Meet-up: My Flexible Pencil's David Kasprzak

Today, I would like to introduce David Kasprzak of My Flexible Pencil. David and I have been friends ever since we started blogging a few years ago. We have carried on a dialogue online over the years that has been thought provoking. He has contributed to this site many times which you can find here.


The goal of Meet-up is provide you an opportunity to meet some other influential voices in the Lean community. I will ask these authors a series of questions:

Who are you and what do you do?
My background is, primarily, in large-scale, multi-year, hardware development program planning and analysis. This includes both engineering R&D and transition into manufacturing. Most of my background is in support of DoD programs, but also includes commercial aviation and IT programs as well.

How and when did you learn Lean?
My employer launched a Lean initiative and put a core group of us through GBMP's 8-week Lean program.

How and why did you start blogging or writing about Lean?
The Lean training really lit my fire in terms of being able to understand the, frankly, broken way in which most organizations operate - particularly as it relates to the humanistic aspects of work (or lack thereof). That fire burned hot enough for me to go back to school and earn an MBA. I started blogging 1/2 way through that program as a way to broadcast my ideas and network with others who share my belief in changing the underlying mindset by which organizations operate.

What does Lean mean to you?
Lean is a philosophy of human behavior. It offers an explanation of why people do what they do, describes the path to develop an ideal mindset, from which ideal activities take place. Seeing Lean as a philosophy explains why it is so hard to understand fully, and yet so easy to apply to many different situations and activities.

What is the biggest myth or misconception of Lean?
That it is only about reducing cost. Reducing cost is just an outcome of Lean practices and, especially if you believe in the Shingo model. (easier, better, faster, cheaper) All too often, those cost reductions are enforced in a way that makes the work harder - which is unsustainable since no one will, or even can, do that which is more difficult for an indefinite period of time.

What is your current Lean passion, project, or initiative?
I am always looking for ways to make home life more efficient, effective, organized, simpler....so there is an on-going personal initiative to apply Lean concepts to daily, personal life. On the blog, I keep looking for way to introduce typically non-Lean audiences to Lean concepts. Usually, this focuses on white-collar, knowledge management environments and the project management activities I'm most familiar with. The more I dig into it, the more I find similarities in the approaches different schools of thought advocate. When it comes to organizing large groups of people, the tactics are often very similar even if the terminology or application is different.

Guest Post: How would you explain Lean to an executive for the first time?

I recently posted this question on A Lean Journey LinkedIn Group:

If you had 2-3 hours to give an overview of what lean means for an executive where would you start and what would you say?

A friend and fellow Lean blogger David Kasprzak answered this question which is displayed here as a guest post:

David M. Kasprzak is the author and creator of the My Flexible Blog, where he shares his thoughts on improving workplace culture through the use of Lean concepts.  While working as an analyst to develop and analyze program-level cost & schedule metrics for the past 10 years, David has now turned his attention towards understanding the behaviors that create high-performing organizations.  He currently lives in Nashua, NH with his wife and 2 sons, and expects to finish his MBA degree in the summer of 2011.

Great question, Tim! Here's how I'd approach it:

No doubt, they have heard about lean as a cost-reducing tool, and are aware of Lean uses the terms "Waste" and "Value." What I would do, is introduce them to what these terms mean in a Lean context.

My Coffee Cup example:

What adds value to me? (I am willing to pay for a cup that):
• doesn't break
• Won't melt
• Doesn't leak
• Keeps coffee hot
• Has a handle
• Has an attractive color or picture
• Is safe (no sharp edges or toxic chemicals)

Things I am not paying for (they might be necessary to your business, but they add no value to me):
• Your accounting staff
• Your quality assurance inspectors
• The excess materials you throw out
• The time your workers spend waiting for broken machinery
• Your insurance and overhead costs
• Defective products you have to scrap or rework

When you get it "right," your company makes a fine coffee cup, so customers are happy. Unfortunately, not every cup you make can be sold because of defects and they don't always get to the customer on time. Plus, overhead costs are really eating into your margins.

