Choices Shape Your Destiny

It's Thursday, time to stop a few minutes and think about choices.

It's just one little choice....but If that little choice becomes a pattern of choices; and that pattern of choices becomes a habit; and that habit becomes a lifestyle....well then, that becomes your destiny.

What kind of choices are you making?  

Are you choosing to spend your time wisely?  You have 168 hours per week...the same as every other person in this world...why are they more productive or why are you less productive?

Are you choosing to work on intellectual growth?  What are you choosing to read?  What are you choosing to listen to?  What are you choosing to watch?  Who are you choosing to hang out with?

Are you making healthy choices?  Do you have enough energy?  Are you choosing to sleep enough?  Are you choosing to eat correctly?  Are you choosing to exercise?

This is just some things you are making choices about.  Keep in mind, we are our choices.  You are free to make whatever choice you want, but you are not free from the consequences of the choice.  Everything in your life is a reflection of a choice you have made.  If you want a different result, make a different choice.

Remember, you choices shape your destiny, choose wisely.

Enjoy your Thursday,

Chris

To see past Thursday Think Tank thoughts, and this one... go to paithursdaythinktank.blogspot.com

Lean Thinking - DOWNTIME

Are you thinking lean?  You do realize thinking lean just means thinking about eliminating waste, don't you?  Can you recite the DOWNTIME acronym?  Because that will help.

Lean is about removing things that bug you.  Do Defects bug you?  How do we remove defects from our lives?

Lean is about producing only what you need, not too much.  Do you see Overproduction that we can eliminate?  Making too much food for dinner and having leftovers that won't be eaten, that is Overproduction waste.

Lean is about being efficient.  When the operation is Waiting on you to complete your job before they can do their job, that is Waiting waste.

Lean is about using our people correctly.  Do you have Non-utilized talent on your team?

Lean is about limiting Transportation.  Can we transport information or product less? 

Lean is having small amounts of Inventory.  Do you see Inventory we could eliminate?  Could be Inventory of product, supplies, equipment.....

Lean is about not having Motion wasted in a process.  Using "Point of Use" tools can really help eliminate Motion waste.

Lean is about not having Excess processing.  Can you combine a process you are doing so you don't have Excess processing?

Lean is ELIMINATING WASTE.  DOWNTIME....Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Non-Utilized Talent, Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Excess-Processing.

Have a great Thursday,

Chris

Work ON the System, Not IN the System

Sure Happy It's Thursday,

                                                                                             

Have you had someone tell you to work smarter, not harder.  I'm guessing many of us run around all day putting out fires, or as Toni told me....killing snakes.  I'm sure you also have had those days where you look up and realize it's 4 pm and you can't figure out what you did all day....but holy crap you were busy all day.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a well thought out plan that you are operating from?  This is what working ON the system instead of IN the system is all about.  Think about it....while at work, you are working IN the business by doing things to run the business (daily tasks such as scheduling, entering orders, quality checks, sales calls etc.), fire fighting (running around solving every problem popping up including frequent e-mails), or working ON the business by making things better (strategic planning, reviewing and improving a process, or observing or training).  

We all need to work ON the business more.  Get past the excuses and work on ways to improve, not only what you are doing, but what your entire team is doing.  Don't be like the guys in the picture below.

Have a great Thursday,

Chris

Stolen Ideas About Continuous Improvement

Happy Thursday All,

Continuous improvement is what Thursday Think Tank e-mail is all about.  I want you to keep thinking new, innovative, crazy, outside the box ideas.  That is what is going to keep PAi fresh, young, and growing.

As many of you know, we had our bi-annual operations meeting last Thursday.  One of the great things about getting together and talking about our challenges, successes, and best practices, is that we can steal each others ideas and best practices.  (stole that thought from TJ)

Here is some other thoughts and ideas I stole from last week that should get you thinking.  I spun what I heard from each of these people into a question for you.

 

From: Mr. Todd Johnson

• Are you stealing best practices from your colleagues?
• Are you creating better processes?
• Do you believe in lean?  If not, you are gonna get left in the dust.

From: Mr. David Proctor

• "Selves, why are we doing the things we are doing?"  (Can you picture David sitting in his office saying this out loud?)
• Do you have a continuous improvement team?
• Do you have a communication team?

