Lean Quote: Learn Through Experimentation and Failure

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.

"It is only through failure and through experiment that we learn and grow."   —  Isaac Stern

Building a new solutions and products is a highly innovative and creative process. Things simply don't go to plan all the time, setbacks and failures are inevitable along the way. What makes a difference is how a team deals with them. Each failure is an opportunity to reassess, make a change and try a different approach. In order to succeed, teams must become resilient to failure and focus on the learning outcomes that they present. When we feel that it is safe to fail we are more likely to try risker experiments, and sometimes these riskier experiments have huge payoffs.

The concept of the growth mindset was developed by the psychologist Carol Dweck and popularized in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Dweck proposes that people deal with failure in two very different ways depending on their mindset. Some people have a fixed mindset and others with a growth mindset.

People with a fixed mindset believe their intelligence and talent are fixed traits. They believe that talent alone creates success without effort. They don't deal well with setbacks and they try to hide their mistakes.

In contrast people a growth mindset believe that their abilities and talents are just a starting point and that they can be developed through dedication, hard work and learning. They are keen to learn from the people around them. They respond positively to failure and are best described in one sentence: "I can't do that...yet".

 

Growth Mindset	Fixed Mindset
Failure is an opportunity to grow I can learn to do new things I like to try new things Inspired by the success of others Embraces challenges	Failure is the limit of my abilities I'm either good or bad at something I stick to what I know Threatened by the success of others Gives up easily

Teams that operate with a growth mindset have a much more malleable view of success. They do not view failure as a reflection of their ability but rather as a starting point for experimentation and testing of new ideas. They have a passion for learning and improving themselves and their team. They strive for continuous improvement and never give up.

Lean Tips Edition #174 (#2821 - #2835)

For my Facebook fans you already know about this great feature. But for those of you that are not connected to A Lean Journey on Facebook or Twitter I post daily a feature I call Lean Tips.  It is meant to be advice, things I learned from experience, and some knowledge tidbits about Lean to help you along your journey.  Another great reason to like A Lean Journey on Facebook.

Click this link for A Lean Journey's Facebook Page Notes Feed.

Here is the next addition of tips from the Facebook page:

Lean Tip #2821 – Culture Change: Mind the Change Curve

So you’ve developed your change strategy. Once you roll it out, employees should be expected to get on board immediately, right? Wrong. This is a common fallacy that many leaders fall victim to because the decision-makers guiding change have already been over the “change curve.” This is the process of questioning, processing, and ultimately accepting the need for organizational change.

Some people are able to get over the change curve quickly, others need more time. But all too often, employees are not given even a remotely acceptable amount of time to come to terms with changes that leaders have had months to process. As you roll out your changes, consider what your employees are experiencing. Where possible, avoid forcing your workforce through abrupt changes by building in time for them to process and ask questions, and be proactive about participating in these conversations.

Lean Tip #2822 – Culture Change: Focus on the People

As you’re trying to build these new processes and structures throughout your organization, don’t forget to keep your employees in the loop. Make sure that they are kept up-to-date on training and have all of the knowledge they need to be successful within the new company culture. Also, don’t be afraid to bring in new employees who can fit within this new culture and bring a fresh perspective. New employees can be help reinforce the company culture change, and keeping your existing employees trained and enthusiastic about the changes will foster change and cooperation.

Lean Tip #2823 – Culture Change: Reward Employees for the Behaviors You Want

You’re trying to drive change, so why not reward your employees for displaying the behaviors that will help be catalysts for change within your organization. Changing your company culture will require buy-in from your employees, and there’s no better way to get them want to change the culture, then by rewarding them for helping them change it.

Lean Tip #2824 – Culture Change: Have Proponents at the Top

For change to be well accepted by employees, it must be visible from the top. A culture change will only stick when it is the priority of the board of directors and the chief executive officer. Therefore, your role as a human resource officer is to develop a framework that shows the board of directors the importance of company culture in your organization.

Senior executives are always looking to support something that has a positive impact on the company’s performance. Therefore, your role is to come up with a plan that shows the contribution of company culture to the organization’s output.

Lean Tip #2825 – Culture Change: Have a Feedback System

Developing a feedback system also changes your workplace culture significantly. But, what does a feedback system entail? This system allows employees to give views about various things in your organization.