On the other hand, if you could make a fine coffee cup and deliver it on time, every time, and OPTIMIZE your administrative functions so that they produced as little waste and added as much value as possible, what would happen?

• Margins would grow due to reductions in non-value-producing costs, PLUS
• Increased orders due to product quality & on-time delivery, PLUS
• Improved uses of Human Capital from employees working on fewer and fewer annoying and frustrating tasks become more engaged, PLUS
• Greater ability to innovate, compete & stay afloat during market downturns

Lean has many tools and methods for making this happen. One of these, that is applicable in both the factory and the office, is the concept of Single Piece Flow. (I'd then go on and demonstrate the time savings using any of the other simple games for introducing Lean that have been developed).

Lean transformations are about changing your organization's culture. I say Lean transformation, rather than implementation, because implementation tends to lead people to believe that becoming Lean is as simple as purchasing a box full of tools and then using them. While that is a part of Lean, it is similar to saying that buying a telescope makes you an astrophysicist.

Changing culture will require adopting new ways of thinking about work. As an example, try this exercise:

Place 16 red, 12 blue and 8 yellow poker ships (36 in total) on a piece of paper. It can be as complex or simple as you like, as long as you use all the chips. Then, develop instructions such that anyone, including someone who has never seen the finished product before, can reproduce the layout quickly and with no mistakes.

(I'd give the people 15 minutes or so to take this on. At the end of it, I'd show them my solution: A plain piece of paper with Red, Blue and Yellow circles on a 6X6 grid, and the words: "Make it Look Like This" written on the top.)

Lean is not about how much detail you can inject into a process in order to control people's behavior. It is about tapping into their native, natural abilities to explore, create and achieve. As you transform your culture, you will find people at all levels looking for ways to reduce stress and inefficiency. This will include helping each other overcome problems and collaborating in teams. It will also require breaking down barriers to communication, learning new ways to manage, and creating different forms of leadership.

As part of your Lean transformation, you will discover how to initiate engagement by removing the obstacles that are prohibiting it from forming naturally. As you remove those obstacles, you will find continuous, increasing improvement in pursuit of all your people, profit, and planet motives.

How would you answer this question?  What would you say to someone about Lean?

Guest Post: ROWE v. Lean – My Two Cents

My good friend Mark Hamel, author, blogger, and Shingo Prize Examiner joined the conversation on ROWE.  Mark takes on the David's point linking ROWE with Shingo's respect for people in a counterpoint. I am happy to share Mark's thoughts on the Shingo Prize principles and their relevance to ROWE.
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Recently, fellow-blogger David Kasprzak, introduced me to the Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) strategy. ROWE, created at Best Buy’s Minneapolis headquarters, espouses a philosophy under which employees can work where they want, when they want, and how they want – as long as the work gets done.

I love meritocratic thinking!

Of course, there’s nothing like a brand new philosophy or system to challenge, and/or sharpen, one’s personal belief systems. You can’t defend that which you don’t understand.

Admittedly, I am more than a bit fuzzy about ROWE. I’ve done some reading on the internet, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I’m considering buying the seminal book, Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It: The Results-Only Revolution, but haven’t pulled the trigger.

In any event, here’s my two cents on what I think I know about ROWE. I could break into the Donald Rumsfeld spiel about known knowns, known unknowns, unknown unknowns…you get the point. So, in the end, what I have to say is worth just about $0.02. Definitely, nothing more.

As you read this, or perhaps more appropriately, after you read this, check out Kasprzk’s latest post on ROWE. It’s right here on Tim McMahon’s A Lean Journey blog. Consider this a type of good-natured point/counterpoint between the two of us.

Here it goes…

ROWE ostensibly engages and empowers the workforce. It strips away some of the organizationally and self-imposed muda of rigidity and silly limitations and focuses on accountability and results. It’s tough to argue with that.

Of course, this almost seems too easy. The “Free Love” days of the 1960’s sounded great, but were not necessarily the best thing from a socio-ethics perspective.

