Lean Quote: I Never Lose. I Either Win or Learn

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.

"I never lose. I either win or learn."  — Nelson Mandela

The quote "I never lose. I either win or learn" is an empowering statement that frames the concept of failure in a new, more positive light. This phrase, often attributed to Nelson Mandela, encapsulates a philosophy that transcends the conventional understanding of winning and losing, turning every outcome into an opportunity for growth.

At its core, the quote "I never lose. I either win or learn" is about redefining failure. Traditionally, society tends to view success and failure in binary terms: you either win or lose. However, this perspective can be limiting and detrimental to personal growth. The statement challenges this binary thinking by suggesting that there is value in every outcome, including those that are initially perceived as failures.

To "win" means to succeed in achieving one's goals, which is universally understood and celebrated. To "learn," however, introduces the idea that even when our goals are not met, there is an inherent value in the experience – the acquisition of new knowledge, insights, or skills. This learning process is what transforms a perceived loss into a constructive and valuable experience.

Adopting this mindset offers numerous benefits:

1. Resilience: By viewing setbacks as learning opportunities, individuals develop resilience, enabling them to bounce back from challenges more effectively.
2. Growth Mindset: This perspective fosters a growth mindset, where abilities and intelligence are seen as qualities that can be developed through dedication and hard work.
3. Reduced Fear of Failure: Demystifying failure and viewing it as a part of the learning process reduces anxiety and fear, encouraging more innovative and bold life choices.
4. Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills: Learning from "losses" improves one's ability to tackle future challenges, leading to better problem-solving skills.

Sometimes we’re going to struggle. That is part of life. And yet, we always have a choice of how we respond. When you embrace a growth mindset, you know you can always improve and ask yourself questions to further that process. Questions like: What are my options? How can I move forward? What are my lessons learned? And finally, how can I make this year better than it was before?

Lean Tips Edition #310 (#3676 - #3690)

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 #3676 – Ensure Your Goals Are Aligning with Reality

The end of each year is prime time for self-reflection. Take stock of your goals for your business and ensure they align with where your business is heading. Filtering everything you do through the lens of what's important to you will ensure your company is always fulfilling its goals.

Lean Tip #3677 – Self-Reflection Only Works if You Are Honest About Why You Are Reflecting

Be specific about why you are reflecting in the first place. Self-reflection is a great tactic to use if you want to be honest with yourself about what has worked in the past year and what hasn't, but it can only truly work if you know what you're looking for. For me, lists help in a big way. I write down things I want to reflect on and I find that I get the most productive results.

Lean Tip #3678 – Think About Meaning and Lessons Learned from Reflection

Make a list of things you have done wrong and the things you did right. Also list down the important people you met, the different places you visited, challenges you faced and other such important things from the past year of your life. Now spend some time thinking about what these events meant to you and what you learned from them. I do this every year and it helps me gain a lot of clarity.

Lean Tip #3679 – When Reflecting Ask Others For Their Help and Opinions

Ask for brutally honest opinions. It is important that you review your process yourself, but many times we miss a lot of things, which is why I always ask my employees, friends or anyone with an objective opinion so I can understand different points of view. From this survey, I can see the landscape of a long period of time more broadly and thus make better decisions to improve in the future.

Lean Tip #3680 – Be Honest with Yourself to Find Areas for Improvement

If you want to get the most out of your reflection time, I suggest looking for patterns in your behavior. Be objective and honest. Look at what worked and what didn’t. Don’t beat yourself up on the negatives and don’t get too proud of the positives. I believe that identifying patterns is the best way to find areas for opportunity and improve on what you're doing right. Then set goals based on objective evaluations for the following year.

Lean Tip #3681 – Visualize Success to Achieve Your Goals

To achieve your goals, you need to know what success looks like. Visualization is a practice that helps you imagine the results you want to achieve as if you’ve already accomplished them. It involves using all your senses to train your brain to get familiar with the experience of reaching your goal. 

One way you can do this is by creating a personal vision statement, which is a statement that describes your personal values and goals.

Visualizing success in this way can help motivate you to clarify exactly what it is that you’re after and continue progressing toward it. It can also help you build confidence that your goal is within reach.

