Tag: change

A Pathway to Wisdom in the Business World

Mike 0 Comment Collaboration, Communication, Continuous improvement, Expert Advice, Uncategorized , , , ,
Businesswoman in office drinking coffee and looking at computer

Depositphotos_73412631_s-2015

Wisdom equals knowledge plus courage. You have to not only know what to do and when to do it, but you have to also be brave enough to follow through. – Jarod Kintz

Perhaps we think of the workplace as being too busy to spend time learning. But if we are wise, we will use every opportunity to gain knowledge. Here are some tips on how to gain wisdom during the time we spend at work:

  • Never stop learning / learn from diverse sources

Be open to learning in non-traditional ways. New information can come from sources other than books or training seminars. Being open minded and steadfastly curious will create a pathway to continuous learning. For more on this, check out my post Work and Jazz on how guitar lessons helped me understand my learning style and how to get outside of my comfort zone:

  • Find ways to apply your knowledge

Driving change and improving systems and processes is an important role for each member of a business team. Knowing that status quo is an undesirable state helps to create an environment for continuous improvement. Finding ways to drive tangible, positive change with newly found knowledge should be in the business DNA of each employee and influence his or her ways of working. Always be looking for ways to apply your learning.

  • Use new and emerging technologies to enhance your knowledge

Having an open mind about continuous learning includes embracing technology and being open to using new tools to gain knowledge. The features of today’s hand-held devices, such as smartphones and tablets, are amazing. Wifi and streaming video services have made learning much more accessible because it can take place on our individual schedules. The variety of ‘platforms’ available for learning seems limitless and will continue to grow. If trying new technology is difficult for you, find ways to understand it and become more comfortable. Being on the cutting edge can be very exciting.

  • Gather support along the way and take risks

In the business world, risk-taking is viewed differently in every organization and even varies within organizations from department to department. As we learn more and consider the use of new tools to improve systems and processes, it often takes a mentor or sponsor to gain support for improvement projects or process enhancements. Depending on the perceived risk level, getting the boss to ‘try’ something new can be very challenging. However, developing the supporting justification for a change and finding the courage to ask for support will show dedication and initiative.

  • Follow through on plans and actions

Ideas and plans are nice to have, however putting them into action will take considerable effort and courage. The people in the organization who develop the vision, generate an action plan, gather support, and then execute these plans effectively will be extremely valuable.

In the workplace, wisdom is gained by those who remain curious, stay open to new ideas, find support, and successfully execute their plans. In the business world, as in the world outside of work, the pathway to wisdom is a journey we can choose. May you find your own path to wisdom.

 

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com #73412631 gustavofrazao

Is Your Forest Too Dense? Part 3

Mike 1 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills, Metrics , , , , , ,

Meteorological red white windsock in Himalaya airport,Nepal

Meaningful Metrics

Part Three

If you haven’t had a chance to read the first two parts of this series, please click here for Part One and here for Part Two.

As we continue on our path through the metaphorical forest of a busy supply chain organization, let’s look at how meaningful metrics can be an effective way to improve your company’s visibility. Most of us prefer to avoid unpleasant information. However, well-thought-out metrics will provide useful insights that can help teams improve performance, whether the news is good or bad.

To generate an accurate view of performance, there are a few basic metrics that every supply chain organization will need. The first group of metrics should be associated with Customer Service. The second set will show Inventory position and a third set will focus on Production reporting. A final consideration is for Management to openly share the metric results with the entire organization.

Customer Service –

Most manufacturing organizations make products and sell them to customers, who in turn sell them to their customers. A useful customer service metric is a measurement called ‘case fill’. This is the simple percentage of how much product was delivered divided by the quantity ordered. It is also important to know if the order was fulfilled by the promised delivery date.

Although this may seem like an obvious choice for a metric, attention must be paid to the details. This metric requires clear guidelines on what is considered successful order fulfillment to allow for useful insights into issues as they arise.