Stupid analogy!? Maybe.

Part of my concern has to do with interdependence. In an enterprise, we can’t all be free actors all of the time – whether we are part of a natural work team or are individual contributors.
Virtually no one in an organization is self-directed (even the C-level executives, just ask them!). What we can be is self-managed within the aligning context of deployed breakthrough objectives (think strategy or policy deployment), key performance indicators, value stream focus, standard work, problem-solving, etc.

So, one burning question I have is where and how does “do[ing] whatever you want, whenever you want as long as you get your work done” intersect with this notion of interdependency and self-management? And, with that, how does it square with the Shingo Model principles?

I bring up the Shingo model (yet again, I know) because David did first…and because it’s a great place to start.

Here’s a quick list of some of the Shingo principles, from bottom to top, and my ROWE relevant questions/comments.

Respect for every individual. Freedom without accountability is license (not good). Accountability without freedom is repressive (also not good). ROWE seems to get that. But, back to the interdependence – can my focus on getting my work done trump the value stream performance and/or that of my natural work team members?

• Lead with humility. Certainly leaders must have a certain deference to workers in ROWE.
• Seek perfection. I hope that folks seek to make things easier, better, faster and cheaper, NOT at a sub-optimized level, but for the broader business. There is no kaizen without standard work. So, one question is whether or not ROWE facilitates standard work, its development, adherence to and constant adjustment (improvement). I hope that ROWE fosters team-based problem-solving and alignment of that problem-solving. 
• Assure quality at the source. Cool, as long as “getting your work done” ensures that it meets customer requirements and that jidoka is regularly applied.
• Flow and pull value. My biggest concern (and it’s not trivial) with ROWE is whether or not it promotes continuous flow or if it is subordinated to “non-levelized” schedules of empowered workers. Also, if it does not promote adherence to standard work, how do you ensure that the system performs as designed relative to timing, output, etc? Human systems are fragile! That’s why we apply lean management systems.
• Embrace scientific thinking. Good process = good output. Same goes for the rigorous application of PDCA and SDCA (standardize-do-check-adjust). Hopefully, “getting your work done” includes embracing and following the pragmatic rigor of PDCA and SDCA.
• Focus on process. See above for my points on interdependency, alignment, and improvement…
• Think systemically. Ditto… Plus, I hope that ROWE promotes long-term focus as well as short-term. This means that “getting my work done” is for now AND the future. Also, if we recall Imaii’s kaizen diagram, everyone’s job (“work”) includes maintenance and improvement.
• Create constancy of purpose. Ditto…
• Create value for the customer. Hopefully, ROWE promotes and facilitates the necessary “line of sight” and mechanisms for the employees so that they understand stakeholder value objectives and effectively work to satisfy them. This is achieved well only if we live all of the principles identified above. 

OK, that’s my $0.02. Please keep the change.

I’d love to learn more about ROWE and explore how it can enhance the lean business system and vice versa. If you can, please help with my ROWE education. No, I’m not looking for tuition assistance; just share your experience and insight.

About the Author:

Mark R. Hamel is a lean implementation consultant, blogger at Gemba Tales, and award-winning author. His book, Kaizen Event Fieldbook: Foundation, Framework, and Standard Work for Effective Events (Society of Manufacturing Engineers, 2009), received a 2010 Shingo Research and Professional Publications Award. Hamel can be reached at mark@kaizenfieldbook.com.

