Thinking About Lean

Happy Thursday All,

Are you starting to catch on that "Lean" is here to stay?  Remember, lean is just the elimination of waste.  A lot of times it is just eliminating what is bugging you.  Do you get a little confused by it all?  Don't we all.

First off, lean can be a lot of fun.  Lean is declaring war on any waste you can imagine.  Waste can be in the form of a defective cap, over-producing too many shirts on an order, waiting on a slow computer to process, not utilizing the talents of your team members, transporting an order from one office to another by foot, having to much inventory of shirts between processes (my favorite right now), doing a motion not needed such as cc-ing people who don't really need to know, or extra processing by printing an e-mail so you have it in print and electronically saved.

Second, lean is eliminating this waste through an empowered workforce.  What does that mean you ask?  That means as a leader, it is your job to create an environment where everyone on our teams feel safe taking risk and trying things.  Don't make them feel like Dilbert....

Third, keep in mind that each of us have many, many things to improve in our own areas.  Not that you can't help others, but finding waste in another department, pointing it out to them, and then thinking you are doing lean things....not quite Dilbert.

Lean is not a bad word, shouldn't be a negative to anyone, and sure as heck doesn't need to be hard or confusing.  If you are working on improving ways you do things and eliminating the wastes, you are being lean.  

We are all on the same team.......let's declare war on waste!!!!

Chris

Humble Leader

Happy Thursday, 

Are you humble?  Do you enjoy giving others credit?  Are you committed to lean?  Here is an exert from a great book I am reading, “2 Second Lean."

Besides being 100% emotionally committed to lean, a lean leader must be humble.  What does that look like?  Let me give you a tangible goal.  Commit yourself to validating, complimenting and/or recognizing the work of your employees at least ten times a day.  Your people should be accustomed to hearing you say things like, “That’s a great idea, Stacy,” or “Eric, I appreciate how hard you’ve been working on this project,” or “Actually, Nancy, I like your idea better than mine.”  When humility becomes a central attribute of the lean leadership a vortex of creativity and buy-in will follow.  When there is a culture where people know there is not an egomaniac in charge they can begin to grow and thrive.  They know that leadership is singular in their focus to give others credit above themselves.  There are no politics, no jealousies or rivalries because everybody knows they’ll be acknowledged for their contribution and more importantly, they understand their job is to acknowledge others’ contributions.  A lean culture is a generous environment.  It’s generous in giving credit to others, generous in respect, generous in offering ideas, support and help.

Stop and think about that and how it relates to you?  I think most of us would say we give credit sometimes to others, but how many of us can say we do it 10 times a day?  Keep in mind, we are all on the same team and we need each other to succeed.  Let's pull together and point out each others positives.  You & I can only succeed and grow by helping other people grow and succeed.  Zig Ziglar said it best..."You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want."  Help others get the praise for a job well done....there is no limit on how much you can give. 

Humble lean is all about Leadership excellence.

Have a great Thursday!

Chris

Giving More Than Expected

Happy New Year & Happy Thursday,

Did you or your child ever have a teacher that gave more than expected?  You know, the one that took personal interest in the success of the students, stayed late or came in early to help tutor, showed up at all the extra curricular activities, or made that personal call to home when something was wrong.  You might be able to recall that teacher that did the opposite, just getting by as easily as possible.  Which would you prefer to be associated with?  Which teacher do you want your kids to have?

My question for you is, do you give more than expected?  This is a question that can apply to any area of your life.  Some might ask, "why would I give more than expected?"  Would you like it if your spouse did more than expected to build a strong relationship with you?  Would you like it if your kids did more than expected, either at school or at home?  How about your team at work?  What if everyone you worked with at PAi gave more than expected? 

Knowing that you have given 110% can be extremely satisfying.  Doing what is un-required, going the extra mile, or going above and beyond brings great value to everyone you associate with. 

You should think about this as you make your New Year's resolutions.  Creating daily habits such as, giving more than is expected, will move you closer to your's and your team's goals.  Join me and walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Have a Happy New Year,

Chris

Leaders Have Vision

Happy Thursday,

As a leader, do you have a vision?  Is your vision crystal clear to you?  

As a follower, does your leader have a vision?  Is his/her vision crystal clear to you?  Would you rather follow a leader with a vision or a leader without a vision?

A vision is something we see in front of us. You have to have a vision of where you are walking or you will probably trip, run into something, or possibly even go the wrong direction.  If you are leading your team, whether it's 1,000 people or 2 people the same is true.  

Think about some of the great leaders and their visions...Henry Ford and mass production of the automobile or George Washington and the destiny of the United States.  These two leaders had vision that carried on long after they were gone.  I bet there teams (followers) knew exactly what their vision was.

Think about your vision.  Make it so clear in your mind it feels real.  Write it down, talk about it with others, and share that vision with your team so everyone is on the same page. 

