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A Factory of One

April 26, 2012 By 1 Comment

If you missed our most recent webinar called “A Factory of One“ you can watch a replay of it here.

It was excellent and I highly recommend you take the time to check it out.

It’s free to view until May 15, 2012.  After that it will only be available to subscribers of Gemba Academy’s Complete Lean Package.

You can watch the entire, hour long, webinar by clicking here.

Here is a description of the webinar.

Most people spend all their time applying lean tools to external processes and systems. But what about the fundamental machine of production: you? How can you reap the benefits from applying lean concepts to your own work?

Indeed, you can apply lean principles and tools such as visual management, flow, pull, 5S, and kaizen to your individual work to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and link yourself ever more closely to customer value. While it’s true that applying lean at the individual level won’t lead to an overnight revolution in organizational performance, it can lead to success stories that make you more effective, and can get your leadership to sit up and pay attention.

Dan Markovitz will share specific strategies from his new book, A Factory of One, that will help you use lean principles to make yourself and your teams more effective.

Watch the webinar by clicking here.

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership, Productivity

Caine’s Arcade

April 16, 2012 By 5 Comments

I second Dan in saying this may be the best 11 minutes of your day.  If you want to be inspired – and smile – watch this video (click through to site if you’re reading via email or RSS).  Really, folks.  Please watch this.  All of it.

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership

Perseverance & PDCA

March 13, 2012 By 4 Comments

“Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

The ability to persevere through the tough times we experience as lean and six sigma practitioners is extremely important.

In fact, the ability to persevere through the tough times we experience as human beings is also important.

But, unfortunately, perseverance alone isn’t eough.

Not Enough

You see, in order to find success at work or home we must also continuously turn the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) wheel.

  • We must seek to deeply understand the problem or problems.
  • We must have the courage to relentlessly attack these problems knowing full well many of our countermeasures won’t work.
  • And once we discover a successful countermeasure we must seek to understand why it worked.

Definition of Insanity

Put another way… perseverance without PDCA is similar to the definition of insanity whereby one tries the same thing over and over expecting different results.  Not only is this a painful way to live our lives… it will indeed drive a person mad!

What do you think?

Do you agree with my thinking here?  Can perseverance succeed without some form of problem solving?

And what about PDCA without perseverance… can that work?  What do you think?

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership

And with your spirit

January 3, 2012 By 5 Comments

Roman Catholics around the word recently saw a huge change to the way Mass is celebrated.

Specifically, there were several changes to the prayers we say.

For example, prior to the change if you walked up to any Catholic and said, “The Lord be with you…” he or she would surely reply, “And also with you.”

Now, when the priest says, “The Lord be with you” we reply, “And with your spirit.”

Change is Hard

I won’t get into the reason this is a far more accurate reply… that’s not the point of this article. The point of this article is to explain how difficult change can be.

You see, we Roman Catholics are really into standardization! No matter where you attend Mass in the world the same readings are said. And, for the most part, the order of the Mass is exactly the same. As are the prayers we say.

So, needless to say, making major changes to the “Standard Work” of the Mass is hard stuff.

Cards in Pew

These changes were implemented the First Sunday of Advent (Nov 27, 2011). We all had cards available to help us. But even with the card in my hand I kept forgetting to reply, “And with your spirit.”

All of this really got me thinking about how hard changing any type of Standard Work can be.

It makes no difference if the changes are prayers said or work instructions for assembly operators. Change is hard… but sometimes necessary.

So, here are a few tips I have learned over the last month.

1. Advanced Warning

Prior to the change our parish announced it was coming. This was much better than simply dumping the change, unannounced, on us.

So, be sure to let everyone in your organization know changes to standard work are coming. This will help them prepare their minds for the change.

Also, it’s important to know that many people hate change. Any change. So, offering an advanced warning can help buffer the blow.

2. Documentation

Next, having the cards with the changes was definitely needed. Without them it would have been true chaos. We also practiced many of the prayers prior to the changes being implemented.

So, it goes without saying, that any and all changes to standard work should be thoroughly documented.