Guest Post: Shingo and ROWE

Recently, David Kasprzak, of My Flexible Blog, and I had a conversation about ROWE. ROWE - Results Only Work Environment is a human resource management strategy co-created by Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler wherein employees are paid for results (output) rather than the number of hours worked. ROWE was detailed in Daniel Pink's bestselling book DRIVE. I asked David if he would author a guest post in which he connects ROWE and Shingo's "Respect for People" foundation.
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The Shingo model, while relatively unknown outside of manufacturing, is not just a model for understanding or improving manufacturing processes. It is a comprehensive system of management that incorporates both cultural and tactical, operational elements to bring about culture change and improved effectiveness. In the Shingo model, Guiding Principles determine the values of the organization, which lead to the development of processes and the usage of tools, as needed, to deliver results. It is not the just the implementation of tools to get a specified result – it is a reinforcing dynamic between both tools and culture. The two are taken together to form a comprehensive paradigm for workplace transformation that addresses, directly, both the need for culture to change and the need for the business to perform so that one may sustain the other. In fact, it was in a workshop put on by the Shingo prize organization where I first heard the term “Old culture plus new tools = same results.”

Some time after my introduction to Lean and the Shingo model, I discovered the Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) concept. ROWE is a practice created at Best Buy’s headquarters in Minneapolis that allows employees to work where they want, when they want, and how they want – as long as the work gets done. In their book, “Work Sucks and How to Fix It” Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson describe the reasons why they developed ROWE and how it was implemented. In the book, they state:

“We’re offering not a new way of working, but a new way of living. This new way of living is based on the radical idea that you are an adult. It’s based on the radical idea that even though you owe your company your best work, you do not owe them your time or your life…..

In a Results-Only Work Environment, people can do whatever they want, whenever they want, as long as the work gets done. Many companies say their people can telecommute or work a flexible schedule. But these arrangements often still include core hours, or can be dissolved should business needs change or are doled out stingily as a perk for the privileged few. In a ROWE, you can literally do whatever you want whenever you want as long as your work is getting done. You have complete control over your life as long as your work gets done.”

The book goes on to lay out the rest of what ROWE is based on, at its core: The myth that time + physical presence = results. The authors also identify several things that make a ROWE work, centering on building behaviors that create trust between managers and employees. Among these are things such as all meetings are optional, people will stop doing anything that wastes time - theirs, the company’s, or the customers’, there are no last-minute fire drills and nobody brags about how many hours they work (and especially not about how many hours they worked for the sake of just showing up and looking good without producing much of anything.)

Those aspects of ROWE sound a lot like what Lean thinkers would easily and readily identify as waste, and it is encouraging to see that wasteful practices are so easily spotted by people with no Lean or manufacturing background. Although ROWE, in my mind, has a weakness in that it doesn’t offer a system for continuous improvement such that the tremendous cultural awakening it generates can be sustained, I don’t think that ROWE is inconsistent with Shingo’s teachings, either. In fact, I think ROWE in many ways takes the cultural aspects of these teachings, especially the Respect for People foundation of the Shingo model, to a whole new level of understanding.

Respect for People needs to be an absolute. It’s not just Respect for Workers (meaning we only offer respect to a person when they walk in the door to go to work), it’s respect for the person. The person, of course, has needs, wants and desires that existed long before they ever came in to work and that will go on long after. If Lean and Shingo are about trusting front-line workers to the point that they can determine for themselves the best way to go about their work, then ROWE is simply taking that concept further. It is saying that not only should workers be given the respect and freedom to optimize their own work, but their lives as well – which may very well mean that individuals can also decide when and where they get their work done, too.

Obviously, the ROWE concept is easier to conceive of in knowledge work environments, where work products are a bit more intangible, less dependent upon facilities and large capital equipment, and where technology has developed to the point that work products can be transferred from producer to customer from nearly anywhere. Given that ROWE was created in white-collar space by Human Resources professionals, it is strongest in that area, much as Shingo, which began in manufacturing, is strongest in that area. There is nothing to say, however, that the concepts can’t be applied to other areas. In a manufacturing setting, for example, trusting the personnel in the supply chain, assembly, and shipping functions to coordinate, carry out their tasks, arrive at the plant, produce the units and deliver 10,000 widgets by the 18th of the month is entirely consistent with ROWE’s teaching. ROWE is not entirely about working any time, any where, it is about trusting people to do their jobs without being baby sat.