From: Mrs. Kim Alvey

• Are you making sure your employees know what lean is?
• Is standard work getting developed for your area?
• Are you combining processes to speed up throughput?

From: Mr. Bruce Head

• Retail customer said."..if our hooks are empty, you aren't doing a good job."  Are we making sure our customers hooks aren't empty?
• Did you realize we have 10,500 active customers?  Holy cow!!!!

From: Mr. Stuart Miller

• "With failure we can succeed."  Are you allowing your team to fail so they can succeed?
• Is your culture changing in your area?  It is in screening.
• Are you keeping your energy level up?

From: Mrs. Vicky Halmick

• Are you watching your retention rate?  Is it important to you to retain employees?
• Can you rearrange your work area to become more efficient?
• How much paper do you use when you wipe? (Had to be there to get this one)

From: Mr Trenton Price

• Are you doing 5S to help become more efficient?
• All employees have been there over 90 days.  Are you doing what it takes to limit your turnover?

From: Mr. Mark Rubenstein

• "We will all be better people with these new initiatives."  What new initiatives are you doing to be a better person?

What an awesome meeting.  If I misquoted anyone, sorry.  I must have made it up and thought you said it.

Keep thinking PAi!!!

Chris

Culture Is The Buzzword!!

Happy Thursday All,

Culture is the buzzword today.  What is culture?  Culture is a way of thinking, behaving, and working that exists in a place or organization.

What is the culture at Paramount?  Is it good?  Can it change?  Are you a positive influence on our culture?  Can it be taught to your team?

What makes a great culture?  Here is a list of some things that would be noticeable in a great culture.

• Respect for each and every employee.
• Every PAi employee feels that they matter and can make a difference.
• A "Can Do" attitude is visible.
• Everyone has total clarity of expectations.
• Communication is abundant.
• Everyone happy and friendly with each other.
• No gossip.
• No in-fighting.
• Company loyalty.

Go out and make a difference.  Help to make our culture better than ever.

Don't forget, our culture is a direct reflection of you as a PAi leader.

Chris

Five Questions for Growth in Leadership

Get your thinking cap on.  We have five questions to ponder. These are questions that are on the growth side of your leadership.  What's keeping you back.  What is isolating you?  Read and think about them.

1. How do you see yourself compared to how you see others?  Do you think you are the only one that doesn't have it all together?  A common myth among leaders....all other leaders have it all together and I don't.  Are you willing to find out what it takes to make yourself better? 
2. Do you have a network of challenging minds?  People that want to challenge you.  People that want to help move you along.  Not people that will bash you or put you down.  They challenge your thinking and your mind.
3. Do you have a mind set of growth?  If you aren't growing you are dying.  It is so easy to get stuck doing the same things and not growing.  Are you doing the most important things as a leader?
4. Do you have proper accountability?  People that will hold you to your own expectations.  Not people calling you out on stuff that fulfills their needs.
5. What is holding you back from reaching your goals?  The goals are the steps you are taking to reach your vision.  Are you being effective?  Are you overburdened and task oriented?  Do you have a vision?

These questions are from a podcast by Chris LoCurto.  Visit chrislocurto.com/podcasts/  - Episode 149 for more insight into these 5 questions.

Happy Thursday,

Chris

Above and Beyond

Happy Thursday All,

What are you doing above and beyond that is not required?

Matt Carpenter shows up at the ball park 2 hours before required to take extra ground balls.  Larry Bird would shoot 200 free throws every morning before high school. How many swings of the golf club do you think Tiger Woods did when he was young?

Look at almost any successful person and you will find someone who has gone above and beyond to become successful.

Back to the question...What are you doing above and beyond that is not required?  Are you reading to educate yourself to help others?  Are you preparing, prior to the meeting, to help the meeting accomplish it's purpose?  Have you gone in to work at 1:30 in the morning to make sure the truck was loaded and headed for it's delivery spot? (Thanks Joe)  Did you answer that phone call at 4:50 and take care of the customer instead of ignoring the call?  Nobody would know the difference.  What about picking up that piece of trash laying on the parking lot?  So many other examples could be given.

These are things that, if not done, would almost go unnoticed.  The other side of this though, if you are not doing things above and beyond, youmight be unnoticed.

My action challenge to you this week, find someone each day that is going above and beyond and thank them for their dedication at Paramount.

Thanks for reading and have a great Thursday,

Chris