This documentation should also be used to train associates on the job (or in the pew).

3. Practice

Finally, no matter how much advanced warning is given the only way to deal with changes to standard work is to practice.

It’s been a little more than a month since these changes have been made and I am doing much better.

I still use the card for some of the longer prayers but now feel much more comfortable with the whole, “And with your spirit” side of the Mass.

What do you think?

If you’re Roman Catholic how have you dealt with the change?

And even if you aren’t Catholic how do you recommend implementing major changes to Standard Work? What would you add/subtract from my list above?

Filed Under: Change Management, Featured, Leadership

The Courage to Try

December 1, 2011 By 2 Comments

I was recently speaking with a Gemba Academy customer who’s looking to start a small lean consulting company. I’ll call this person Bob for the sake of this article.

About Bob

Bob explained that he doesn’t have a college degree but does have many years of practical, real world, experience.

Bob has also sought, and received, a lot of continuous improvement training (lean and six sigma) on his own. As such, Bob seems to really know his stuff.

The Most Important Characteristic

As we continued our discussion Bob asked if I had any advice on how to best deal with clients once the consulting engagement begins.

The main thing I explained was how important it is to be confident in your skills and advice.

I also explained what I believe is the most important characteristic any lean or six sigma practitioner can have. And this characteristic is to always have the courage to try.

Having the Answers

You see, contrary to popular belief, the best lean and six sigma practitioners don’t have all the answers… but they do have the courage to seek solutions through problem solving and root cause analysis.

Furthermore, the best lean teachers are those who understand the simple statement, “What do you think?” may just be the most powerful reply to any question they receive.

Finally, the best teachers I’ve ever had are those who aren’t afraid to try and fail since, as Sir Winston Churchill once explained, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

What do you think?

What other bits of advice do you have for Bob? I’ll be sure to send him a link to this article and I know he’ll appreciate learning from your wisdom and advice.

So what do you think?

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership, Lean

How to Not Demotivate People

October 31, 2011 By 3 Comments

Here is a short, but excellent, video on how to not demotivate workers. The person speaking is Jim Collins, author of the bestseller Good to Great.

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on whether you agree with everything Mr. Collins says in this video. If so, why? If not, why?

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership

Training Wheels

August 30, 2011 By 9 Comments

My son, who just turned 5 years old, recently taught me a valuable lesson.

Like most young people my boy was itching to take the training wheels off his bicycle.

We had told him that Daddy would take the training wheels off this weekend so he could learn how to ride on two wheels.

Well, apparently, that wasn’t sufficient for him so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Where’s the wrench?

Specifically, he went into my tool box, found the right size wrench, took the training wheels off his bike by himself, and then commenced to teach himself how to ride on two wheels in our back yard.

We knew he was messing around with some tools and his bike but had no idea he was literally teaching himself to ride on two wheels with no one helping him!

When I finally learned what he was doing I felt bad.  I felt like I wasn’t fast enough or that I wasn’t there for him.  But then I realized how happy I was that it happened the way it did. 

Problem Solving

You see, he knew exactly what he wanted and he decided to make it happen on his own.

The best part of all is he’s learning to solve his own problems.  He’s not waiting for people to hand him things on a platter.  I fully expect him to become an entrepreneur like his Dad but even if he doesn’t I’m confident he’ll be an amazing problem solver for anyone that employs him.

What about us?

How many times do we grown-ups know what we want to do yet, for some reason, wait for someone to help us or show us the way?

How many times do we continuous improvement practitioners moan and groan about the lack of management support when, in actuality, even though they may not care they won’t stop you from making things better?

So, while it’s a child like analogy (training wheels) the way my son approached one of the biggest challenges of his young life definitely reminded me of how important facing the unknown with relentless determination is.

Do you agree?

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership

3 Things You Can Do When Your Manager Doesn’t Support Continuous Improvement

August 2, 2011 By 9 Comments

We lean bloggers like to preach the importance of senior management support as it relates to continuous improvement.

To be sure, having senior management support is extremely important and without it the hill to continuous improvement success can be mighty steep.