Other concepts that form the basis of ROWE are very similar to those in the Shingo model, particularly with regards to Culture, Guiding Principles and Results. The Shingo model is much stronger, however, when it comes to identifying the specific systems and tools that help to reinforce and build up the cultural elements. In this respect, the ROWE concept feels a bit incomplete. While it certainly embraces and evolves the humanistic concerns and personal motivations that result in employee engagement, the Shingo Model’s greater emphasis on methods for Continuous Process Improvement and Enterprise Alignment offer guidance on how to sustain it.


About the Author:

David M. Kasprzak is the author and creator of the My Flexible Blog, where he shares his thoughts on improving workplace culture through the use of Lean concepts. While working as an analyst to develop and analyze program-level cost and schedule metrics for the past 12 years, David has now turned his attention towards understanding the behaviors that create high-performing organizations. In May of 2011, he received my MBA degree with a concentration in Marketing & Strategy.

Exhilarating Learning - "Northeast" Shingo Style

Last week I spent a couple days at The Sixth Annual Northeast Shingo Prize Conference in Providence, RI.  The conference was an exhilarating learning experience for me so I thought I would share some of those nuggets with you.

It is probably makes the most sense to start with some thoughts from Ritsuo Shingo, son of Shigeo Shingo whom the prize is named after, since he started the conference.  Mr. Shingo talked about Lean management.  He encouraged the audience to do more than "Go and See" but rather "Go and Watch".  We must observe with a purpose.  Something he called "Genbaism".  Don't just take a plant tour.  That is what i would call MBWA (Mangament By Walking Around).  For me that is nothing more than a plant or department tour which doesn't encourage improvement or develop people.  All problem solving starts with grasping the facts.  To make this point Ritsuo asked the audience which is more serious a small fire or a big fire?  Well, it depends.  We need further information.  The question you need to ask is if you leave it alone what will happend next?  The most severe consequence is the bigger problem.  Ritsuo had a saying that really stuck with me, "Show them your back!"  This is really about the attitude you bring every day to everything you do.  Leader must lead by example.  Everyone is watching what you are doing. 

Mike Wroblewski had a great talk on kaizen improvement events.  There is no one size fits all.  Kaizen is really a means to involve the people of the organization in improvement.  The main goal of kaizen is to develop people to think Lean.  Mike used a teaching example that everyone can relate to in their daily lives.  Got Milk!  He asked the audience to explain lean concepts in terms of milk in their home.  An example I am going to have to use in my teaching. 

Alice Lee had an inspirational speak on both a personal and professional Lean journey.  She starts with a human development model which symbolizes a 3 legged stool - Tools, Philosophy, and Management.  The discussion centered around the philosophy needed to change from a traditional organization to a transitional organization through to a transformational organization.  There are several key elements needed to become a transformational organization:  1) Direction and focus 2) Disciplined approach, avoid distractions 3) Total participation (everyone) and 4) Strive for "True North". 

David Meier also talked about kaizen from personal experience.  He said human beings love tools and we know tools are easier to learn.  He says people often think kaizen mean quick or rapid improvement but that is not necessary.  The countermeasure must match the problem.  He challenge the audience to find solutions by asking what can be done right now.  Don't stop at the first solution continue to find another solution.  The first answer is not always the best answer.  Using PDCA ensure the problem is solved.  According to David the top 5 mistakes in Kaizen are: 1) Jumping to solutions 2) Bias toward a particular idea (usually your own) 3) Stop at first workable solution 4) Failure to deeply explore alternatives and 5) Continue to pursue an idea without merit.

Lesa Nichols says Muri is the new Muda.  If we get rid of Muri (overburden) which is caused by Mura (uneveness) we can get rid of muda (waste).  We tend to go about this in the wrong order.  We must look for the visual signs of Muri in the forms of physical and mental stress.  Look at the eyes, ears, fingers, back, neck, and shoulders to find Muri within your process. 

