Top 10 Lean Facebook Pages

With 450 million users globally (and millions more being added each week) Facebook is dominating the web in unparalleled ways. Facebook has eclipsed Amazon, Walmart, Netflix and even Google as the foremost brand name in web searches from U.S. users, according to research from Hitwise.  It was the most visited site on the web for the week ending on March 13, 2010, surpassing even Google in week-long stats for the first time in history.  Facebook claims that half of its user login each day and the average user spends about an hour on Facebook.

In honor of these recent achievements I thought I would highlight my top 10 Lean Facebook fan pages, in alphabetical order: 

A Lean Journey – This is the facebook site of A Lean Journey Blog, published by yours truly. This site is dedicated to sharing lessons and experiences along the lean journey in the Quest for True North. The blog also serves as the source for learning and reflection which are critical elements in Lean Thinking. 

AME Connect - AMEConnect is the official fan page for the Association of Manufacturing Excellence.  The website is designed to provide members with the ability to find industry experts, distribute topic-based information in a collaborative format, and empower online communities to work more effectively together. 

K-Dub's Lean Nation Radio Show – This is the fan site for The Lean Nation Radio show hosted by Karl Wadensten on 790 AM in Providence, RI. Get real world examples and actionable advice from local and national business leaders on how to reinvent yourself into a lean operation (in business and in life). This collaborative, interactive show will share best practices and tips to remove waste and cost from your work and life.  

Lean Blog – The fan page of Lean Blog, published by Mark Graban.  Check out this site for discussion about the lean methodology in factories, hospitals, and the world around us.

Lean Enterprise Institute - The Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) is the official Facebook page of LEI.  It helps companies transform themselves into lean enterprises, based on the principles of the Toyota Business System.  

Lean For Everyone: Simplify your business and your life! - Lean For Everyone is the fan page published by blogger John Wetzel.  Lean for Everyone is about making your business, work and life easier by finding simpler ways to accomplish your daily tasks. 

Lean Learning Center – Jamie Flinchbaugh of The Lean Learning Center manages this Facebook page.  The Lean Learning Center helps individuals and companies with successful lean transformation through education, coaching, strategy, application, and products. 

The Lean Way Consulting – This site is the creation of Ankit Patel from The Lean Way Consulting Blog.  The focus is on improving companies by changing the culture and the processes. 

The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence – This is the official Facebook site of The Shingo Prize.  The mission of The Shingo Prize is to create excellence in organizations through the application of universal, self-evident principles of operational excellence and the alignment of management systems and improvement techniques throughout an entire organization. 

Value Stream Leadership - This is Facebook fan page of the Value Stream Leadership by Jim Baran and Kristi Boyer. VSL is the first firm to create a solution that fuses the hiring of Lean talent to lean engagement.  

So if you are one of the over 225 Million on Facebook daily you may want to spend part of your hour online staying informed of all things Lean by becoming a fan to these great sites.

Visual Controls: Simple or Sophisticated

When it comes to visual controls in the workplace the most common line of questioning is related to manual visuals versus computerized visuals.  Many people prefer the look of a more sophisticated information technology solution over a simple hand written solution.  There are a number of things to consider when deciding which visual method to use.

	Manual Visual	Computerized Visual
Timeliness	Manual visuals are current as of the last recording and reviewed by frequency of the pitch.	Computerized visuals are current as of the last data entry and last time the report was run.
Proximity	Hand written visuals are usually close to the process whose performance they reflect.  This also makes it difficult to disperse the information to other locations.	Computerized systems encourage managing the production process from a computer screen in an office somewhere removed from the actual production area.  A computer aided solution is definitely advantageous for computational accuracy as well as ease of distributing information.
Accuracy	Manual visuals are usually near or at the Gemba and can be physically verified but humans do make mistakes.	Computerized visuals are usually a long way from the source, often require judgment and execution of data, which can make accuracy difficult to assess.
Precision	Manual methods are not always precise, notes sometimes vague, and reporting periods can occasionally be missed.	Computerized visuals are highly precise regardless of accuracy.
Flexibility	Questions prompted by manual visuals can be addressed at least initially where it is posted and can be easily modified or new visuals created.	Computerized solutions are powerful analytical tools, but usually only designed to address the questions programmed and not easily changed or customized.
Expense	Manual visuals require little to no expense to implement and maintain.	Computers and network equipment are expensive to purchase, require continuing maintenance costs, and technical expertise.
Responsi-veness	Manual visuals are easy to use, owned by production floor, and draws people to the information whom helped create it.	Computers can be intimidating; the data is removed from shop floor to be transformed into impersonal computer-generated report.

Visuals are a means connect people to their processes.  They also reflect the adherence to the process and are the basis for comparing actual versus expected performance. Visual controls help transform the abstract concept of discipline in lean management into directly observable, concrete practices.  It is important to choose the right visual format for each process.  Due to the immediate, accessible, flexible, inexpensive, and responsive nature of manual visual controls they are my preferred method.