The advantage of this system is that it highlights the areas that need improvement in the company. When the suggested issues are sorted out, employees tend to develop a positive culture that takes the company forward.

You will be surprised to find out that employees also give positive feedback. Doing so enables them to appreciate the good things that are happening in your organization that makes them develop a culture of gratitude.

Lean Tip #2826 – Praise Your Employees Often

It’s true that your employees are paid to do their jobs. But that doesn’t mean you should take their efforts for granted. Regularly recognize your employees’ efforts, and do so in a way that’s meaningful to them. Employees are happier when they know their superiors and colleagues notice their work.

Lean Tip #2827 – Brainstorm Ideas With Your Employees

Your employees are geniuses, so pick their brains. Great leaders understand that they are not the only people capable of making good decisions or coming up with innovative ideas. To increase office morale, tell your employees you’re always open to hearing their ideas. And turn the right ones into reality.

Lean Tip #2828 – Train Your Managers to Become Better Coaches

Teaching your managers to seek out the unique talents of their employees will foster an environment that builds on those attributes, which also helps businesses remain agile during challenging times. Managers can put this approach to practice by helping employees create job descriptions that align their passions with the company’s why. This naturally increases employee morale, engagement, and productivity.

Effective managers don’t just push for high performance, they value helping people discover their natural talents and seek out opportunities to utilize those strengths. Not only does this tap into a deeper, more intrinsic type of motivation for employees, but it also allows managers to increase the capability of their teams.

Lean Tip #2829 – Learn From Each Other

When managing a group of people, it’s crucial to remind your team that it’s made up of individuals who bring diverse skills to the group. This, of course, applies to workplace skills—Excel, PowerPoint, public speaking—but don’t forget about the perhaps underutilized creative talents of your employees.

Every few weeks, try hosting a rotating “skillshare” where a team member presents an untapped skill to the entire group. You never know—you might have a secret wine connoisseur, art history buff, or mini golf champ among you! Encouraging people to share their talents and interests will not only give them a chance to work on something they’re really excited about, it’ll also help the group to unwind together.

Lean Tip #2830 – Request Feedback From Your Employees

Consider being open to suggestions for improvement from your employees. You might implement employee surveys or hold a monthly discussion to hear what your teams think and what they see as successful, needing improvement or changes they think should be made to improve the overall growth of the company. Offer ways for employees to collaborate on improvement plans or change implementations. Not only can this allow your staff to feel included in the decision-making process, but it can also allow employees to have more impact on the processes within the business.

Lean Tip #2831 – Focus on the Solution, Not the Problem

Neuroscientists have proven that your brain cannot find solutions if you focus on the problem. This is because when you focus on the problem, you’re effectively feeding ‘negativity,’ which in turn activates negative emotions in the brain. These emotions block potential solutions.

I’m not saying you should ‘ignore the problem,’ instead, try to remain calm. It helps to first, acknowledge the problem; and then, move your focus to a solution-oriented mindset where you keep fixed on what the ‘answer’ could be, rather than lingering on ‘what went wrong’ and ‘who’s fault it is’.

Lean Tip #2832 – Simplify Things

As human beings, we have a tendency to make things more complicated than they need to be! Try simplifying your problem by generalizing it.

Remove all the details and go back to the basics. Try looking for a really easy, obvious solution – you might be surprised at the results! And we all know that it’s often the simple things that are the most productive. 

Lean Tip #2833 – Have the Right Mindset.

Attitude is everything; it's simple cognitive psychology. How you psychologically approach a problem is linked to how you view the solution. At the most foundation level, if you believe there is a solution there is a solution.

Problem solvers are playful, curious and inquisitive and choose to have a positive outlook and use positive language. If you think something is impossible, it becomes impossible. Likewise, if you think something is possible, it becomes possible. Your outlook frames everything so choose it actively and wisely. Doing just that is an action plan of its own.

Lean Tip #2834 – Get Good at Making Decisions, Even If You’re Admittedly Lukewarm on Your Choice.

Decision-making is a skill in itself and also a problem-solving strategy when you can actually make choices. That’s partly because making an important decision can be daunting and pressure-filled. A key piece of problem-solving is coming up with an idea for a solution and running with it. If it doesn’t work, you pivot. The point is to get comfortable driving to — and actually making — a decision.

