causes to our problems, even if they are just symptoms and far from real root causes.

8. Small changes can produce big results-but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious.

Most obvious grand solutions like changing company policy, vision or tag line often don't work. Small ordinary, but consistent changes could make a huge difference.

9. You can have your cake and eat it too - but not at once.

We often face rigid "either-or" choices. Sometimes they are not dilemmas if we change our perspective and rules of the system.

10. Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants.

Inability to see the system as a whole could often lead to suboptimal decisions.

11. There is no blame.

We like to blame and point fingers to other people or circumstances, sometimes we even believe in this. But we and the cause of our problems are part of the System.

Lean management is a thinking system where much the same rules apply. These laws serve as an excellent aid to avoid Lean implementation pitfalls.  As we implement Lean solutions we need to learn and understand the processes involved. There are many challenges to this way of thinking.  Many can be defeated by gaining and using knowledge of how systems work.  But the most serious challenge is our own contradictory human nature.  Our passions, emotions, and instincts could easily defy this rational and systematic way of thinking. 

Lean Quote of the Day - February 5th, 2010

On Friday’s I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

Feel free to share some of your favorites here as well.

"Change has a bad reputation in our society. But it isn't all bad — not by any means. In fact, change is necessary in life — to keep us moving ... to keep us growing ... to keep us interested . ... Imagine life without change. It would be static ... boring ... dull."

— Dr. Dennis O'Grady in Bottom Line - Personal

Effectively managing the change is a challenge for many leaders.  Follow these six strategies for change leaders and you will improve your ability and outcome.

Proofreading Tips

During a recent all employee email I wrote within my company I made a typo. I wrote 3 ½ hours instead of 3 ½ years when describing some positive results. I decided I would take this opportunity for improvement and learn some proofreading skills.

It’s difficult to proofread your own work because you’re so close to it – you know what’s coming next which often means you unconsciously skip along, missing typos and misspellings completely. With my experience making typos I think it's nearly impossible for someone to accurately proofread their own writing and be consistently successful.

Think about it: If you produce 1,000 words a day, and you let 1 typo slip by every week, that's actually a 99.986% success rate. If you think about it in terms of letters rather than words, since most typos happen at the level of letters, that 1 typo a week equates to about a 99.997% success rate.

Consider the common exercise often used in demonstrating the weaknesses of 100% manual quality inspection. Count the number of F’s in the paragraph below:

THE NECESSITY OF TRAINING HANDS FOR FIRST-CLASS FARMS IN THE FATHERLY HANDLING OF FRIENDLY FARM LIVESTOCK IS FOREMOST IN THE MINDS OF FARM OWNERS. SINCE THE FOREFATHERS OF THE FARM OWNERS TRAINED THE FARM HANDS FOR THE FIRST-CLASS FARMS IN THE FATHERLY HANDLING OF FARM LIVESTOCK, THE OWNERS OF THE FARMS FEEL THEY SHOULD CARRY ON WITH THE FAMILY TRADITION OF TRAINING FARM HANDS IN THE FATHERLY HANDLING OF FARM STOCK BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IT IS THE BASIS OF GOOD FUTURE FARMING.

How many did you get?

Don’t beat yourself up too badly human error is inevitable. However, there are some steps you can take to help.

1) Use spell-checker on your computer, but be careful the computer can often make errors.

2) Set aside time to proofread without interruptions or distractions.

3) Print out a copy to proofread instead of reading on screen.

4) Read it aloud, read it slowly – stimulate another sense.

5) Read it backwards looking for surface elements rather than the meaning of document.

6) Use a ruler to focus on one line at a time.

7) Check the numbers in your document.

8) Check the grammar – punctuation, contraction, apostrophe, and homonym.

9) Take a break between writing and proofreading – at least 20 minutes.

10) Most important – Get someone else to proofread.

What tips or techniques do you use to proofread your emails, articles, white papers, presentations, procedures and instructions?

I tried these tips with this post. Did it work?

Lean Quote of the Day - January 29, 2009

On Friday’s I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.

Feel free to share some of your favorites here as well.

It is not the employer who pays the wages. He only handles the money. It is the customer that pays the wages. ~Henry Ford, 1922
 
If you haven't started down the path of Lean accounting maybe now is the time.  Consider these tips on implementing Lean accounting from Watlow Electric. 

The "Hot Stove" Rule of Discipline

In a recent supervision class I learned of an interesting analogy between touching a hot stove and applying positive, corrective discipline. The similarities are: immediacy, advance warning, consistency, and impartiality.

1. A hot stove burns immediately. Likewise, discipline should be applied quickly after an infraction. There should be no question in an employee’s mind as to cause and effect.
   
   
2. A hot stove radiates heat and gives a preliminary warning – so should discipline.
   
   
3. A hot stove always burns when touched. Likewise, discipline must be applied consistently.
   
   
4. A hot stove plays no favorites. Neither should discipline.

While I don’t directly supervise people anymore I still found this analogy useful. I am sure anyone with kids has had to discipline them at some point. It would be ideal to avoid discipline and we should work toward this but sometimes it is necessary. Are you impartial, immediate, consistent, and do you give warning when discipline is needed. Just think of touching a hot stove before you act.

The 6 P’s of Leadership

When you hear the word “leadership” what comes to mind? There are numerous definitions of leadership. For me leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. Effective leadership comes down to people. It is about the ability to successfully engage and maximize all human resources for the attainment that vision.

In keeping with this idea that leadership is about people, there are 6 qualities of leadership starting with the letter P:

Principles - You have to have a moral compass as a leader. It starts with basic beliefs and values. It's important to make clear to the people in the organization what those are, so you're transparent. They have to be consistent with the values of the organization, or there will be a problem.

Perspective - That's an ability to dream, visioning that leads to strategies. It starts with a broader view of the world you live in. It's about value to the consumer.

Passion – It is not style. There are a lot of different styles -- charismatic, quiet, confident. But it all comes down to this motivating sense of commitment to what you do. Vince Lombardi said “the difference between success and failure is energy … fired with enthusiasm.”

Perseverance - That's sticking with it through the good times and the bad times -- mostly the bad. It means picking yourself up every day to go after it.

Plan – It's great that you have a dream and a vision but how are you getting there? If people see that you have a passionate purpose but get the feeling that there's now way you'll get there, how likely are they to buy into it? Not very to say the least. Build a plan and use it.

Partnerships - Seek co-operative working relationships both internally between functions and externally with suppliers and customers. Seek to use teams, not individuals. Seek to build trust. Create win-win solutions.

While there are people who seem to be naturally endowed with more leadership abilities than others, I believe that people can learn to become leaders by concentrating on improving these particular leadership skills.

It's important to remember that results count. Effective leaders are those who increase their company’s' performance by creating value profitably.


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