Lean Thinking Article Blurb: How to Identify Waste in Your Organization

Image from "Let's Ban the Eight Waste" article referenced below

This is a good article; talks about challenges of objectively identifying the "waste" of untapped human potential; but also discusses that organizations should specifically identify what waste is to them, and gives "waste selection criteria" questions to help do that.

Reference: Let's Ban the Eighth Waste at http://www.leancompetency.org/

To Managers of Enthusiastic Employees: Give Them a Chance

I often joke that if I could harness the energy of young children and sell it on e-Bay, I’d be the richest person in the world.  So why is it, then, that some managers squelch the enthusiasm of their employees who offer to drive internal improvement efforts?  Why not give them a chance, within reason, to prove themselves and their ideas?

The other week, I had the unique opportunity to meet with a young woman early in her career who was seeking advice for how to convince her manager that she should be able to expand the process improvement ideas she had implemented in her own work to the rest of the group.  She described that she had reduced a roughly 2-day manufacturing prep process down to 20 minutes, and believed that she could standardize her methods throughout the facility.  ‘Wow,’ I thought, ‘that sounds terrific!’

As our conversation unfolded, we discovered that she needed to collect some baseline data on the current process duration, then data on her method.  She then needed to translate that into the cost savings of saved time, which in a business that is growing like hers, could mean delaying the hire of additional employees and saving overhead expense.   We also discussed how she would need to estimate a basic timeline and hours for her implementation efforts, and how she would need to be able to do all of that while still completing her regular responsibilities.  She was willing to do the extra work to improve the process independent of additional compensation, so that should be a non-issue for her manager.

After spending an hour together and coming up with a plan, this woman went back to her workplace and proceeded to pitch her idea, complete with the need for data collection and implementation plan development, to her management.  She let me know how that went a week later.  Apparently while her work is exemplary and management is very happy with her performance, they do not want her to step outside her “box” (my word), and take on this extra challenge.

Sigh.

Do they not realize that companies pay consultants big bucks to do exactly what she wants to do, essentially for “free”?  As long as she is still completing her regular responsibilities on time and with the high level of quality with which she apparently already does her work, why shouldn’t she be given a chance to make this improvement impact?

Now I recognize that I do not know the entire scenario, context, or organizational culture involved.   However, this incident has brought up a few memories for me of the growing-more-distant-every-day-past J when I was just beginning my career.  I recall stepping “outside the box” in factory training and encouraging my small group to perform a skit, rather than just write on a flip-chart, when explaining how photolithography worked.  They were highly skeptical, but agreed to do it.  Later the Trainer told me that he had never before seen such a creative explanation, and went on to describe our skit as an example to all his future training sessions.  That was a good result.

Then there was the time when I offered to take on doing the ergonomic assessments for my Process Engineering group on top of my regular responsibilities.  My mentor thought that I couldn’t handle “more work” and discouraged me, but fortunately our mutual manager disagreed and allowed me to do it, which I did while easily managing workloads.  I was even selected to perform the assessment for the then Plant Manager (it took all of five minutes, and was the highlight of my career to date at that time!).  Again, ultimately a good result, but a bit more challenging to get there.

Along the way, however, there have been some other  managers who did not allow me to try new ideas or make changes.  They would say things like “No, you can’t do that,” “No, we won’t try that here,” “No, that’s too different,” “No, that will never work.”  Sometimes I never got a good reason, sometimes it made sense, but overall looking back, it seems to me that if companies are not just paying lip-service to wanting to improve, they would take full advantage of what an enthusiastic employee offers to do!  If the employee has the desire and the energy, harness that stuff right up; it’s worth more than anything which can be bought on e-Bay.

Let me tell you, Managers of Enthusiastic Employees:  If you find yourself consistently saying “No” to people who want to try new things, fewer and fewer good employees will be working for you sooner or later.  Give them a chance, even if it means allowing them to change the practices that you yourself put in place back in the day, because if you don’t – the good employees will eventually leave your company and do something for someone else who appreciates them. 

Read this article and more on AJC’s blog, and sign up for our newsletter online at: http://andreajonesconsulting.com/blog.aspx

If you sign up for our newsletter by February 10, we will send you a free copy of AJC’s Prioritization Matrix Template.

Why the “First Step” is a Needs Assessment

A "First Step" at the Great Wall of China (in 2005)

If you sign up for our newsletter by February 10, we will send you a free copy of AJC’s Prioritization Matrix Template referenced in our last blog post on Strategic Planning!

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., AJC submits that often a credible “First Step” is a Needs Assessment, which is how we begin many new client engagements.