Lean Tip #2835 – Change Your Mindset.

When you view a problem as burdensome, you avoid it. Who actually wants to deal with something that's frustrating, overwhelming, or seemingly impossible?

However, if you change your mindset to view challenges as a way to grow, you'll be less stressed about finding a solution. What's more, your mind will break down and analyze the problem more easily, you'll be more flexible, and you'll be better suited to take care of future issues.

While changing your mindset to start viewing problems as opportunities doesn't occur overnight, it helps to first realize that problems are inevitable. The sooner you come to terms with this, the better you'll be able to approach any dilemma with open-mindedness.

The Importance of Lean in a Post-Pandemic World

Since March 2020, every person on the planet has had their life shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic in some way. Every aspect of life has been impacted. Our everyday routines were brought to a stop, and any sense of normalcy was lost.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on supply chains. The spectacle of empty supermarket shelves during the early part of the pandemic served as a stark reminder of what can happen when inventory and service levels are out of sync.

It seems like every time there is an inventory problem, lean manufacturing or lean principles get the blame. Lean has gotten a bad rap during this pandemic. Let’s face it, the current COVID-19 pandemic is a pretty rare occurrence! If anything, crises like this one illuminate the continued lack of understanding of what Lean is. This is unfortunate.

Even though Lean has become foundational to supply chain management, it is still subject to misinterpretation. A common misconception is that this management philosophy is essentially about taking people out of business operations. While this can be an outcome, it is far from the primary purpose of Lean.

In essence, Lean maximizes value to the customer by eliminating waste from processes. Another interpretation is that the model strives to meet customer needs with as much precision — and hence as little inventory — as possible.

Excess inventory is a form of business waste that ties up capital and consumes organizational resources that are better deployed elsewhere. Over recent decades, companies have made considerable strides in reducing inventory volumes while maintaining high service levels.

However, COVID-19 delivered a shock to the system that gave companies pause about their ability to unerringly fulfill customer demand during surges when product stockpiles had been cut to the bone. The crisis has sparked much discussion about the need to revisit approaches to inventory management.

While these last 15 months have not been what most companies had hoped or planned for, it provided manufacturers with an opportunity to utilize lean manufacturing to address the shortages and problems caused by the pandemic. COVID-19 has drastically shifted the regularity of demand—with forecasts changing daily, sudden influxes of work, and order cancellations—which has emphasized the need for manufacturers to be flexible. Lean manufacturing encompasses many different aspects, and the pandemic has given manufacturers who embrace Lean an opportunity to analyze weaknesses and address them head-on.

This pandemic showed manufacturers perhaps more than ever before that Lean manufacturing is about being flexible. Flexibility in your machine capabilities, capacity to adjust production schedules, availability for quick changeover of techniques, and cross-training of employees will all help ensure your ability to be responsive and adapt when it becomes necessary to do so. A highly-responsive manufacturing operation will in turn allow you to create an agile customer service platform that will stand out to both your current and prospective customers.

Disruptive, stressful experiences (like COVID-19) are often opportunities for growth. Research has shown that crises can change the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra that pervades many organizations, creating new opportunities for people to voice their ideas on how to do things better.

There are two main mindsets that shape our lives (impacting not only our attitudes but learning as well) especially true in a challenging situation: fixed and growth.

• A fixed mindset – Learning is a waste of effort – even if it was useful there is no time or nothing to learn that would help right now; learning is impossible – even if there was, learning is too hard and asking too much; the only way to succeed is to play your cards right, always look smart, never look dumb.

• A growth mindset – Learning is useful – what we learn will make things better; learning is possible; we can learn what we don’t currently know; setbacks are learning experiences and obstacles will be overcome.

Adopting a growth mindset isn’t only important at an individual level. It is also vital for businesses at an organizational level. A growth mindset leads consistently to better results.

Practicing Lean Thinking means reinforcing our belief in better outcomes where achieving apparently impossible things we learn by doing. As we make things better we unlock solutions to problems that were never apparent first off (although they seem obvious in hindsight). It’s precisely when things feel hopeless that warm hearts and cool minds make a difference – and Lean Thinking is most relevant.

