Blog
The “new” business math: Continuous improvement = continuous learning
Often we think of training for people that are new to a job, a one and done mentality. However, continuous improvement requires continuous learning. How do people that have always done a job one way learn how to do their old job a new way? Training.
Keeping your “astronaut” alive
Think back to when you were placed on a new team. You had to figure out who was who. The best ideas may not have been given by the best public speaker or maybe came from the most junior person in the room. There are lot of challenges a new team faces when coming together to solve an issue. Team members must have honest debate and challenge each other.
Mr. Carson and his new fangled telephone
If you are using a video call, you have to know what the camera sees. What is in your background? What clothes are you wearing? You have to think like a television producer. Be cognizant of that your clothes don’t make you appear like a floating spectral because they blend into the background.
Starting with the last sentence first in order to get to a decision.
Understanding what information is needed for a decision to be made
How many times have you watched a presentation meander on with no point in sight? I once knew a lead engineer who’d start a meeting by telling each presenter, “Start with the last sentence first” because he wanted to know whodunit.
Lebron without his team, is just a great player who won’t get to this years’ Finals
While business is not a sport – there are no trophies or super bowl rings to be won – I have seen business teams do the impossible because they worked together and overcame obstacles. They beat the timeline, overcame the competition and drove their organization to a favorable position.
There are 8 days a week, right?
Many businesses report initiatives in equivalent hours. While this helps in some ways, it hurts severely in other ways. Calendar days are unforgiving and do not recognize average equivalent hours.
Making your information Timely, Accurate and Actionable
We swim in a world of data. Lots and lots of data. What we need, however, is more information that we can do something with. Take time to ensure what you have spent hours creating is something someone can use, make a decision with, or clearly communicates eliminating questions.
Identifying “balls” that bounce and those that shatter
Glass balls need to remain in the air (on the move) or they fall and shatter like Humpty Dumpty, never to be put back together again. While rubber balls are the ones you can drop and pick back up.
Change isn’t about the loose coins in your pocket
Change is always hard. It is even harder when we are surprised. So we try to anticipate it. We try to imagine what is coming or what will be, so that we are not surprised.
The value stream’s gift to you
I think it was Machiavelli who once said, “A small problem is hard to see but easy to fix, whereas a large problem is easy to see but nearly impossible to fix.” What are you waiting for? Pro-actively ask your internal customer if they are getting what they need from you or from your team.
Leadership, and Then Some
This blog focuses on things that make a manufacturing team strong and healthy.
Meet the author.