Find a problem, find a solution. Find a problem, find a solution. This is the problem/solution mantra. One that is widely followed. Yet for every problem solved it seems like two more appear. Is this progress? Or does this mantra create an endless problem solving treadmill from which there is no escape?
In our information intensive, reactionary work environment it appears that problem solving and firefighting are becoming the job descriptions of more and more people. Within the age of the sound bite there is no time to analyze the root cause of problems. There is only time to stamp out each problem as quickly as possible - knowing full well that the next problem will arrive all too soon.
Enterprise Lean suggests there is another way. An alternative to the problem/solution mantra is the value mantra. Instead of “find a problem, find a solution,” the value mantra is simply “increase customer value.”
Imagine that someone followed the problem/solution mantra for 30 days. What would they have at the end of that time? More problems! However, if they followed the value mantra for 30 days what would they have? More customer value! Which path would you rather take?
In either scenario after the end of 30 days there may be fewer “problems.” But “increasing customer value” provides a worthy goal. It leads an organization to identify both the highest priority problem/solutions, as well as the product/service enhancements, that maximize customer value.
Conversations about increasing customer value also tend to be less defensive that those about problems. Asking “How can I help you to increase customer value” can be a lot less threatening that asking “How can I help you to solve your problems.”
Our words define our reality. A problem solving culture can be easily identified by its use of the problem/solution mantra. Whereas an Enterprise Lean culture all but banishes the problem/solution mantra and instead continuously increases customer value.
Updated August 22, 2010; first posted December 20, 2005
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Fix a Dilbert a Day
Scott Adam’s Dilbert cartoon strip was launched in 1989. Ever since then we have been entertained by the foibles Dilbert found in everyday corporate life. What may or may not be surprising, depending on your point of view, is that the things that we laughed about for all of those cartoons with Dilbert over the year are still true today.
Dilbert has been brilliant in pointing out areas of waste within corporations. Any collection of Dilbert cartoons provides an excellent portrayal of the non-value added activities within any organization. With such succinct and accurate problem descriptions, you’d think that since 1989 companies would have made more progress towards eliminating all that waste.
Now would be a good time to reverse this trend. With global competition, what organization can afford to waste over 50% of its resources on non-value added activities? Dilbert is proof that most still do. Eliminating the wastes highlighted by Dilbert will help produce greater stakeholder value at less cost and higher quality.
Scott Adams has not yet run out of new material; new Dilbert cartoons are published every day. Imagine the impact if an organization maintained a prioritized list of Dilbert Cartoons as a backlog for performance improvements, and then worked off the backlog day after day. Waste would be eliminated. There would be no need for expensive analysis, pareto charts, or whatever to discover how to improve performance. Just fix a Dilbert a day.
Updated August 22, 2010; first published September 13, 2005
Dilbert has been brilliant in pointing out areas of waste within corporations. Any collection of Dilbert cartoons provides an excellent portrayal of the non-value added activities within any organization. With such succinct and accurate problem descriptions, you’d think that since 1989 companies would have made more progress towards eliminating all that waste.
Now would be a good time to reverse this trend. With global competition, what organization can afford to waste over 50% of its resources on non-value added activities? Dilbert is proof that most still do. Eliminating the wastes highlighted by Dilbert will help produce greater stakeholder value at less cost and higher quality.
Scott Adams has not yet run out of new material; new Dilbert cartoons are published every day. Imagine the impact if an organization maintained a prioritized list of Dilbert Cartoons as a backlog for performance improvements, and then worked off the backlog day after day. Waste would be eliminated. There would be no need for expensive analysis, pareto charts, or whatever to discover how to improve performance. Just fix a Dilbert a day.
Updated August 22, 2010; first published September 13, 2005
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Time for Lean Office 5S
AGILEAN’s Agile & Lean Glossary defines the Five S’s as five terms beginning with "S" used to create a clutter free workspace:
In Manufacturing Lean, a 5S program is typically the first Lean technique applied to a new environment. The targeted area is literally swept out, clearing the decks for future improvements. After 5S then other Lean techniques such as pull scheduling, workload balancing, and waste reduction are applied to cut total cycle time and increase customer value creation.
In Office Lean a 5S implementation can sometimes be too big a pill for information workers to take all at once. Many of today’s office environments are built on the premise of worker independence. Setting a standard of how employees should maintain their workspace could be considered by some a violation of their rights and lead to a loss of morale; even though it may help performance. Given this, why start a new Lean Office project with a full 5S implementation? There is probably not a more difficult place to start.
As an alternative, consider beginning with only one of the Five S’s: Systemize! Because of the sense independence that can lead employees to perform tasks “their way,” there is typically a lot of process variation; leading to high cycle times, costs, and defect rates. A systemize initiative looks at all the ways a process is currently performed and picks one, or builds a best composite, from the many.
Systemizing makes an easier a first implementation because the “new” process is probably already in use in somewhere. Therefore the organizational change management implications are reduced making it an easier early win. It also establishes the baseline for future improvements. When future process modifications are made after a process systemization, the people impacted by the change all start the journey from the same place.
