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These are the classic leadership mistakes to be avoided, no matter what your industry:
They don’t delegateFailing to delegate is the classic leadership mistake. Don’t fall into the trap. The most effective leaders delegate nearly everything except the ultimate responsibility. Anything else is just power hoarding, which wins the respect and trust of absolutely nobody.
They focus on the titlePresident. CEO. Managing Director. What does it really matter at the end of the day? You’re the boss and...
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They don’t delegateFailing to delegate is the classic leadership mistake. Don’t fall into the trap. The most effective leaders delegate nearly everything except the ultimate responsibility. Anything else is just power hoarding, which wins the respect and trust of absolutely nobody.
They focus on the titlePresident. CEO. Managing Director. What does it really matter at the end of the day? You’re the boss and...
To continue reading this post click on the title.
Retrieved from: The Lean Thinker
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One of the artifacts of Extreme Programming as practiced by Menlo Innovations is the Story Card. In the purest sense, a story card represents one unit of work that must be done by the developers to advance the work on the software project. But the content and structure of the story card make it much …
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As part of our van full of nerds tour through southern Germany to study Industry 4.0, we also visited two companies, Kärcher and Siemens. Siemens is probably well known to all of you. We went to their Amberg plant where they make programmable logic controllers. Kärcher is a smaller company that makes pressure washers and … Continue reading Industry 4.0 Tour in Germany – A Van Full of Nerds – Kärcher and Siemens
Anyone in the world
As part of our van full of nerds tour through southern Germany to study Industry 4.0, we also visited two companies, Kärcher and Siemens. Siemens is probably well known to all of you. We went to their Amberg plant where they make programmable logic controllers. Kärcher is a smaller company that makes pressure washers and … Continue reading Industry 4.0 Tour in Germany – A Van Full of Nerds – Kärcher and Siemens
Anyone in the world
Trying to solve a complex problem? You should begin by listing all suspected variables. Then, identify the few critical factors and separate them from the others that are not essential to understanding the cause. Let’s take a look at a very simple graphical tool that is very intuitive, can be used by virtually anyone, and does not require any prior statistical knowledge: the Multi-Vari Chart.
Retrieved from: Lean Thinking
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By Al Norval (bio)
As I teach problem solving and observe people learning to problem solve according to the scientific method, I often see people struggling with the concepts of a hypothesis and the binary test of the hypothesis and with the rigor of the process. This is understandable as these are foreign concepts and new for most people.
It’s very rewarding to see people change as they grasp the mechanics and begin to apply them and then achieve remarkable results.
To start the problem solving process, we need to “To Grasp the Situation” to get an understanding of the problem and in many cases to actually be able to define the problem and then get to root cause. To do this we use the 7 Basic Quality Tools:
The strange thing I find is that people will all nod their heads and say they know how to use them but when asked to give examples in everyday situations they can’t. In fact, when pressed to use them in an actual problem, often they can’t.
Many times I have to stop the problem solving and take a time out to have the group focus on learning the basic quality tools before they get back to working on the problem.
Why is this?
Often they are seen as too simple. They must be easy to use. But like anything that looks easy, without practice and application, we never really learn how to use them.
Lean is about thinking according to the scientific method. The scientific method is based on data. The 7 Basic Quality Tools allow us to organize and understand data so we can apply the scientific method. They make visible the data that is the backbone of good problem solving. Without them, we’re just throwing solutions at the wall and hoping something will stick.
I believe every leader and every one working in a lean environment needs to be able to master these 7 Basic Quality Tools to the point where they can teach others. Evidence of their use should be easy to see in any organization.
Simple – yes
Underrated – absolutely!
For more information on the 7 Basic Quality Tools and other Lean tools, please see Lean Brain Boosters
Cheersl
Al
In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…
What Does Leader as a Teacher Really Mean?
PDCA - the Pounding Heart Muscle of Life
Want to Make Better Decisions? Simplify…
How do Adults Learn?
As I teach problem solving and observe people learning to problem solve according to the scientific method, I often see people struggling with the concepts of a hypothesis and the binary test of the hypothesis and with the rigor of the process. This is understandable as these are foreign concepts and new for most people.
It’s very rewarding to see people change as they grasp the mechanics and begin to apply them and then achieve remarkable results.
To start the problem solving process, we need to “To Grasp the Situation” to get an understanding of the problem and in many cases to actually be able to define the problem and then get to root cause. To do this we use the 7 Basic Quality Tools:
- Process Maps
- Tally Sheet
- Fishbone Diagram
- Histogram
- Pareto
- Run Chart
- Scatter Plot
The strange thing I find is that people will all nod their heads and say they know how to use them but when asked to give examples in everyday situations they can’t. In fact, when pressed to use them in an actual problem, often they can’t.
Many times I have to stop the problem solving and take a time out to have the group focus on learning the basic quality tools before they get back to working on the problem.
Why is this?
Often they are seen as too simple. They must be easy to use. But like anything that looks easy, without practice and application, we never really learn how to use them.
Lean is about thinking according to the scientific method. The scientific method is based on data. The 7 Basic Quality Tools allow us to organize and understand data so we can apply the scientific method. They make visible the data that is the backbone of good problem solving. Without them, we’re just throwing solutions at the wall and hoping something will stick.
I believe every leader and every one working in a lean environment needs to be able to master these 7 Basic Quality Tools to the point where they can teach others. Evidence of their use should be easy to see in any organization.
Simple – yes
Underrated – absolutely!
For more information on the 7 Basic Quality Tools and other Lean tools, please see Lean Brain Boosters
Cheersl
Al
In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…
What Does Leader as a Teacher Really Mean?
PDCA - the Pounding Heart Muscle of Life
Want to Make Better Decisions? Simplify…
How do Adults Learn?
Anyone in the world
I recently attended the National Association of Corporate Directors. I was an early Leadership Fellow through NACD when they launched the program, as I believe in continued learning and personal improvement. It’s been a few years since I’ve attended the conference (it conflicts with my fall soccer coaching schedule), and
The post National Association of Corporate Directors Annual Conference – a few highlights appeared first on JFlinch.
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Lean has been around since the late eighties/ early nineties, but despite the enormous popularity of Lean, the track record for successful implementation of the methodology is spotty at best. Companies still make mistakes when implementing Lean.
These mistakes are generally due to simple misunderstandings of the Lean principles, but when something goes wrong, you will not reap the full benefits, and incorrect use of Lean can actually make a situation worse rather than better.
I believe when...
To continue reading this post click on the title.
These mistakes are generally due to simple misunderstandings of the Lean principles, but when something goes wrong, you will not reap the full benefits, and incorrect use of Lean can actually make a situation worse rather than better.
I believe when...
To continue reading this post click on the title.
Anyone in the world
Whether you're drinking beer, cocktails, wine or water, nothing is more frustrating than sitting at a bar waiting for a bartender to take your order. With the price of a drink (especially where I live in New York City!) costing nearly as much as the hourly wage of each bartender, I’ve always wondered why bars consistently have people waiting.
Retrieved from: A Lean Journey
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On Fridays I will post a Lean related Quote. Throughout our lifetimes many people touch our lives and leave us with words of wisdom. These can both be a source of new learning and also a point to pause and reflect upon lessons we have learned. Within Lean active learning is an important aspect on this journey because without learning we can not improve.
"The three most important ways to lead people are:… by example… by example… by example." — Albert Schweitzer
Whether you realize it or...
To continue reading this post click on the title.
"The three most important ways to lead people are:… by example… by example… by example." — Albert Schweitzer
Whether you realize it or...
To continue reading this post click on the title.