Clients often ask what they will get out of a Needs Assessment, what exactly it is, and why do they need a Needs Assessment in the first place? 

To summarize what a client gets out of an AJC Needs Assessment, it provides the following deliverables:

1.       An articulated, documented, and prioritized “Laundry List” of improvement opportunities (“Issue Categories”) based on direct input from team members and leaders; objectively assessed for practicality and legitimacy

2.       (if survey scoring used): Numerical assignments for issue categories to aid in prioritization and comparison

3.       High-level implementation plans for improvement of the most important items on the list; aka the “Define” portion of a DMAIC project done, or initial “scoping” phase for other projects

The last two things a Needs Assessment provides are not true “deliverables” in the tangible sense of the word, but are instrumental in starting a new client engagement off on the right foot and establishing a positive foundation for continued work together.  These are:

1.       Rapport and trust built with client team members and consultant (team) as a foundation for continued work

2.       Quick immersion for an “outsider” to become an objective “insider” with respect to corporate needs and culture, helping provide appropriate and credible recommendations to improve the client’s actual situation

Each of these items provides different nuances of immediate and long term value to the client and overall success of the consulting engagement.  With these ends in mind, below is a description of what exactly an AJC Needs Assessment is, followed by a conclusion about why it is often “needed.”

At AJC, our Needs Assessments begin with a brief Kick-Off meeting with all the stakeholders.  We hold this introduction so everyone can meet face-to-face to discuss the goals and logistics of the Needs Assessment.  After reading the book “Your Brain at Work” by David Rock, one take-away (page 122) was that it is easier to work with people face-to-face; there is less uncertainty and a clearer mental map of what to expect.  It is extremely important to be introduced face-to-face in a proactive and transparent manner, and I strongly believe that it helps relieve many anxieties about hiring a “Consultant,” which often carries mixed connotation baggage.

Next is the “Data Collection” phase, which consists individual or focus group interviews with client team members; all the people working in or around the area being considered for improvement.  Though the number of questions are few, each interview typically lasts ~65 minutes on average.   We discuss what the team members do, frequency and durations for specific tasks/processes/activities, their pain points and ideas for improvement opportunities, and whether there are any areas of the business that they feel are unclear, and how that affects their work. 

As a side note, it is often helpful for the consultant to come into the Data Collection phase relatively “blind” to what is going on at the company; this ensures there are no pre-conceived notions, biases, or expectations about the information gathered.  AJC consultants are professionals, and we can still conduct an objective Needs Assessment for a company or group with which we have previous experience, but it is definitely ideal to come in cold.  This is why we recommend a Needs Assessment as part of our first engagement; the relationship will never be so new as in the beginning!

After all the data is collected, we aggregate the results, categorize them, and paraphrase all issues seen.  Individual comments are kept anonymous, but if there are enough interviewees, we provide an indication of the breadth and depth of each category (i.e. how many people commented on that category, and how frequently were unique statements about that category made).  This helps us with prioritization of the issue categories – items that are commented about frequently and by most people tend to be the heavy hitters.

At this point, AJC provides a Midstream Report in which the issue categories are documented with paraphrased descriptions in a first pass prioritization order.  This report is shared with the Leadership Team (as defined by the client), and we again meet face-to-face to discuss it.  This interim step has been added over our experience of conducting Needs Assessments (our own “Continuous Improvement!”) because we found that often the Consultant’s ideas about what is most important does not fully align with leadership.  There may be nuances about the business of which the consultant is not aware, and that were not brought up in conversations to date.  Also, Leadership may need certain areas to be considered first for strategic reasons, and the Consultant can often help describe the rationale for these priorities in our Final Report in a way that makes sense to the entire team. 

Once the Leadership team is aligned with the initial findings on basic priority, AJC submits the categories back out to the interviewees as a survey (optional, but recommended).  The survey is phrased for interviewees to assign prioritization weights to each issue category as it “What impact would resolution of these issue categories likely have on (Business Name) as a company?”  The question is phrased in this way to encourage respondents to think about the bigger picture and not just on their own personal pain points.  The survey also serves as validation to the interviewees that their comments were indeed head.

The Needs Assessment’s ultimate deliverable is then a Final Report which presents a prioritized list of Issue Categories based on results of data collection, discussions with leadership, and survey results.  It goes on to provide high-level Implementation Plans for resolving/improving the top 2-4 issues facing the company complete with action steps, estimated durations, and suggested accountability.  When possible, recommendations are also made for all issues presented in the Final Report, including references to other service providers if the issue itself is not part of AJC’s wheelhouse.  For example, issues around team building, HR, or sales training; AJC will recommend other resources who deal specifically with these needs.