If you enjoy this post you may want to connect with me on Linkedin or follow me on Twitter.  You can also subscribe to this feed or email to stay updated on all posts.  For those Facebook fans join A Lean Journey on our facebook fan page.

Lean Quote of the Day, April 2, 2010

On Fridays 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.

“Create your own visual style... let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.”  - Orson Welles

The goal within a Visual Factory is to create a “status at a glance” in the workplace. This refers to an operating environment where anyone can enter the workplace and:
     See the current situation (Self-explaining)
     See the work process (Self-ordering)
     See if you are ahead, behind or on schedule (Self-regulating) and
     See when there is an abnormality (Self-improving)

This post entitled "You Won't Get Lean, Until You Get Visual" will remind you of the importance of creating a visual factory.  A visual factory is the language of the Lean production system.

If you enjoy this post you may want to connect with me on Linkedin or follow me on Twitter.  You can also subscribe to this feed or email to stay updated on all posts.  For those Facebook fans join A Lean Journey on our facebook fan page.

Expert Advice for Getting Things Done

While I was writing the post "3 steps to get things done" an interesting feed came through on productivity tips to add more time to your work day.  The article was published on the American Express Open Forum and entitled" 80 Ways to Steal Valuable Minutes for Your Work Day."  The author is Glen Stansberry, a web developer, writer and small business owner. He co-founded the popular blog network LifeRemix in 2007 and currently writes at LifeDev on empowering creative people.

Glen asked some of the top small business, productivity bloggers, and consultants to share some of their best tips on how they add more time to their days.  I thought I would share some I found particularly noteworthy.

Liz Strauss, Successful Blog

"Establish an early morning no interruption time. Use the first hour or two of work to work on things that require focus. You'll get more done. Email, phone calls, and interruptions have a way of expanding to fit the time we allow them."

Jonathan Fields, JonathanFields.com

"Batch & Focus - Multitasking kills time. Again, sounds counter-intuitive. But, every time you switch your attention, there's a cognitive ramp up time. It can range from a few seconds to a few minutes. So, if you constantly cycle between checking email, IM, twitter, texts, voicemail, calendars, blackberries, apps, scores, stock quotes, news, current projects and more, then respond to each, the time you lose to incessant ramp-up becomes substantial. Instead, minimize time lost to nonstop cognitive ramping by batching your time and focusing on individual categories of tasks with intense, yet discrete bursts of attention."  

"Call - We've become so accustomed to doing everything digitally, trading flurries of emails, IMs and texts, we sometimes forget that we can get the same thing done in a fraction of the time with one or two quick phone calls."

Dominic Basulto, Endless Innovation

"Use Evernote as a digital organizer - Finally get rid of all the scraps of paper, sticky notes and newspaper clippings that find their way into your bag, wallet or pocket. Using Evernote, you can snap photos of anything, take voice notes, clip text from the Web and then sort all of this content either online or using a mobile device. All of this multimedia content then has a home within Evernote, where you can easily search for content when you need it."  

Becky McCray, Small Biz Survival

"Use checklists. Make and use checklists of daily tasks. This saves you time in two ways: you will work more efficiently with a checklist in front of you, and you will spend less time trying to remember what still needs to be done. You can read more of my explanation of a social media marketing checklist here."

Rich Brooks, Flyte Blog

"Write up tomorrow's to-do's before I leave the office today. I find that if I have a clean lined paper (physical or digital) of the most important to-dos for the next day, I can hit the ground running when I get into work the next day."

Glen Stansberry, Wise Bread

Develop a routine to your day and stick with it. Routines give us a feeling of control over our day and help put us on "autopilot", keeping us from worrying about the little details of the day.

Start tracking your time with RescueTime. It really is an eye-opening experience. RescueTime will show you exactly where you're spending your time and how much. It shows you trends that you probably hadn't considered, like when you're most likely to visit Facebook. Knowing when you're vulnerable to distractions is incredibly valuable to your productivity.

All these tips may not work for you but I am sure you will find some advice in this article valuable.  Many of the resources from these industry leaders were new to me and you may find their sites helpful like I have. 

If someone was to ask you your secrets to productivity what would your share? Share your thoughts here or on this AME Linkedin Discussion Group.

Lean Quote of the Day, March 26, 2010

On Fridays 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.

"In motivating people, you've got to engage their minds and their hearts. It is good business to have an employee feel part of the entire effort . . . ; I motivate people, I hope, by example—and perhaps by excitement, by having provocative ideas to make others feel involved."  — Rupert Murdoch

Motivating employees toward a common goals is an important strategic advantage in any organization.  People are the engine of the organization and positive motivation is the fuel to drive the car of excellence.  To improve your effectiveness in motivating your team avoid these top 5 motivational myths.   Instead, try the following 10 quick ways to motivate your employees:

1. Praise the employee for a job well done--or even partially well done.
2. If an employee is bored, involve that individual in a discussion about ways to create a more satisfying career path, including promotions based on concrete outcomes.
3. State your clear expectations for task accomplishment.
4. Ensure that the job description involves a variety of tasks.
5. Ensure that the employee sees that what she’s doing impacts the whole process or task that others will also be part of.
6. Make sure that the employee feels that what he/she is doing is meaningful.
7. Provide feedback along the way, pointing out both positive and negative aspects.
8. Allow for an appropriate amount of autonomy for the employee based on previous and anticipated accomplishment.
9. Increase the depth and breadth of what the employee is currently doing.
10.Provide the employee with adequate opportunity to succeed.


