Down in Mexico

Down in Mexico things are different.

Down in Mexico, people are genuinely interested in who you are. It's also good to know that while extremely hard working, time means much less than it does in the midwest.

What does this mean to you?

Your Mexican colleagues might not show up to the meeting at the same time as you, nor complete that project as you requested - at the same time, alternatives to your expectations might be caused by how you've communicated such timing and information.

Maybe it's you.

Cultural differences run both ways and it's important to understand how to say something as much as what to say.

the process of product development

Good products and great solutions don’t ‘just happen’. The process of product development is just as important as the results.

How is this possible, you might ask?

There is a phrase I use when praising slow food and when talking about product development; here it is: garbage in, garbage out.

It takes specific deliberation to overcome obstacles, create a product that your customer wants, to solve the problems your client didn’t even know existed, to delight your clients into sustained business, and to bring autonomy into your workforce.

I used to have a naysayer on every team I led. You probably have a few yourself... or maybe it's YOU!

I've learned over the years that there is always a solution and with structured deliberation combined with calculations, package studies and even a few prototype tests, one can overcome even the most difficult of challenges.

What are you facing?

What do you make?

money, car parts, plastic things, a difference..


What does your company make?

What do you make?


Taylor Mali talks about what teachers make as performed in this live poetry reading:

What's wrong

There is a lot of focus on fixing what is wrong in our businesses.

Mistakes

Failures

PPM

Inefficiency

Fat

I do this in my business. In fact, I get a lot of business to come in to ‘fix’ what is wrong.

As a kid I learned fast to make do with what I was given. I learned to make do with what was known. I learned how to fix what was broken. I learned that their is always a positive solution.

I still apply this thinking and these lessons today making something work or developing something new with known quantities and information. Even in development, we know a lot – and are simply leveraging the little bit we know to solve or create something unique.

I dare say in focusing on what is ‘safe’, to focus on what is ‘great’, we thereby focus on what makes us strong as well as the strengths of others.

By focusing on what is good and expanding on what makes you great now, we can move forward to an even better place.

A better place to work.

A better colleague to work with.

A better team to leverage.

A better product.

A bigger bank account.

SFW

What’s Safe For Work?

Seth Godin wrote a little query about this.

I’m sure you get them, personal emails to your work address. It continually surprises me how many people still do not establish nor use their personal email for cutesy forwards. If you’re lucky, the sender will warn you not to open up in your workplace as the contents will be visually or audibly distasteful. This is typically abbreviated with, “NSFW”.

Seth counters with a marvelous idea to consider what is SFW. What is safe for your work?

What is great?

What are the good ideas to consider in the work place? I’m talking about the things to do when considering the great ideas and people you come across of course.

If I were to start a list, it might look like this:

• Considering where your colleagues are coming from when they express an idea or opinion.

• Honoring the devil’s advocate point of view so to improve upon your original idea.

• Giving the benefit of the doubt to everyone.

• Asking questions first before jumping to conclusions (before jumping down a colleague’s throat)

• Realizing that the people you’ve grown to dislike for one reason or another (perhaps because they don’t get what is SFW!) do not simply ‘go away’.

• Letting go of your colleague’s faults, accepting them as they are, utilizing and taking advantage of their strong suits.

• Focusing on your strengths to better yourself and move the company forward.

What more would you add that is SFW?

goals vs. goals

I teach a class on problem solving.

Actually, I teach a few classes on problem solving: 9-step which is reactive problem solving and the other is Advance Product Quality Planning which as you know is proactive and can eliminate the need for reactive problem solving if executed correctly.

The most common mistake I see in the classroom and in manufacturing, is confusing the result of a problem with it's cause. If one jumps to conclusions too quickly, you'll find yourself missing out on the simplest solutions, and often thinking in circles or missing the point all together.

This happens in companies when they start to improve their bottom line too. Perhaps a company starts with 'make more money' as their primary goal.

It's not a bad goal, even I have to admit!

We're all in business to make money, that's irrefutable.

We're in business foremost however to provide a product or service in a very particular way.

Let's just make a quick list of how your company can make more money:

GO!

1) spend less money
2) eliminate overtime
3) create higher margins
4) downsize the staff

and how about:

5) create the best possible customer experience
6) maximize product design for quality & purchasing power
7) enable employees to fit their duties into a 'normal' work day
8) evolve continuously with new products & services
9) launch, process, and manufacture products & services flawlessly

Which sounds like more fun?

Which sounds more successful long term to your end goal?

Which gets your whole staff involved, motivated, and proud of their work?

How many solutions have you already come up with to attain goals 5 - 9?