Bruce Hamilton, a.k.a. Mr. Toast, closed the conference by reminding Lean Thinkers about conceptual blindspots.  Where do we look for improvement?  Process improvement leads to operational improvement not the other way round. We often find apparent efficiency by being productive on things we don't need.  Don't automate the waste, eliminate the waste.  Bruce defined 3 steps for improvement:  1) Basic concepts 2) Systems to give shape to those concepts and 3) Techniques for implementing those systems.  He encouraged everyone to avoid being one of the 3 types of engineers Shingo despised:  1) Table Engineer - sits around table and discusses ideas 2) Catalog Engineer - looks in catalog and buys solution and 3) Not Engineer - says you can't do that.  Bruce encouraged us to be "Can Do Engineers".  He concluded with Dr. Shigeo Shingo words and the theme of the conference this year, "Easier, Better, Faster, and Cheaper."  As with everything Shingo did or said this order was deliberate.  We often make the mistake of starting backwards.  Make the job easier, then better, then faster and it will be cheaper.

The best part of the conference was meeting the truly wonderful Lean Thinkers.  There was about 550 Lean advocates and thinkers all together with one purpose and that was sharing best practices.  It is from this that we can all improve and raise the bar of Lean Thinking.  I had the pleasure of meeting some favorite Lean bloggers at the conference and you can see their take on the conference below: 

Shingo Prize winning author and blogger at Gemba Tales Mark Hamel on Easier, Better, Faster, and Cheaper.
 
Mike Wroblewski, who inspired me to start my own blog, from Got Boondoggle? wrote a couple pieces If air travel worked like healthcare, Inspired by Shingo again, and Lean bloggers at Shingo Conference.

and David Kasprzak who blogs at My Flexible Pencil, wrote a review from the conference like I did. 

I am already looking forward to next year's conference on October 5-6 in Springfield, MA. not only for the fact is 20 minutes from my house but for the people and the learning experience. 

Key Learnings From 2011

In our strive for continuous knowledge sometimes we fail to look back.  Reflecting on our key learnings is an important part of the learning process. My friend Marci Reynolds has done just that in a new post on her blog The Operations Blog. Marci, the Director of Operations at ACI Worldwide, surveyed 12 top operations experts across the globe and asked them to share their most impactful learning or most important piece of advice.

I was fortunate to contribute to this post with first learning:

Developing Leadership Skills Must Be Intentional “This past year I’ve learned the value of continuous learning for the development of leadership skills. Far too may business executives believe leadership skills stem from some sort of wondrous epiphany or other such flash of insight. Sure, great ideas can come to any of us, but being a bona fide leader also means study. It takes reading books and online articles on all sorts of subjects, attending workshops/seminars, and learning from others for instance to develop leadership abilities. It can be a long education, but one with rewards that multiply with the more knowledge you have under your belt.” Tim McMahon, Founder of A Lean Journey Blog

Another favorite is from our friend David Kasprzak at My Flexible Pencil Blog:

Attendance Is Not Synonymous With Performance “In 2011, I discovered the need to ask the question, “Why are we here?” in the operational sense. A tremendous amount of waste is produced from the belief that being in attendance is the same as, or necessary for, producing results. How much of this waste could be avoided if we shattered the assumption that attendance is synonymous with performance, and managers followed the principles of the ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) to measure people only on results?” David M. Kasprzak, Author, My Flexible Pencil Blog: Discussing management excellence and the pursuit of work/life synthesis

And, one last one to share was from Marci herself:

Practice Process Improvement – Before Executing Process Improvement “In 2011, I learned the value of teaching and helping others practice new process management skills, as an alternative to traditional training and immediate implementation. Professional athletes practice their moves over and over again, before they actually compete. The same can easily apply to the process of learning new business skills. If we practice first, we will be much more successful when we begin to apply them. I described this in more detail in my earlier post “A focus on learning will fuel more doing”.” Marci Reynolds, Director Global Customer Operations, ACI Worldwide, The Operations Blog, @marcireynolds12

The remaining list of learnings can be viewed on Marci's Blog -  12 Operations Experts Share Their Key Learnings From 2011.

What would you say?  Share your advice and key learnings from this year in the comment section here.