If you enjoy this post you may want to connect with me on Linkedin or follow me on Twitter.  You can also subscribe to this feed or email to stay updated on all posts.  For those Facebook fans join A Lean Journey on our facebook fan page.

3 Steps to Get Things Done

In today's busy world, many people have difficulty managing their time and getting everything done. Some people are very busy, but they never manage to achieve the things they really want.  So the question is "How can you improve your time management to increase your productivity?" 

While doing some research online about time management techniques I came across this ClarityMap.

This time management process follows these 3 simple steps to get things done.

1. Create a list of actions.  Write down all the things you want to get done for the day. Everything from writing, creating content, or planning your next project to answering your email and balancing your checkbook.

2. Assign each action a time.  Pick a specific time to each task or group of tasks. Anything from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Chunks of 30 minutes or less work best.

3. Do the action! Select a task, start a timer (like an egg time), and focus on nothing but accomplishing that task. This means you don't answer the phone, you don't get up for a drink, you don't log onto computer - none of that. You remain focused on the task-at-hand!

 

Derek Franklin is the creator of this ClarityMap and The Action Machine, a visual time management software based on the above steps.  The goal behind The Action Machine is simple: To give you a way to visually structure your day in a way that you feel absolutely compelled to take action and get things done, once and for all!

 

This ClarityMap offers 16 ways to take more action on your tasks.  They include declutter techniques, use of checklists, and ways to avoid procrastination and distractions.  Take an action item and plan time to review these methods.

 

 

Five Reasons to be Honest with Your Employees

A recent interview by The New York Times with Kip Tindell, chief executive of the Container Store, highlighted several leadership lessons.  "Don't keep secrets from your staff" was one of foundational principles Tindell shared.

 

Good leadership is all about communication, and the best leaders are completely transparent with their staff, says Container Store CEO Kip Tindell. Tindell shares his private boardroom presentations with all his company's employees, from top to bottom. "There's never a reason, we believe, to keep the information from an employee," he says. "I know that occasionally some of that information falls into the wrong hands, but that's a small price to pay."

 

I believe that with knowledge comes power and the more information we share the quicker with can improve.  Creating a culture of openness and free-flowing information can be a competitive advantage.  Here are five reasons you should embrace transparency:

 

1. People assume the worst when they don't hear from leaders. Silence from the executive office causes a lot of fear and resentment, which certainly doesn't contribute to a productive culture. Maybe the news is bad, but maybe it's not as bad as they are imagining. And even if it is, once they know the truth they can plan and act accordingly.

 

2. Transparency helps employees connect to the why. When employees are working in a vacuum, they can't see the financial "big picture," and decisions leaders make may seem ill-advised or unfair or simply inexplicable. Transparency connects them to the why—and that understanding propels them to act. You can ask people to change their work habits and established processes all day long. But if they don't know why they're being asked to change, they won't change—at least not for long.

 

3. Transparency allows for consistent messaging across the organization. When you commit to transparency, people don't have to get their (speculative, distorted) news through the company grapevine. They hear what's really going on, in a controlled and consistent way, from their managers. This, in turn, creates organizational consistency. When everyone is hearing the same messages from their leaders, everyone is motivated to respond in similar ways. And this consistency trickles down to the customers, who get the same basic experience regardless of who they're dealing with.

 

4. Transparency leads to faster, more efficient execution. When times are tough, execution is everything. And the ticket to good execution is good alignment: All sectors of an organization must understand exactly what's required so they act in a coordinated and collaborative fashion. Transparency is what facilitates that kind of alignment. It's all about a shared sense of urgency.

 

5. Transparency facilitates the best possible solutions. In transparent cultures, leaders encourage employees to solve problems themselves. And because those employees are the people closest to a problem, and because they must live with the outcome, they almost always design the most effective, efficient solution.  And, of course, they'll also have instant buy-in.

 

Do your employees really know what's going on with your company?  Be honest with your employees they can handle the truth.  Remember, sharing information with employees is good for a couple of reasons: one, it's the right thing to do, and two, it's good for business. 

 

As we have learned from Lean Thinking, this too can not be a flavor of the month.  Being open and honest with your employees requires long term commitment if your want your organization to continuously improve.

 

If you enjoy this post you may want to connect with me on Linkedin or follow me on Twitter.  You can also subscribe to this feed or email to stay updated on all posts. For those Facebook fans join A Lean Journey on our
facebook fan page.