Lean Tip #3682 – Outline Your Goal’s Action Plan

Because goals are often long-term and abstract by nature, it can be helpful to break them down into simpler steps that demonstrate ongoing progress. Continued effort toward little goals can feel easier because you consistently reach milestones and can celebrate small wins.

To make an action plan, try creating a “goal ladder.” This life-planning process involves writing your main goal at the top rung of the “ladder” and making each of your smaller goals “rungs” that lead to your main goal.

It can also be helpful to make a to-do list and actively check off each step you complete for a greater sense of accomplishment. Adding due dates for each individual step can also help you stay on track.

Lean Tip #3683 – Set a Timeline to Achieve Your Goals

Having a timeline for your goals helps you focus, plan, and track progress, all of which are necessary to achieve your desired outcomes. It’s critical that you keep your timeline realistic when setting goals for success.

Be sure you also consider factors like upcoming work projects that might require late hours, travel plans, or competing goals when setting a timeline. This will help you develop better deadlines that accurately reflect your current lifestyle and priorities.

Lean Tip #3684 – Identify Potential Obstacles to Achieve Your Goals

Being realistic in your goal setting also means accounting for challenges you may encounter. These obstacles could be due to a shortage of resources, unexpected life events, or the actions of others. Whatever the case, you’ll likely run into roadblocks.

Make a list of potential barriers that could arise in your journey, and consider ways you might mitigate them if they appear. Being aware of potential obstacles will make them less intimidating if they appear along your path to success. 

Lean Tip #3685 – Find an Accountability Partner or Support System to Accomplish your Goals

Trying to accomplish a goal entirely by yourself can be lonely and overwhelming. It can be hard to stay motivated, especially if our goals span a longer period of time. When we get discouraged or feel like we’re not making progress, it can help to have a support system in place to keep us on track. Accountability helps you make consistent, steady progress and keeps you striving toward your goals.

Think about the people in your life who can encourage, motivate or hold you accountable. Recruit them to be part of your support system and lean on them when you’re in need of encouragement. Spending time with people who are supportive of our goals and are willing to help us overcome challenges can make all the difference.

Lean Tip #3686 – Keep Calm – Don't Panic or Jump to Conclusions! Start by Writing a Problem Statement

It’s important not to panic or rush into making quick decisions when faced with a significant problem. Take some time to think about the problem and the options that are available to you. Although it can be tempting to do so, it’s important not to jump to conclusions when faced with an unexpected problem. No matter how confident you might feel, ensure that you have hard facts and evidence to support your assumptions before taking any action. You might find it helpful to put your initial thoughts down on paper and/or chat through your thinking with a colleague.

One of the most straightforward but effective ways to start tackling a problem is to write a short statement about it, underlining key words. Make sure the language you use is clear and unambiguous and try to be as specific as possible (e.g. ‘our IT system is no longer suitable for the volume of work in our team’). Writing the problem down in this way can help you to pinpoint what the core issues really are.

Lean Tip #3687 – Consider Different Perspectives When Problem Solving

It’s good practice to consider the problem from a range of different perspectives, particularly those of the individuals who the problem affects. Depending on the situation, this could include team members, suppliers or customers. Considering the problem from these different angles can help you identify effective solutions that you may not otherwise have thought of.

It can often be helpful to explain the problem to your front-line manager and discuss the various solutions you’re considering. Equally, if you have a trusted colleague or friend who might be able to help you solve the problem (e.g. because of their background, experience or network) it can be useful to ask for their advice. When you do this, however, it’s important not to reveal any sensitive or confidential information to the other person.

Lean Tip #3688 – Problem Solving Solutions Often Need Creativity

Don’t be afraid to consider new or even unusual solutions to your problem. If you have evidence to suggest that making changes to working practices or technology will prove beneficial, you should put forward a case for this and, if necessary, present it to the relevant individuals (e.g. your line manager or the senior team). If there is a cost attached to your proposed change, you should provide the necessary evidence to highlight what the overall cost saving and/or other benefits would be if your solution were to be implemented.

