Tweddle Continuous Improvement

Lean manufacturing often focuses on the processes and employees. True lean manufacturing takes the entire facility into consideration. You cannot achieve your goal without looking at the equipment you are using. Here are some tips for optimizing your plant and leaning out your store of equipment.

But while failure, mistakes, and bloopers are inevitable for all of us, we can choose to respond in ways that help us on the road to success. Here are six steps for making sure your failures move you forward.

Some good thoughts on Kanban Boards.

To make a right-angle turn so that 2015 is 100x better than 2014, I encourage you to set some new rules to govern your life by. Here are 20 to consider and then implement over January:

Greatest list ever! There are too many to point out individually, because all 20 are great. I am going to increase my fitness, so that I can serve more people.

Changing your life is a marathon. There are thousands of tiny steps that need to be taken, one at a time. You can't do them all right now. But eventually, you'll get to them all. So what step will you take today?

That's right - only focus on one specific change and drive that change into making it a habit. When it becomes a positive new habit, you will realize the result. Life is a marathon - (I used to be a long distance runner) and you learn very quickly to set a fast pace that you can sustain, but don't run so fast that you burn yourself out. Trying to change 5 or 10 things is just too much/too fast, at one time. Change is also hard because we think about it too much. Listen to Nike "Just do it" Make a single change and watch the results!

NEVER!

Correct! We will not recognize Tweddle in a matter of years, because of all of the improvements.

Some good basic reminders

I think Toyota, even with the problems, is a fantastic example of a very well managed company. Yet even with all the study of lean manufacturing even basic ideas are overlooked. For example, the two main pillars of the Toyota way are "continuous improvement" and "respect for people." For all of us, it is valuable to refocusing on core principles. We are too often looking for the next new idea.

Caution - Some deep thinking required!

The only cure for inactivity is action. That's why the first step in creating a successful culture of execution is creating a bias toward action. People who make things happen need to be praised and rewarded. People who don't should be coached to change, or weeded out. Failure cannot be unduly punished. Unless people feel free to make mistakes, they will not feel free to take bold actions.

I now rely on this process every year to get me laser-focused on the kind of life I want to experience in the next twelve months. This plan enables me-and the thousands of people I've coached-to achieve consistent, significant progress toward the things that matter most.

Cool article on how to put mindfulness & kaizen together.

Be ruthless with your task list until you only have one task to focus on right now, so you can't help but get to work. At least, that's what it usually takes for me to get stuck in! Prioritization is really hard, because it's mostly about saying no. I've ordered these methods of prioritization to ease you in, with the most ruthless ones at the end. Let's dive in

In his recent e-letter Shook offers the same 5 key questions for transformation: 1) What is the purpose of the change-what true north and value are we providing, or simply: what problem are we trying to solve? 2) How are we improving the actual work? 3) How are we building capability? 4) What leadership behaviors and management systems are required to support this new way of working? 5) What basic thinking, mindset, or assumptions comprise the existing culture, and are we driving this transformation?

Great example of how to use a disciplined, "kata-like" approach to developing people.

Too often improvement is left to chance and the ingenuity of the willing to eke out small pockets of time - and make magic happen. We all know these people. They see the vision burning brightly before them and are determined to make it happen. Time and again, these people prove - with their own mental, emotional, and physical health - the familiar adage: Where there's a will, there's a way.

Make decisions more automatic, so they require less energy

I can't but think if a school teacher can use this technique to establish a morning routine for their students why so many managers feel weird doing so for their employees. Perhaps we have forgotten what we learned.  This is why I feel this example of quality improvement in an unexpected classroom is worth sharing.

Let's try this in the DC & POD as an experiment