But, let’s be honest here folks. I’m guessing a large percentage of you reading this either have or have had managers who don’t/didn’t support lean and six sigma improvement efforts.

So what can you do if you find yourself in this situation? Here are three things.

1. Make your Manager Shine

Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them. ~Paul Hawken

Many times when a manager doesn’t support continuous improvement it’s because they don’t see the value in it.

The best way to combat this is to demonstrate the value without them asking you to.

In other words, make something better and let them know about it.

And when I say make it better I mean it. Do something to positively impact the business.

Do something your manager will be proud to report to their leadership at the end of the month. Work to reduce defects, improve OTD on a key product line, 5S the so called dark corner of the plant.

You see if you make them look good a few times they will almost certainly thirst for more.

2. Self Educate

Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. ~Henry L. Doherty

In order for the first point to happen you must seek knowledge. And if your manager doesn’t support continuous improvement chances are they are not willing to fund your lean or six sigma education.

Don’t you dare let this stop you.

There are tons of free lean and six sigma resources available. Click over on our Video tab and watch free Gemba Academy videos. Read blogs like this one and Gemba Panta Rei. Go to the library and read books.

In short, if you truly want to find information you can… and in many cases this information is 100% free.

3. Don’t Give Up

“But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.” ~Matthew 24:13

In order to succeed at the two recommendations above the most important tip I can offer is to never ever give up.

Sure it’s easy for “experts” to tell you to quit and find another employer who will care… but that isn’t always as easy as it sounds. You have bills to pay and kids to feed now.

So keep fighting… keep learning… keep improving.  If you do this, one thing is for certain, you and the organization you work for will be better off even if they don’t realize it.

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership, Lean

Help! No Management Support!

July 19, 2011 By 6 Comments

Most will agree that having top management support is crucial to succeeding at any form of continuous improvement – lean, six sigma, TOC, etc.

But what happens when management isn’t behind the employees who are attempting to use lean and six sigma to improve processes?

Should the employees just give up? Possibly leave the company?

Or are there things they (the employees) can do to wake their leadership team up?

What do you think?

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership

3 Ways to Break Through Productivity Ruts

July 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We’ve all been there… stuck in rut. Unmotivated. Bored. Possibly even a bit down in the dumps.

And, to be sure, when we’re in this dip it’s easy for our personal productivity to hit rock bottom.

With this said, here are 3 things I have personally used to break through these productivity barriers.

1. Make a List of the 3 Most Important Tasks

I have said this many times before… but if you don’t have a list of actions written down on a piece of paper you’re missing out.

I know there are lots of electronic productivity apps out there… I have tried them. They don’t work for me. Instead, nothing is better than a pencil and paper.

And taking this a step further… it’s easy to make a list of 43 tasks that need done. But huge lists like this can actually cause stress and anxiety. So, I’d encourage you to make a daily list of the 3 most important tasks for the day.

Once you have those 3 tasks done you can make a new list. But start with 3 and focus 100% of your efforts on them.

2. 5S your Workplace

Nothing stresses me out more than a messy work area. So when I find myself in a rut I find it very soothing and helpful to stop what I’m doing and do some good solid 5S.  Never heard of 5S?  Check this free 5S video out. 

Clean all the papers off your desk. Organize files. Vacuum the floor. Dust. Clean your computer monitor and keyboard. In short, spend an hour focused on the 5S of your personal workplace and goodness will come. I guarantee it.

3. Schedule a Vacation

Nothing seems to motivate me more than a pending vacation.

Of course, I realize vacations only come around once or twice a year for most people so this tip needs to be tweaked a bit for it to be of regular help.

So, schedule mini vacations. Perhaps a half day every month. I’ve had managers in the past who allowed me “comp” time since I used to travel a lot… so I’d be able to take off at noon on Friday.

So, if you’re able to manage it, schedule mini vacations as they will send your productivity through the roof!

What do you think?

What do you think of this list? Do you agree with my ideas? What other tips do you have to break through the dips we all find ourselves in from time to time?

Filed Under: Featured, Leadership, Productivity
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