Lean Tip #3689 – Be Aware of Problem Solving Bias

Our biases can distort the way in which we perceive reality. Biases that can typically prevent us from solving problems effectively are:

·        Confirmation bias. This is the tendency to seek and choose solutions that fit with a preconceived idea of how the problem should be solved.

·        Overconfidence bias. This is when an insufficient range of options is identified, or when the chosen solution is not measured against factual information, because of our confidence in our own judgment.

·        The halo effect. This leads us to make assumptions about others based on a single trait we have witnessed (e.g. ‘she is always cheerful and friendly, so she can’t have caused this problem).

·        The bandwagon effect. This compels us to take the same course of action that others have taken.

One of the most effective ways to avoid these biases is to be aware of them. However, if you feel as though your view of a problem or the solutions available is being distorted by one of these biases, it can be helpful to ask a colleague or friend to review the situation from their perspective.

Lean Tip #3690 – Problem Solving Requires Perseverance

Don’t be disheartened if you’re unable to solve the problem as quickly as you would like to. Taking your time to find the right solution, when you can, is always preferable to jumping to conclusions or rushing into making decisions. Remember to keep those who need to know (e.g. your team members or line manager) updated in terms of your progress, and to manage their expectations throughout the problem-solving process.

Once your problem is finally solved, take some time to reflect on which aspects of your approach worked, and what you would do differently next time. You may be able to apply some new approaches the next time a problem arises.

7 Leadership Lessons from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today we celebrate and recognize the life and achievement of Martin Luther King Jr. MLK as they say was an American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs.

In times of challenge and controversy, it is the leaders in our lives that we look to for guidance. It is the voices that motivate and inspire us that we turn to for help. And during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, there was one particularly important man whom people and activists alike aspired to. A man whose determination and vision made him one of the greatest leaders and orators in American history.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. today, here are four leadership lessons we can learn from MLK.

1. Know Your Cause.

One of the most important lessons to be learned from Dr. King is to always know the why behind what you’re doing. Part of what made the “I Have a Dream” speech so inspirational was that it painted a picture of what Dr. King saw for the future. Everything he was doing was in the name of achieving that vision.

2. Articulate a Powerful Vision.

Leaders communicate a concrete vision of the future with a clear call to action to inspire others to get there. People want to follow someone who they know is going somewhere. People do not follow leaders who don't care about their values, their wants and needs, or the hopes and aspirations of those in the organization.

3. Embrace Fear.

A good leader doesn’t have to be fearless – they only have to be willing to face their fear. Journalist Robert Ellis Smith revealed that King often felt scared or worried before a speech that he would be misunderstood or met with violent protests, but he always carried on. He told Smith, “If you are not anxious, you are not engaged.”

4. Get People Involved.

Making a difference is a team effort. Without the communities and audiences he inspired, Dr. King’s words would never have had the impact they did. He did more than just be heard – he asked people to join him. People want to be a part of something special and he inspired them to be involved in something bigger than themselves.

5. Challenge the Status Quo

Excellent leaders simply are not passive; they are active. They will challenge the status quo and not settle for business as usual. When there's a major challenge facing your organization, you must step forward to initiate new methods of getting things done to solve problems and ignite innovation.

6. Demonstrate Faith in People

Wholeheartedly showing someone you believe in him is the simplest, most powerful thing you can do to bring out his best. Leaders have faith in not only in themselves but others. The authentic leader readily acknowledges the commitment and hard work of their followers. When times are tough, people need to know that their work matters. An excellent leader listens to the ideas of the followers and responds.

7. Persevere.

Achieving Dr. King’s dream was not an instant success. Throughout the Civil Rights Movement, King faced countless setbacks and moments of failure. He was arrested over 20 times, his house was bombed and set aflame, and he was even stabbed. But King never let these obstacles stand in his way. He had a dream and he was determined to see it through.

Great leaders set out to achieve what others deem impossible. Dr. King worked toward a better, freer and more equal world, in part because he could imagine it. The struggle for racial, gender, and other forms of equality is not over, but to continue down this path, we must believe there is a destination.

Lean Quote: Life Begins at the End of Your Comfort Zone

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.