After systemization takes hold, then other Lean techniques can be applied to continue to build on the early success and solidify the overall return on investment. Once the organization fully understands how to wield the power of Lean, then is the time to determine when and how to (judiciously) apply the other four of the 5S’s.
Updated August 11, 2010; first published January 30, 2007
- Sort - Separate needed items for those not needed.
- Straighten - Arrange an appropriate location for all items.
- Shine - Clean the work area.
- Standardize - Establish a standard process for maintaining a clean uncluttered work area.
- Systemize - Maintain a consistent standardized approach.
In Manufacturing Lean, a 5S program is typically the first Lean technique applied to a new environment. The targeted area is literally swept out, clearing the decks for future improvements. After 5S then other Lean techniques such as pull scheduling, workload balancing, and waste reduction are applied to cut total cycle time and increase customer value creation.
In Office Lean a 5S implementation can sometimes be too big a pill for information workers to take all at once. Many of today’s office environments are built on the premise of worker independence. Setting a standard of how employees should maintain their workspace could be considered by some a violation of their rights and lead to a loss of morale; even though it may help performance. Given this, why start a new Lean Office project with a full 5S implementation? There is probably not a more difficult place to start.
As an alternative, consider beginning with only one of the Five S’s: Systemize! Because of the sense independence that can lead employees to perform tasks “their way,” there is typically a lot of process variation; leading to high cycle times, costs, and defect rates. A systemize initiative looks at all the ways a process is currently performed and picks one, or builds a best composite, from the many.
Systemizing makes an easier a first implementation because the “new” process is probably already in use in somewhere. Therefore the organizational change management implications are reduced making it an easier early win. It also establishes the baseline for future improvements. When future process modifications are made after a process systemization, the people impacted by the change all start the journey from the same place.
After systemization takes hold, then other Lean techniques can be applied to continue to build on the early success and solidify the overall return on investment. Once the organization fully understands how to wield the power of Lean, then is the time to determine when and how to (judiciously) apply the other four of the 5S’s.
Updated August 11, 2010; first published January 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Voice of the (Internal) Customer
Customer service is about understanding what your customers value and then giving it to them. Great customer focused organizations are known for listening intently to their customers and then responding with products and services tailored to what they hear. But how many do this internally and listen to the voices of their own employees as effectively as they do their external customers?
Identifying the Voice of the Customer is a technique for capturing customer feedback in exactly the terms used by customers from their point-of-view. The Voice of the Customer becomes the basis for future product and service enhancements. It helps avoid the internal we-know-better bias that can spring up in any organization.
Typically it is a minority of people within an organization that interact directly with external customers. Yet those involved directly with external customers are the internal customer of a fellow employee. And they in turn are the internal customer of other employees, and so on. Any break or let down in this chain of internal customer support eventually is experienced by the external customer as well.
What works for external customers works just as well for internal customers as well. Here an internal customer is defined as anyone in an organization who receives a work product from anyone else. A work product can be data entered into a computer, information obtained through individual research or analysis, or a decision that was made.
Applying the Voice of the Customer internally is a process of listening to fellow employees about what they value about the work products they receive. Just as with external customers, statements of value and corresponding areas of waste are captured in exactly the terms used by the employee.
Been filling out that form the same way for years? Providing that analysis exactly the same way day after day? You might be surprised what your internal customer would say if you asked them to describe in their terms what the value is of the work you give them. What may appear to be an important and valuable contribution to you might reflect back differently when held up to the mirror of your internal customer’s words.
In fact it can be quite a shock; one that you should prepare for. When seeking out the Voice of the (Internal) Customer:
Identifying the Voice of the Customer is a technique for capturing customer feedback in exactly the terms used by customers from their point-of-view. The Voice of the Customer becomes the basis for future product and service enhancements. It helps avoid the internal we-know-better bias that can spring up in any organization.
Typically it is a minority of people within an organization that interact directly with external customers. Yet those involved directly with external customers are the internal customer of a fellow employee. And they in turn are the internal customer of other employees, and so on. Any break or let down in this chain of internal customer support eventually is experienced by the external customer as well.
What works for external customers works just as well for internal customers as well. Here an internal customer is defined as anyone in an organization who receives a work product from anyone else. A work product can be data entered into a computer, information obtained through individual research or analysis, or a decision that was made.
Applying the Voice of the Customer internally is a process of listening to fellow employees about what they value about the work products they receive. Just as with external customers, statements of value and corresponding areas of waste are captured in exactly the terms used by the employee.
Been filling out that form the same way for years? Providing that analysis exactly the same way day after day? You might be surprised what your internal customer would say if you asked them to describe in their terms what the value is of the work you give them. What may appear to be an important and valuable contribution to you might reflect back differently when held up to the mirror of your internal customer’s words.
In fact it can be quite a shock; one that you should prepare for. When seeking out the Voice of the (Internal) Customer:
- Ask unbiased questions on what adds value to them and what doesn’t
- Write down (where everyone can see) everything you hear using the exact words
- Do not become defensive as a result of what’s said
- Remember that it’s hard to listen while talking
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