Giving Thanks for Things In Your Life

Happy Thanksgiving All,

On this wonderful day, I want you to take some time to stop and think about what you are thankful for.  I want you to think about how you would crave for these things if they weren't yours currently.  

Let me tell you one thing I am extremely thankful for in my personal life.  My wonderful wife Deanne, daughter Kori, and son Blake.  What really puts things in perspective is to think what it would be like if they were not in my life....wow, now that makes me feel even more thankful for them being in my life.

How about being thankful for things at PAi such as the fact that we are busy and growing, as opposed to slow and on a decline...layoffs, cutbacks, etc.

How about being thankful for things at PAi such as knowing we work in a culture that allows us all to voice our ideas, make changes, and help implement improvement projects.

How about being thankful for things at PAi such as feeling you work with some absolutely wonderful people.  Think about your favorite 5 people you work with....what would it be like if they all left?    

Many times people are thinking the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  They don't give near enough thought about the positive things in their lives currently such as family, friends, job, country, company, mentors, leaders, and health.

Take a little extra time and think differently about being thankful for the wonderful things in your lives.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving,

Chris

If You Know Your WHY, You Can Do Any How!

Happy Thursday All,

"If you know your WHY, you can do any how."  What would it be like to come to work every day and every person you come in contact with is energetic and inspired about their job?  If everyone had a mission they were on?  If everyone was working towards a common WHY?

Do you know your why?  Can you define your why?  People lose their way when they lose their why.  People are less inspired when they don't understand their why.  Knowing your purpose, knowing what you are committed to, what your vision is, these are things that get crystal clear when you know your why.

I want to work with people who's why is bigger than their why not.  I would venture to guess you feel the same.  As with all other TTT messages,  turn this around and focus on yourself...do you know your why so well that you are the energetic and inspired person?  If not, figure it out.  Believe me, knowing your why makes your job (mission) a lot more enjoyable, along with making your co-workers job much more pleasant.

"If you know your WHY, you can do any how."

Chris

What You Practice Is Who You Are

Hello Team,

What you practice is who you are.  We have all heard the term, "Practice makes perfect."  Or, "Practice makes permanent."  I was researching being a success and found a book titled, "How To Be A Success At Anything."  It had only a single page inside and was just one word long, 'practice'.? 

What is practice?  If you are getting ready to play a round of golf, you practice.  If you are going hunting, hopefully you have practiced.  What you practice, you improve.  Practice is defined as performing regularly in order to improve or maintain one's efficiency.

What is it that you are practicing?  Are you practicing making good choices?  Are you practicing your communication skills?  Are you practicing being a leader?  Are you practicing caring for other people?  Are you practicing the right things, such as your values?  Or are you practicing the wrong things, such as being lazy?

Your challenge for this week...Go out and practice your strengths.  Don't practice until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong.

Have a great Thursday,

Chris

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