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."  — Neale Donald Walsch  

Your comfort zone.  This phrase can be used to describe many areas of our lives, both personally and professionally.  It is a place where we are, well, comfortable. 

Change is necessary for growth. While it may be very comfortable to stay in a place of familiarity, we will never grow into the person we are created to be if we are unwilling to move beyond what is comfortable.  Many people have become complacent because the common notion is that change is bad. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Change can be very healthy and liberating. How we respond to change is a function of our mindset. Change your mind, change your outlook. And the reality is, change is inevitable. I like to say the only thing that remains the same is change. 

If you want something that you have never had before, you’re going to have to do some things that you have never done before.  It’s like being a caged hamster on a wheel. You can expend a lot of energy, but never go anywhere. I‘ve learned that every step you take out of your comfort zone gets you off the “wheel” and onto a path of improvement.  Every step into the uncomfortable is building courage to take the next step. 

Moving beyond our comfort zones is how we can best learn and grow. The challenge is to resist our normal human instinct to seek comfort rather that discomfort. The key is to continually push beyond the comfort zone and drive continuous improvement to develop and strengthen your Lean thinking.

Leaders need to challenge their employees to move out of their comfort zone. You can’t move forward if you don’t grow and you can’t grow if you never leave your comfort zone. When possible, give your employees challenging assignments. Help them prepare by providing them a safe environment to learn from the mistakes that they are bound to make. 

The Role of Lean Daily Management in Sustaining a Lean Culture

Image Source: Morsa Images / E+ / Getty Images

Many companies that experience great success with Lean hold kaizen workshops to rapidly implement Lean tools. It’s no secret, however, that many of these companies find that the improved system quickly reverts back to its non-Lean state. The problem is that Lean is a people-dependent system.  All the Lean tools, such as posting standard work, require people to use them daily and if they do not understand them, or care about them, the tools will quickly decay. We need to develop people so that they want to use the tools for daily improvement. There is no single tool that develops people, but there is a methodology that can aid in their development often referred to as Lean Daily Management.

Lean Daily Management is a systematic strategy for building Lean habits and managing continuous improvement and daily operations in the workplace. It involves multiple aspects, such as Leader Standard Work and Lean management routines, visual management boards, daily accountability, and problem-solving where the work happens (Gemba).

Lean organizations make use of Lean Daily Management systems, a structured process to focus employee’s actions to continuously improve their day-to-day work. Lean Daily Management empowers employees to identify potential process concerns, recommend potential solutions, and learn by implementing process changes. Lean Daily Management, if done right, can be a critical tool in any organization’s toolbox to engage frontline staff in problem-solving and to deliver customer value.

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Read more from my article published by Quality Magazine: The Role of Lean Daily Management in Sustaining a Lean Culture

With Lean day-to-day management, employees are empowered as they play an active role in detecting and resolving problems.

Achieve More with WHYSMART Goals

Many people are effective at setting goals but not as many people are effective at accomplishing their goals. It’s important to set goals, but the step that many may miss is the ability to develop the detailed plan needed to achieve the goal. Goals, whether personal or professional, need to be written, harmonious, yours, specific, measurable, attainable, realistically high, and time bound. 

Many of us spend a considerable amount of time and effort when planning for a vacation. We will figure out exactly where we want to go and what type of things we want to do while we are there. We’ll make reservations, schedule appointments, and prepare a list of all of the appropriate things we need to pack. This planning is usually very detailed, somewhat tedious, and time consuming. But because we want the trip to be hassle free we will plan these occasional trips right down to the very last detail. 

When you think about your life, your daily journey, how well do you plan and organize it? Your life’s journey is the MOST important trip you will ever take. Why is it that we spend so little time planning our lives? Many of us have little or no idea where we are going! 

It’s important that as you dream about the things you want in life that you set up some criteria to make sure that those dreams come to fruition. 

Your goals will provide direction and motivation and serve as tools for measuring your results. For maximum effectiveness and accomplishment, make sure your goals meet the criteria of WHYSMART. These goal-setting guidelines will help you stay on target as you continually work on the accomplishment of your goals. 