Inventory –

Having a visual representation of predicted inventory levels is extremely helpful. It should be based on production plans and forecasted shipments (to customers) for the length of the forecasting cycle. A ‘snapshot’ of the inventory level of multiple items can be achieved by using a spreadsheet with conditional formatting as shown below:

Mock DOH Chart 121514

Production –

Being able to obtain accurate information regarding production output is a key metric. There are a few aspects of this measurement that may not be apparent: It is important to know how much was produced and the quantity scheduled to be produced. Dividing the quality made by the quantity scheduled is called schedule accuracy and most companies would consider 90% to 110% of the plan to be acceptable.

Schedule accuracy is a metric that can provide valuable insights. For example, if the quantity produced is substantially lower than planned, understanding the root cause of this will help find gaps in other systems, such as inadequate maintenance. On the other hand, if more product was made than scheduled, then resources (with time being the most valuable resource) are being spent on items not needed at that time.

It is best to focus on a small number of meaningful and accurate metrics. Having too many disparate metrics will dilute the team’s focus. Team members may spend time generating reports instead of performing root cause analysis to determine why targets are not being achieved.

One last consideration is to publically post the key metric information in a common area and on-line where all employees can see how well the organization is performing. Even if the news is not always good, it’s best to communicate the information and create a sense of transparency. Discussing what the metrics indicate can open up a healthy dialogue amongst the workforce that can lead to improved problem-solving activities.

Meaningful metrics will display both positive and negative results regarding the performance of an organization. Facing facts and addressing issues identified as a result of using a robust set of metrics will make it simpler to guide teams through the thick forest of intense pressure experienced in today’s supply chain organizations.

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com #27194263 by kaetana

Is Your Forest Too Dense?

Mike 1 Comment Expert Advice, Management Skills , , , , , , , ,

nature. pathway in the forest with sunlight

Part One

I’ve always appreciated the adage about not being able to ‘see the forest for all the trees.’ I have experienced this phenomenon from within the forest and from the outside. At times I find myself getting bogged down in the specifics, unable to see what is going on around me. At other times I feel it’s my colleagues who are lost in the forest.

In business, as in life, there has to be a balance between having a handle on the details and seeing the big picture.

“Having the big picture in mind enables us to overcome the day to day routines that attempt to distract us from pursuing our dream.” ― Assegid Habtewold

From my perspective seeing the big picture is the ability to consider the connections between actions and the consequences, intended or otherwise. When considering actions to take and various alternatives, decisions need to take into account both short-term and long-term ramifications.

Leadership must keep the team focused on the activities contributing to the goals of the organization. Leaders need to see and understand the forest around them to help guide the team forward. The success of the plan executed today will impact the organization’s success tomorrow and well beyond.

The next three blog entries will explore specific areas where leaders can keep their teams focused and productive while keeping the big picture in view. Here are the areas we will explore:

Establish Meaningful Goals

Look for the second entry titled, ‘Goal Management for Success’.

To paraphrase the poet Robert Burns, ‘The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

Setting meaningful and tangible goals is essential to the success of all business. It is also very important to recognize that changes taking place within the business climate will drive the need to adjust the goals from time to time. I will describe a simple process for setting goals and adjusting them to drive the business forward.

Select Essential Metrics

I will address the why and how of establishing metrics in the third blog entry, ‘Meaningful Metrics’.

“What’s measured improves.” Peter Drucker.

Once the goals are set, it is important for leaders to choose the metrics that can be used as markers for the progress of the business toward achieving the goals, and that can accurately measure the health of the organization.

Effective Communication

Finally I will discuss the team’s ability to communicate successfully. Check out the fourth entry, ‘Effect Communication’ for more tips on improving communication.

“Good leadership starts with good communication.” Unknown

Communication amongst the team and across the organization is a key to success. Providing frequent, succinct, and useful information to the team will keep everyone engaged in the business. The manner in which meetings are conducted can have a huge impact on the effectiveness of the team. One on one communication is also very important between the leader and each team member. Lastly, communication associated with business performance results can motivate the team.