In varying ways, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every single business across the globe. It’s ample time for all manufacturers to reevaluate their strategies and make improvements. Companies that already suffered from low productivity, waste, and inefficiency before the pandemic will likely continue to struggle the most. More than anything, COVID-19 has shown how important it is to practice innovation and resilience. To ensure long-term survival, many businesses are focusing on their productivity and performance, reducing errors, and utilizing available resources as much as possible.

Even during times of crisis, efficiency is important. To survive, many businesses are pivoting the way they offer their products and services to adapt. Using Lean manufacturing techniques, you can identify what your customers need the most right now and consider new ways to efficiently match those needs. Whether your business is reopening or your employees continue to telework, the pandemic requires us all to innovate and adapt.

It is clear that Lean Manufacturing is more essential now than at any other time, giving companies a system for navigating a global landscape that has been forever altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing Lean can help businesses iterate, solve problems and adapt to keep up with the unprecedented pace of change. Use Lean to ensure long-term success.

Lean Quote: Build a Culture of Empathy

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.

"You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself."   —  John Steinbeck

It has been said, “You can’t truly love another before you learn to love yourself.” Organizations are no different. If we don’t love and respect and admire the people we work with every day, we can’t collectively give our customers the love they deserve. Empathy is an inside-out job.

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in another’s shoes and walk a mile.  It’s the ability to imagine what it might be like to experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions, and experience of the other person. Empathy is more than simple sympathy, which is being able to understand and support others with compassion or sensitivity.

Some people naturally exude empathy and have an advantage over their peers who have difficulty expressing empathy. Most leaders fall in the middle and are sometimes or somewhat empathetic. Fortunately, empathy is not a fixed trait. It can be learned. If given enough time and support, leaders can develop and enhance their empathy skills through coaching, training, or developmental opportunities and initiatives.

In the workplace, showing empathy can help you to understand an employee’s situation and recognize the outside factors that may or may not be contributing to their performance. It is essentially the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, think about how they might feel or react to a given situation, and adjust your actions and responses to connect with them on their level.

Build a culture of empathy. Empathy is an essential component of caring about your customers, your employees, and your company, and its absence signals larger problems in organizational culture. Empathy can’t be plastered on like a fake smile, but it can be cultivated from within.

Avoid These Common Problem Solving Pitfalls

Finding the best solutions to problems is a necessary skill for navigating the changes that are continuously affecting our company. Organization that take a proactive and structured approach to problem solving position themselves to overcome obstacles and take advantage of opportunities. This approach comes from making a concerted effort to avoid the following five common problem-solving mistakes.

Pitfall 1: Involving the wrong people

Often when a problem needs to be solved, a team is quickly pulled together of people who may have done this kind of thing before and those who have the spare capacity. While the logic in this decision making is clear, it doesn’t actually lead to the best teams.

Your best man for the job might be disappearing under work, but if the problem is strategically significant to the business it should be more important to clear his decks than to find someone else.

If the right people are not involved from the start your problem may not be solved as quickly or efficiently as you want, which could make the rest of your employees disengage from the process.

Pitfall 2: The problem isn’t clear

Sometimes the problem is more a lack of coherence about what actually needs to be done, rather than any direct issues with the ability of the team.

Poor project goals such as solve the sales issue or reduce scrap rates are fine as ultimate goals or outcomes, but they are too vague to actually tackle the problem. Often when problem statements are written in this way the project encounters issues as the person running the project doesn’t know if they are fixing the right problem, they can’t know when they’re finished working on it as they have no yardstick and if they have no clear starting point it will be tough to prevent the issue returning.

Problems need to be articulated clearly to indicate exactly what the issue is so instead of reduce the scrap rates the project should aim to reduce the scrap rate from 30% to 5% by the end of the year.

Pitfall 3: Lack of data

This brings us nicely to the next pitfall; a lack of data. Imagine you know exactly what the problem is – the sister factory in Germany is producing output with a higher defect rate, or the customer representatives in London are reporting a sharp drop in repeat business – you should be able to get to work identifying the cause and solving the problem.

But the only reason you know this problem exists is through anecdotal evidence – you’ve not collected any hard data on it. If you start to make improvements now, it will be impossible to know when you’ve done enough to achieve an acceptable defect rate, and it won’t be possible to show how much you’ve reduced the defect rate by.