When does the season of joy end?

Christmas time is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons a part from the celebration of my faith. I enjoy the beauty and calm of the first snow fall, of twinkling lights from houses, how stop lights even appear to be hung for the season, all along with a change in attitude of complete strangers smiling more to each other and extending gracious (and common) social courtesy.

In the first two weeks of January, most households dismantle their holiday cheer often spurned on by city deadlines for tree pick-up services and in the northern parts of the country whether brought on by frustration at the difficulty of driving in icy conditions or simply forgetting how good it felt to be courteous to one another, motorists drive selfishly once again.

When does the season of joy end?

What is the acceptable date to take down Christmas decorations? What makes this date acceptable?

When does it become acceptable to dismiss extensions of grace?

A ‘season of joy’ exists outside of the Christmas celebration however, as I would say we experience a season of joy in our relationships as well, both personal and professional.

Think of the new hire’s first two weeks in the office; how he’s treated and how he acts. Think how you behave in the first few months of a new relationship.

Initially everyone is on their best behavior and providing the benefit of the doubt for actions misunderstood. We even go above and beyond expectations to delight our new partner, boss, colleague, or friend.

In this season, everyone is mostly happy, contributing, and collaborating.

Then what?

It changes.

You know what I’m talking about: suspicion, jealousy, pride, mistrust, ambition.. it all comes rushing in.

The season of joy ends.

Unlike holy days marking a calendar, within our relationships we have no excuse to let our diligence falter. We have no excuse to take advantage of others, to stop providing the benefit of the doubt or to desist in giving our personal best.

Let the season of joy continue with collaboration, adoration, trust, and extensions of grace.

For me – in regard to the season of celebration to Jesus’ birth, I’ve decided that perhaps Ash Wednesday is a good date to desist and remove the frolic of Christmas decorations; somber holy days clashing wildly with colorful paper ornaments and twinkling lights.

drive & inspiration

There was an interesting interview on NPR this month with an author talking about inspiration in the workplace.

Quick:

Name five things you do to inspire and reward your employees?

(quick)

Old school taught us to reward effort by passing out car washes, sending flowers to the wife of the overworked husband, and providing gift certificates to local restaurants. Don't get me wrong, these take-aways are very much appreciated.

But, do they really inspire creativity?

Do they inspire long term loyalty?

Do they improve the bottom line of your business?

NPR notes, "Daniel Pink argues that people will do more if they are given the opportunity to work on their own time, to be creative, and to do good." Hear the interview here.

Implementing a lean program is a lot more successful when the whole team is on board and when all are involved in the process of leaning your organization. Who knows best? Often those who are closest to your product and service. With a little guidance, everyone can do amazing things. With a little space and autonomy, everyone will simply bloom.

Build it wrong

Have you ever launched a production line only to start making bad parts instantly?

Have you ever launched a production line with a horrible PPM ranking after weeks of meticulous planning?




Product development is complex and demands a process of it’s own to ensure critical elements are considered and implemented. I could –and others have written, volumes on this topic, but today I want to focus and share a tried and true method of bullet-proofing your manufacturing line.


There is actually a trick.

Sure..

• You think you know how to assemble that part.
• You think you’re a good communicator and trainer to teach others how to put it together.
• You think you’ve balanced the line such that every person is done with their assigned tasks in 12 seconds.

You think.

Before you’re finished with designing fixtures and equipment for the production line and certainly well before you even consider a run at rate evaluation, host a ‘build it wrong’ day.

That’s right. Dare your team* to build the part wrong.

HOW TO:
*Collect a diverse group consisting of engineers, managers, team leaders, operators, and maybe even your staff assistant and assign them a ‘station’. At each 'station', provide them all the parts they'd need at that defined ‘station’ along with a few tools both necessary and completely useless, then tell them to put it together.

ie: say: "put this together", and walk away.

That’s right, provide no other instruction, no other words.

In addition, create a special ‘station’ where you have all the parts for the assembly and have someone try to assemble the whole thing by themselves (again without any instruction what so ever).


WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER:
• Poke Yokes you’ll need to create; both design and process

• Operator instruction noteables

• Product design changes necessary to eliminate possible mis-builds

• Process steps needed

• Special tools required

• Ergonomic changes to the station including fixtures and tools necessary


THE BIGGEST LESSON?

You’ll discover what you don’t yet know.

Are you boring?

One of my earliest experiences with a project team was in the development of a hinge that would be unlike any hinge we’d ever created. This particular design element was critical to the rest of the product and had to be tackled early as it would drive the aesthetic and thereby likely the function of our product solution.