As with the Midstream Report, the Final Report is presented in a face-to-face meeting with the Leadership team (and highly encouraged to be sent to all team members; optional “scrubbed” report available upon request).  At this meeting, we discuss the ultimate results, answer questions about the Implementation Plans, and prepare for Next Steps.  The Final Report Out  Meeting represents the “Define” step of a DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Implement, Control), or the “scoping” phase of other improvement projects.  Hopefully those Next Steps involve continuing with AJC in some way, but if not – the company now has an articulated and prioritized list of what to work on, and specific plans for how to improve the most important issue for them.

If the client would like to continue with AJC, there are three typical paths which can be followed:

First, AJC can be heavily involved in completing improvement work: there may be process mapping or kaizen sessions to facilitate, specific data to be collected and analyzed, processes to be designed or updated, or procedures to be documented or revised.  AJC can perform much of the heavy-lifting work associated with these activities, and often this is very helpful to busy clients who really want to realize the benefits of their Improvement Plans, but simply do not have the resources to dedicate toward time-consuming enabling work. 

Second, AJC can be moderately involved as an Advisor and Project Manager for improvement work; providing a certain amount of support and effort toward ultimate deliverables each week, but with the detailed completion of more time-consuming tasks often associated with documentation or data analysis/presentation allocated to client resources.  This is often the elected choice of budget-constrained clients. 

Third, AJC provides an “Accountability Model” to clients.  In this model, AJC provides light involvement, often in the form of in-person presence for weekly team meetings, then as an advisor or reviewer for work deliverables, but not independently creating any ultimate deliverables.  This option is recommended only when the client team has a specific person dedicated as a Project Manager as well as an execution team available since at this level, AJC is unable to provide the time needed to ensure minor roadblocks are overcome, or provide assistance in completing certain troublesome or “boring” documentation work.

In conclusion, why does any given company “need” a Needs Assessment in the first place?  The three main reasons are:

1.       Objectively “Define” or “Scope” prioritized improvements, with documented plans to realize results

2.       Build rapport, credibility, and trust in a short amount of time with an external resource that can catalyze or jump-start improvement work

3.       It represents taking the first step.  In the memorial words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:  “You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

If you sign up for our newsletter by February 10, we will send you a free copy of AJC’s Prioritization Matrix Template referenced in our last blog post on Strategic Planning!

What Needs to be Done in Your Business This Year?

January is often the time for planning the year’s strategies and direction.  What needs to be done in your business this year?  Answering that question may seem daunting at first, but there is a structured approach which can be taken.  In this article, review AJC’s methodology for boiling a potentially overwhelming question into actionable answers. 
Added Incentive: If you sign up for our newsletter by February 10, we will send you a free copy of AJC’s Prioritization Matrix Template referenced in Step 3 below!

First: Pre-Work
Using as much data as possible, review the previous year(s) financial trends: gross revenue, net revenue, fixed and variable overhead spend, and if possible – root cause where business came from.  Delegate this work to appropriate team members, if necessary.  Ideally, it will be prepared for presentation in chart format, exported to a slide deck for ease of viewing (Google Sheets/Slides or Excel/PowerPoint both work fine).  It might be beneficial to have the analyst prepare a no-frills report describing the various charts and what the data indicates in a document (Google Docs, Word, etc.) which is distributed to the Leadership team.

Second: Review / Brainstorm
Gather the Leadership Team to review the data.  Team members should have reviewed the presentation and/or report ahead of time and list their questions about the data and/or ideas for how to address improvements in the new year on their own.  The meeting Facilitator will lead the group through the review and capture all questions for follow up and/or ideas which are generated during the review.  After the data review, the Facilitator will lead the group through a brainstorming session where all ideas or opportunities for improvement and/or specific problem areas are discussed and documented.  Again, a simple no-frills list is the best way to capture ideas at this time.

Note:  It is often helpful to perform this exercise as a group with a Facilitator who has “no skin in the game,” so to speak.  That is, in order to maintain total objectivity, the Facilitator should not be biased toward any particular problem or pre-conceived notion of what the data indicates or opportunities should be.

At the end of the meeting, you should have two lists and two documents which should be shared with the team:

1. List of further data analysis required based on questions from group
2. List of brainstormed ideas/opportunities for improvement/problems to solve
3. Document with aligned facts that the financial data review means to the company
4. Document any action items captured during the meeting (action, owner, due date, etc.)