Thanks for reading my Thursday Think Tanks and please share with anyone you care to share with.  I would like to add more to the e-mail list, just let me know who.  My vision for this weekly e-mail is to get everyone it touches to think a little differently and help move our teams forward.  

Enjoy your Thursday,

Chris

Lean - What Does It Mean To You?

Happy Thursday,

What does lean mean to you?  As a "lean" thinker, you are thinking about what you are doing and making it more lean, cutting the fat, eliminating the waste.  It's not something you put on your calendar to do at a certain time, it's a thought process, it's a life style, it's everywhere.

An e-mail can be lean.  You know the un-lean e-mail writer.  Some people can say what they need to in two sentences and others seem to make it a couple paragraphs to say the same thing.

A diet can be lean.  Cutting out the fat and empty calories in your diet such as soda, cookies, bacon, etc. helps.  Not that you can cut out all the fat, but you can always improve.

A process can be lean.  How do you improve a process that causes you waste.  What waste can you eliminate...DOWNTIME (Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Non-utilized talent, Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Excess Processing)  For example, using a shared document as opposed to sending a spreadsheet back a forth.  It speeds the process up by eliminating excess processing, less e-mails back and forth to share spreadsheet.  It eliminates inventory of spreadsheets and e-mails.  It eliminates waiting, as you can see the updates immediately.

Don't be afraid, frustrated, or confused by the term "Lean".  It is really all about helping you do things more efficiently so you can get your job done easier.  We can all point out the waste in each other but what if everyone would concentrate on the lean principles on things they have control of......wow, think of the waste we could cut out as a company.

I challenge you all to have a conversation daily about lean.  Make it part of your life, both at work and in our personal lives. 

Think lean and enjoy your Thursday,

Chris

Leading by Example

Happy Thursday All,

It's that time again....your weekly reminder to think a little differently.  Have you ever told anyone?, "do as I say, not as I do."  Have you told your 16 year old kid to drive the speed limit, to only have her point out that you are driving 72 in a 55?  How about telling the players not to argue with the umpire, only to get kicked out of the game arguing a bad call (I've never done that). 

This weeks real question...do you lead by example? Are you setting the example for your team?  Does your team see you as the model?  If you are trying to grow leaders, are you leading correctly?  If you are expecting your team to be open minded to your ideas, are you open minded to their ideas?  If you want your team to keep their work place neat and organized....well?

Think about it from your teams perspective.  They are looking for a model leader to follow.  They want advice from you.  They want you to lead them.  Shouldn't you be doing the right things?  You don't look for weight loss advice from a fat doctor.  You don't ask Alex for the latest fashion trends....or hair stylist. 

What can you set an example in....not everyone can have a mind for figuring numbers as well as TJ does, but everyone can be an approachable leader.  Not everyone can schmooze as great as Kelly Long, but everyone can be polite and treat others as they want to be treated.  We can all have the dedication, the desire to learn, and whether or not you want it, the influence on others.

Go set a great example!!!

Chris

Goal Setting for the New Year

Happy Thursday All,

We have either started a new year (PAi fiscal year) or we are getting ready to start a new year (2016 calendar year).  Either way you look at it, I'm sure you have some idea of what you want to accomplish this upcoming year. You have some goals in mind.  You have great intentions...but are you good at accomplishing them each year?  Do you write them down? Have you even set your goals yet?   

Here's some questions about your goals, whether they are sales goals, cost goals, relationship goals, fitness goals,  or personal growth goals.

First, where are you right now?  This should be an easy one.  If your goal is to lose weight or become more fit, get on the scale, look at your belly, or try to run a certain distance. If you have a sales goal...fiscal year just started, you are at $0.  Make this simple.

Second, where do you want to be?  You might have a yearly goal or 2-5 year goal but a 90 day goal is extremely important.  It's far enough out that you have time to make progress, yet close enough that you can't procrastinate much.

Third, why do you want to accomplish this goal?  This might be the most important part.  Sometimes it can be out of fear...If I don't accomplish this goal, TJ is going to fire me..(don't get to excited on that one Alex).  Better, would be the positive side....I see the good of accomplishing this goal because of the increased business it will bring us helping us add secure and higher paying jobs to our team.

Fourth, how are you going to accomplish it?  Just as in the July TTT message asking why five times....ask how at least three times to get clarity.  For example, if the problem is we need more clarity...how #1 communicate more. How #2 hold each other accountable. How #3 have weekly staff meetings. How #4 show everyone how to put reminders on their calendar so everyone remembers.

How clear can you make your goals?  Do you have clear priority goals?  If you have 20 priorities, do you have a priority?

Let's all work together to make 2016 our greatest year ever.  Know where you want to be and let's move us all to the next level.

Have a great Thursday!!!

Chris