Tweddle Continuous Improvement

But to have success, management must create an environment where it is safe to fail. Failure is an expected part of the process of finding solutions. If workers feel that they have to "hit one out of the park" every time they come up with an improvement idea, they will be reluctant to provide their ideas. In a Lean environment, failure and success should be met with the same level of enthusiasm and support.

Instructional design, adult development and neuroscience all play into the best practices for making learning stick. Technology, too, can be part of the equation. Here, we offer some basics about learning transfer and leader development.

"Could you be more specific?" So simple, yet profound.

Here are five valuable lessons of competition, the impossible, bias for action, curiosity, and improvement that demonstrate Disney was a Lean Thinker

To continue from the previous post on Leadership Lessons from Disney we will discuss another 6 lessons. 

Anybody up for an experiment?

I am in. What should we go after?

Here are some possibilities: 1. Job ticket writing 2. POD Print schedules 3. Pressroom print schedules 4. Project schedules in Content Development (Creative, Authoring, Special projects) 5. Help desk tickets in IT 6. Project development work in IT I vote for either POD print schedules or Job ticket writing. However, I'd also like to see something done in Content Development. Your thoughts?

Work shouldn't require heroics to get it done and get it done well. Outstanding organizations continuously strive to create work environments where successful performance isn't dependent on heroics. Where people can be proud of the deliverables they create versus rushing through everything and delivering suboptimal output. Where leaders sleep at night versus wondering if deadlines will be met. Where customers don't have to regularly call the customer service center because… well, there's no need to. Where stress levels are in check and employee joy is palpable.  Being proud, reduced stress, sleeping, joy… they may not be easy to measure, but…. Don't you want to be one of those organizations?

Leaders need to challenge their employees to move out of their comfort zone. You can't move forward if you don't grow and you can't grow if you never leave your comfort zone. When possible, give your employees challenging assignments. Help them prepare by providing them a safe environment to learn from the mistakes that they are bound to make.

In any field, there are a handful of common mistakes. Continuous improvement is no different. Some of these errors come as a result of ignorance about the proper way of doing things. Some are the result of habit. And a handful come as a function of taking the path of least resistance.

Challenging list... Well worth the read!

I think that kaizen activities flourish at the intersection of Autonomy, Courage, and Knowledge.

If your process isn't simple, it's going to be very expensive, not very usable, and probably not sustainable - put simply, it will fail. Whether evaluating new processes, or determining which ones to re-engineer or discard, make simplicity a key consideration. Remember this - usability drives adoptability, and simplicity is the main determinant of usability.

The more steps you have in a process, the more waste you'll have. No matter how smooth, efficient, and well-designed the process, more steps (and more people) means more waste.

So…participate! If you set up a system to surface, capture, and apply small and rapid continuous improvement ideas, then use it. Be a role model…a visible role model. This is not to show off. If you want small ideas from others, then find small ideas, submit them, and execute them. Let everyone see you using it.

Learning by doing, also known as experiential learning, happens when you use hands-on learning to engage in an ongoing cycle of action and reflection, deepening your understanding of concepts and mastering practical skills. As you take part in meaningful activities-instead of simply watching them-and then later evaluating what you have learned, learning is far more meaningful, memorable, and long-lasting. Leaders/coaches assist in this process by facilitating appropriate experiences through which you can learn, and by leading discussions that reflect on those experiences.

Great article on the benefits of Kaizen events

More wisdom from last week's factory tours with Ritsuo Shingo: 1. Don't ask workers for improvement ideas. Ask them: What work they don't like What work is tiring Any suggestions they have for management In other words, you can't just ask for "improvement ideas" unless and until you've established trust - i.e., until you've earned the right to ask for their help. 2. "Blaming your workers is like spitting in the sky. It comes back down on your face. It's your teaching that needs to be improved." 'Nuff said.

Awesome!

"Improvement doesn't just happen.  It takes time, and in the pressure pot of our day to day activities, there is never enough time to improve our situation. The structure of Lean permits and requires time be set aside for improvement. If managers do not definitively provide time for the task of improvement, then people will know that they are not serious about making improvement a formal part of the work."

When it comes to improvement methodologies, scalability is important.  It's great when we can use a consistent approach to improvement regardless of whether we're working on a small, incremental improvement on the front-lines or a big, strategic improvement at the enterprise level.

By avoiding these common value stream mapping pitfalls, you'll be able to begin achieving Ferrari-like results and zip down the improvement highway at speeds that you never thought were possible.  Pintos didn't accelerate nor navigate very well, and when a little force was applied had the propensity to explode.

There is an old saying that goes "Once you think you have arrived, you have already started your descent." One must never think they "have arrived." In the West we say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But the spirit of kaizen suggests that there is always something to learn and ways to improve, and that it is also better to prevent problems than to fix them.