Your goals must be: 

WRITTEN 

Put your goals in writing to help ensure that they are clear and specific. As the W represents in WHYSMART, writing down your goals forces you to clarify your thoughts. Written goals have permanence that promotes accurate, sustained action. 

Do you want to dramatically increase the likelihood of meeting your goals? One of the simplest yet most powerful actions you can take is to write them down. It’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life that it then becomes all too easy to forget about your goals. I think the saying is, “When you are up to your rear-end in alligators, it’s easy to forget that your original intention was to drain the swamp.” 

Put your goals down on paper. Keep them where you will see them every day. Doing this will prevent you from saying around this time next year, “Oh yeah, I remember those …” 

HARMONIOUS 

Harmonize your goals with your personal vision and purpose in addition to your other goals, so that all elements of your plan are complementary and mutually reinforcing. Unaligned goals pull you in different directions, hampering productivity and creating tensions. 

YOURS 

You will be most motivated to achieve goals that reflect your important personal desires and values. Resist the urge to conform to the expectations of others. If your goals are not your own, you can’t own them. Be aware of what motivates you and tailor your goals to fit your personality. 

SPECIFIC 

Vague goals cause confusion and frustration. In order to provide clear direction and strong motivation, make your goals specific. Stating your goals positively will help create the mental picture of you doing what you want to do. 

MEASURABLE 

Measurable goals provide benchmarks for gauging progress and evaluating performance. Attaining annual sales of 4 million dollars is a measurable goal; developing a goal of increased sales is vague and not at all measurable. Go out to dinner once a week with my spouse is measurable goal; however, spend more time with my spouse is not. Goals that are not measurable lack direction, value for motivation, and celebration. If they are not measurable, it is impossible to know when and if you have achieved them. 

ATTAINABLE 

Attainable goals spark excitement and action. Goals that are beyond reach produce frustration and discouragement. Attainable goals should also provide a challenge, so the rewards remain worth the effort. 

REALISTICALLY HIGH AND RESULTS ORIENTED 

Challenging goals stimulate creativity and commitment. Goals that are set too low result in underachievement and apathy. Be clear about the end result your goal is designed to accomplish and focus on results, not just the necessary activity. 

TIME BOUND 

Dates for accomplishment are critical for planning, decision making, operational coordination, and evaluation. Goals that do not specify target dates have a tendency to get lost in the shuffle of business and life. “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” – Diana Scharf Hunt 

If you do not set “achievement dates” for your goals, you’ll get caught in the trap of “someday.” As in, “Someday, I’ll do that.” 

Take a look at your calendar. You will find: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. What you will not find is Someday. So not only does someday never come, but it also doesn’t exist! 

WHYSMART is an excellent criterion to make sure that you are maximizing the goal setting process to your professional and personal advantage. Make sure that all of your goals, tangible and intangible as well as short or long-term, are evaluated against WHYSMART, and you will see a distinct difference in your ability to accomplish anything you desire.

 

Lean Quote: Do or Do Not. There is No Try

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.

"Do or do not. There is no try."  — Yoda, Star Wars Jedi 

Yoda's quote "Do or do not. There is no try" conveys a mindset focused on commitment and determination. It suggests that simply trying can imply a lack of conviction or half-hearted effort. Instead of merely attempting something with the possibility of failure, Yoda advocates for a full commitment to either accomplishing the task or not engaging in it at all.

"Try" is self-denigrating. It essentially means that you are not capable of doing a certain task - or at the very least lack the necessary self-confidence to do it. It implies you are not sure if you can do it.

By eliminating the word try, you make up your mind to either do something or not. You will either ignore the task completely or do whatever is necessary to complete the task. It implies that you will have the necessary perseverance in the face of any obstacles that may emerge.

By eliminating the word try, you are declaring that you are capable of doing the task and that you have the self-confidence to fight whatever might stop you from completing it.

This perspective doesn't necessarily mean that trying is worthless; rather, it emphasizes the importance of intention and dedication. In a broader sense, it encourages individuals to take decisive action and to fully commit to their goals, aiming for success rather than just going through the motions. The quote can inspire a proactive approach to challenges, highlighting the value of perseverance and belief in one's capabilities.