I decided I didn’t have to figure this out all by myself and challenged my team with a whacky benchmarking assignment they’d have to complete on their own time outside of work. Initially there wasn’t much movement around the table nor hearty acceptance of the proposal but as the idea swam inside of the heads of each colleague you could see creativity take root.

Two days later, we met again. Every one had done their homework. Every one had bought their hinge of choice for a show and tell, ideas spouting from each inspired to a better solution as we went around the room.

One thing was clear: they were hungry for inspiration, expectation, and a challenge.

How are you challenging your team every day?

How are you challenging yourself?

update: I was catching up on my NPR listening and found this snipit on motivation in the workplace. Give it a listen (short & sweet):

Workin' for the man

You run your own business: you sweep the floors, dust the countertops, organize the merchandise, greet customers, up-sell features, design new services, market your wares, and so much more to basically do what ever you have to do to make your company successful.

What tasks go away if you say, simply work for a business?

I dare propose this: “none”

In every business, every employee is a salesman.

In every business, every employee coddles its customers. Selling and coddling are supported by the tasks (assigned to you defined by your given role), supporting your colleagues to do the same, and yes, even housekeeping.

We’re all in business to stay in business.

What motivates you to do the extra steps and to step outside of your role to ensure an amazing customer experience?

Empowerment

Trust

Responsibility

Kudos

Incentives

Mutual support

Leadership by example

Gratitude

I imagine your employees are motivated similarly.

It's not my job

A month ago Thanksgiving, I talked about being thankful to your colleagues. As the week of Christmas has arrived, I am thinking about what and how you give in your organization.

What are you giving back to your organization?

Ideally, your teams are made up of diverse skills and viewpoints complimenting each other on how they interact and what they bring to the table. Your teams are confident enough to counter view points for creative discussion leading to creative solutions.

We all have our role. We all have our job.

Having our role also means that there are roles that don’t belong to us; tasks and responsibilities that don’t fall under our umbrella – tasks left to others.. jobs that aren't ours.

Do you ever do things that aren’t directly assigned to you? Of course we all have to mindful of our immediate and long-term responsibilities to ensure our work is getting done without being overworked ourselves, but I’d like to explore what happens when we give of ourselves fully at work.

Let’s starting with making a list of things that we could give:

• Pick up any trash you come across that’s the size of a dime or larger on the floor

• Help a colleague pick up something that accidentally spilled

• Walk a strong pace to get to your destination quicker – to finish quicker

• Smile and greet every person you encounter in your office

• Listen respectfully to every person you interact with in your office

• Help someone do their job if you have idle time

• Research and brainstorm on products, services, or just plain ideas that will help your company to do more.

• Contribute in discussion at meetings

• Prepare for meetings you’ll attend

• Finish your work when you’ve committed to finishing it

• Continuously think of ways you can do your job better

• Continuously think of ways your company can service its clients better

• Choose to share the positive verses complaining or dwelling on the past

• Support the team decision and make it successful even if you disagree with the method (within moral limits obviously)

• Go the extra step, put on the finishing touches, and do a little more proudly to delight your clients (or the colleague you’re delivering to)

• Be proud of what you deliver

• Understand the ‘why’ of decisions so you can support them fully

Wouldn’t you like someone who did all these things to work for you?

What more would you add to this list?

Easier to edit

It’s always easier to critique an idea than to actually come up with the idea itself.

Oh sure, the idea itself seems easy enough once thought up. Once thought up.

Take for example the written word. There’s a blog I follow on leadership that I really enjoy. Each post is thoughtfully written, humorous, and has a great familiar tone that’s easy to read. This blog has an editor.

How do I know this you might ask?

How would I know that it really isn’t a happenstance of similarly extraordinary gifted contributing author’s? Basically, it’s because I am one of those gifted (ahem) contributing authors. This editor takes great content and turns it into very personal advice. I love his voice and return day after day to read.

Depending on your personality, it can be difficult being edited.

Think of one of your latest meetings. Was there any idea that was floated out to the group?

Was it shot down?

Was it changed?

Did someone alter the original thought and make it better?

I’ve been in some meetings where most everyone was afraid to speak up. Perhaps we were intimidated by the leader. Perhaps the corporate environment was not open to new ideas.

Perhaps we each were afraid of being edited.

What I love most about working in collaborative teams is the amazing results that are achieved. We each offer up various solutions and together we ‘edit’ those ideas to create something remarkable.

Original thought is hard. Editing is easy, but such an important step to achieving excellence.

Go forth.. get edited.

Photograph from The Independent on a feature discussing Joseph Hallinan’s interesting book, Why We Make Mistakes