Third: Sleep On It / Follow Up and Prepare Prioritization Matrix
While the rest of the Leadership Team sleeps on the Review / Brainstorm meeting, one or two Analysts follow up with the data analysis required from step #1 above, and another and/or the Facilitator will organize the brainstormed ideas/opportunities into a Prioritization Matrix.  At AJC, we use a FMEA-style matrix with three categories.  These can be modified based on your company’s particular need, but typically look something like this (AJC’s template):

AJC Prioritization Matrix Preview

At this point, only the “Idea/Opportunity/Problem Area” column need be filled out; though the preparer may take an initial stab at the Categories and/or numerical assignments.  Note that the example has “5” values inserted to illustrate how the visual prioritization coloring formulas work in this template.  Also, note that the last column for “Risk Priority” is binomial.  This column is useful in regulated industries such as Biotech, Aerospace, Food Industry, Financial, or other regulated industries where there are particular areas which must be in place/effective irrespective of anything else. 

Fourth: Follow Up Meeting / Prioritization Matrix Completion
After the offline analysis and Prioritization Matrix preparation, the Leadership team reconvenes to review the additional data and any action items captured in the first meeting which are relevant to that group (note: these may have been parsed to separate groups/meetings), and to complete the Prioritization Matrix.  The Facilitator will take the group through each item on the list and help ensure each item is described and categorized appropriately, and that the scaled categories are assigned values which the team agrees upon. 

After that, the template itself should do the work!  Reorder the template based on Priority Number and/or Risk Priority, and voila!  Now you have an objectively prioritized list of items on which your company should improve upon in the new year. 

Fifth: Implement, Implement, Implement
Of course, having a lovely prioritized list of items is just the beginning of realizing improvements and increased profitability.  The next steps are to develop strategies and implementation plans to execute the new ideas or resolve the problems identified.  However, it is always advisable to work on the most valuable issues first; the ones that can bring in more revenue or reduce costs the most such that the business remains as viable and attractive as possible to owners, shareholders, employees, and the world at large.

Read this article and more on AJC’s blog, and sign up for our newsletter online at: http://andreajonesconsulting.com/blog.aspx

Added Incentive: If you sign up for our newsletter by February 10, we will send you a free copy of AJC’s Prioritization Matrix Template!

Ring In 2017 with a New “Word of the Year”

What is your company’s 2017 Word of the Year?

AJC announces “Growth” as the 2017 word of the year; following 2016 “Strategy” and 2015 “Peace.”  Learn more about how AJC chose these words, and what they mean for us and you going forward in 2017!  We encourage you to select your own word, and would love to hear what it is as a comment to this post at the end of this blog post! 

Two years ago, a colleague suggested that each member of our professional advisory group announce a “word of the year” to help focus and embody their primary goal for the new year.  That was 2015, and AJC’s word was “Peace.”  At the time, AJC was at an inflection point from being an independent consultancy to offering scaled services which would staff additional Associate consultants.  The decision had many facets, and as the owner of AJC, my main goal for that year was to feel at peace about this new business model.

After a year of both successes and learnings, I honestly did feel at peace with the decision to move AJC toward a multi-person group, and in feeling so, decided that the word for 2016 would be “Strategy.”  Transitioning from an independent service provider to a staffed model required a different approach to business development, and I had to develop methods to promote our services to a wider audience.  Hence the inception of this newsletter, as well as beginning to publish content articles in LinkedIn and a new website blog.

In 2017, the natural progression for AJC after “Peace” and “Strategy,” is “Growth:” the New Word of the Year.  It is somewhat intimidating to publicly announce “Growth” as AJC’s word.   There is risk involved as AJC has limited control over the amount of work coming to in, and we plan to pace our growth in order to maintain AJC’s high standards of service over a larger client base with more consultants working.

Still, there are many reasons to be optimistic.  AJC has several high-quality projects under our belt, collectively over the past two years (ten for me).  We have developed terrific client relationships and are pleased to unveil the “Clients” tab of our updated website which provides testimonials from many of our recent engagements.  We have at least three more experienced consultants lined up to join our team in 2017.  But above all, everyone at AJC wants what is truly right for our clients; independent of what this means for us. 

To this end, we have recommended or encouraged clients to work with other consultants on areas that are not in our wheelhouse.  We try to “right-size” projects to fit client budgets and needs.  We coach clients to enable them to take ownership of project work and tools that we have helped to create, and we love to help clients with growth ideas or to make personal connections in any way that we can. 

We believe that “Growth” will come as a natural consequence to our work ethic and beliefs, as well as our strategic marketing efforts and availability of experienced consultants.  When you engage with AJC, we partner with you for the long term; “Growth” happens best with deep and sturdy roots.