So look for the next three blogs as I provide advice on how to ‘thin out’ the forest and make a positive impact on your organization.

Photo credit: Depositphotos.com 7985468  by vovan13

Yoda was Right

mcalisterts 0 Comment Collaboration, Expert Advice, Management Skills, Uncategorized , , ,

Yoda figure and moss. Ecology Concept

Do or do not. There is no try. Yoda – The Empire Strikes Back

In the spring of 1977 I waited in line with hundreds of other fans for Star Wars tickets at a movie theater in Omaha. What was going to be so special about a wayward kid, a scoundrel, two robots, and a damsel in distress? I had heard this movie was ground-breaking, and that George Lucas worked hard to convince the Hollywood establishment that an audience existed for high quality science fiction.

Lucas and his team may have used Yoda’s words as their battle cry to drive their vision and plans to change how people experienced movies. Star Wars was a game changer and it took a huge commitment to pull it off. As a science fiction fan, I am very glad they were successful.

To bring Yoda’s message back to Earth, driving change in an organization can be very challenging. For change to take place, there is no ‘try’. For change to take place successfully, everyone involved in driving the change must be committed to ‘do’, especially if the majority of the people in organization are satisfied with the status quo.

Several years ago, I was asked to manage a corporate Quality group that was very good at putting out fires. Unfortunately little work had been done to address the root cause of these fires. To improve this situation, it was clear this would require a major change in how everyone worked. I was convinced a ‘collaborative’ approach between the Quality experts in my group and the Manufacturing group was essential.

If we were to improve the quality of our products, and reduce the number of fires, a great deal of dedication on my team’s part would be essential to achieving a successful transition.

Before I explain how it all worked out, here are the three basic principles we followed to drive this major change.

  1. Establish the vision and expected benefits.

Management is more likely to get behind the proposed changes if they have substantial, detailed goals. In my example above, I presented the idea of converting the Quality group into a resource and moving the majority of the on-line product quality to the people making the product. The expected benefit of this change was the improvement of product quality and better external audit results. This was a major shift in responsibility, but my manager understood the advantages and felt confident the rest of the supply chain would agree to this change in the ways of working.

  1. Develop and communicate plans that will clearly show how the change will take place.

A blueprint showed how the goal was going to be achieved and who was involved in the change. For example, I showed Management our plan to use the Quality group as a training resource and subject matter experts. One of the ways we planned to improve the current situation was for the Quality group to work with the plants to perform root cause analyses and then eliminate the source of the issues. This type of collaboration had not been attempted before, but when the plants were presented with the concept, they felt it was a step in the right direction.

  1. Generate interest and acceptance from the ground up.

The people involved in implementing the change must be fully committed to their mission. In my situation, the people in the Quality group were somewhat skeptical of the change at first. Enforcing the rules and regulations had always been a Corporate responsibility. However, once they could see their role was to become the instructors and subject-matter experts instead of the policemen and firefighters, they were extremely dedicated to the change process.

One of the primary tactics for driving the change was to demonstrate that the Quality group was truly available and would be present to help, not criticize. The Quality group was also committed to success at the plants. In the past, the Quality group would perform internal audits to point out issues/violations and tell the plant to fix them. In the proposed arrangement, it was made clear to the Quality group that if the plant failed an external audit, the Quality group also failed.

After a year of consistent support from the Quality group, and positive results, we were getting calls from the plants asking for help. Everyone could see that working together to solve issues benefited the business and reduced stress levels. By the second year of this new arrangement, we progressed to a place where the plants and Quality professionals were sharing their experiences and collaborating on a regular basis to improve the entire business. It was a great use of limited resources, and also allowed for the experts in the plants to be utilized for the greater good of the entire business.

Making a significant change in an organization requires a combination of vision and planning. It is also a matter of commitment. It is clear that George Lucas, with a little help from Yoda, had a clear vision of their goal and the determination to make it happen. As was once said ‘A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,’ when it’s time to make a change, there is no try. Only do.

 

Photo credit: Depositphotos, image ID 56376641, by IlianaMihaleva