Without hard evidence, it will be challenging to show that any new processes are actually an improvement so it won’t be long before people slide back into old habits.

Pitfall 4: Addressing a symptom not root cause

Brainstorming sessions are great for getting ideas flowing, but activity should not be mistaken for achievement. Finding solutions that don’t address the root of the problem only leads to more problems in the long run.

Pitfall 5: No systematic / scientific approach

Rather frequently, companies – notably management – demand swift action when facing a problem. Well, there is nothing wrong with a bias for action but what often results is “cutting corners” in the rank and file. Finding the best solutions starts with having a structured approach to problem solving. Of all things needed to foster a problem solving culture, training is the most important, allowing and expecting associates to be systematic. Socratic questioning works best! The reason is simple: the problem is usually smarter than us and will always win over shortcuts.

Effective problem solving doesn’t happen by accident. It takes time, commitment and a methodical approach. Businesses can fall into these pitfalls with problem solving if they fail to give the issue at hand the correct level of priority and importance. Remember, for every month this problem continues, your business could be losing out!

People love to solve problems. However, people will avoid problem solving situations when they are unsure of how to approach the issue. If we keep in mind the practical rules of problem solving, we shouldn’t shy away from any business puzzle.

Just don’t put the cart before the horse.

Freedom, Independence and Lean

Yesterday (and Today), we celebrate Independence Day in the United States.

Freedom is not just the natural right of every human it is the state of mind that enables people to create the greatest and the most inspiring things. The spirit of freedom gives us the power to conquer new heights, whether it is a real mountain peak or a bold business challenge.

Similarly Lean spirit gives you the freedom from daily firefighting situations, heavy investments, taking out people, etc. It is about developing a mindset, methods and tools to identify and eliminate Muda, Mura & Muri in all its forms at every opportunity. Lean provides your workforce the freedom that they need to own and maximize their productivity. In a Lean production plant, the "freedom to control one's work" replaces the "mind numbing stress" of mass production. Armed with the skills they need to control their environment workers have the opportunity to think actively even proactively to solve workplace problems.

Lean is all about finding better ways to do things, so that they require less effort, less time and fewer resources. It is not about cost reduction – penny-pinching, cutting investment, taking out people – it is about finding better ways to get work done. It is about developing a mindset, methods and tools to identify and eliminate waste in all its forms at every opportunity. It is about freeing-up resources because you no longer need to use them.

Lean is a business method that extends employees independence.  It provides more employees with the tools, methods and authority to make decisions. It creates teams to measure progress and devise new techniques. This leads to higher employee motivation and productivity as workers are asked to come up with solutions to problems as opposed to having to work with flawed procedures. There is much to be said for greater worker independence in the execution of a lean philosophy. We may not have a day to celebrate like the US but the message is no less important.

May your journey of operational excellence find solid relationships & satisfied repeating customers.

Lean Quote: Freedom Lies in Bold Leadership

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.

"Freedom lies in being bold."   —  Robert Frost

When one is free, one has the choice of being bold. By being bold, one may maintain their freedom despite the attempts of others to apply restrictions. Thus, each of the two support and reinforce the other.

Good leaders are trailblazers, making a path for others to follow. Great leaders, however, inspire their people to reach higher, dream bigger, and achieve greater. Perhaps the most important leadership skill you can develop is the ability to provide inspiration to your team. If you inspire them to reach for the stars, they just might bring you back the moon.

Bold leadership isn’t reserved for the chosen few, and it certainly isn’t limited to popular culture’s definition of big, brash, loud leadership. Bold leadership is about the everyday behaviors we use to build trust, focusing on the needs of others, leading with confident humility, and vulnerably engaging with our people in authentic and genuine ways.

Bold leadership is not what you think. BOLD leadership is:

Building trust – if employees don’t trust you, why would they follow you?

Others focused – leadership isn’t about a leader, it’s about empowering the people around you.

Leading with humility – it’s a common misconception that leaders are infallible but the most successful people in leadership positions show they’re human.

Daring to be vulnerable – authenticity brings people to you. No one wants to follow a robot, they want a real person who connects with them and understands what they’re doing/who they are.

You’ve got to seize the moment. Don’t be afraid to be a bold leader.