Wednesday, February 29, 2012

How do we Notice?? Part 7

We've talked in recent days about how our commitments, concerns and habits affect what we notice.  And what we notice drives our behavior.  But what does this look like in business??

A recent Wall Street Journal article described this well.  Ever wonder what happens when you walk into a restaurant?  Many are trying to get a step up:  "How Waiters Read Your Table" 

Reading a table happens within seconds of a waiter coming to a table. By asking for a cocktail menu or smiling and making strong eye contact, "they are saying 'hey, I want to engage with you and I want you to make me feel really important,' " says Mark Maynard-Parisi, managing partner of Blue Smoke, a pair of barbecue restaurants in New York, owned by Union Square Hospitality Group. If people seem shy, "you want to put them at ease, say, 'take your time, look at the menu.' "

When an eatery has a commitment to customer service, they train their wait-staff to notice:

  • Notice how the group handles (or doesn't) the menu
  • Notice the relationship between the diners
  • Notice the tone of voice of the patrons
And, with practice and habit, the server learns to make these assessments in seconds.  

But it all starts with a commitment to notice.  


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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

How do we Notice?? Part 6

Hope you are hanging with me  and my pal, Hal Macomber about the things we notice.  We've both been influenced by Fernando Flores on this topic; Hal sumarized the critical elements in these three statements:

Flores explained this more effectively with the distinction "disclosive space." In short, what we see is governed by three concurrent aspects of our being.
  1. We see what we can distinguish, hence the need to learn.
  2. We see what we are concerned for, hence the importance to be clear for oneself and in social groups what concerns/goals we pursue.
  3. And, we see in the midst of our everyday doing...the habitual way we engage in the world, hence we need to be deliberate to the point of choosing our habits to give us the opportunity to see.
The third point about noticing goes deep to our involuntary actions.  I notice things I'm used to noticing.  It is my habit.

Do I notice what people say about me?  Or do I notice other people?

Do I notice what the company is doing for me?  Or do I notice how I can contribute?

Do I notice what I notice? Or do I just kinda keep going on?

Hal uses, intentionally, the word "deliberate" regarding the choice of our habits.  Well said, pal.

Be deliberate.  Choose wisely.

More coming.



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Monday, February 27, 2012

How do we Notice?? Part 5

Continuing on "things we notice" following conversation with old friend, Hal Macomber regarding the work of Fernando Flores on this topic.


Flores explained this more effectively with the distinction "disclosive space." In short, what we see is governed by three concurrent aspects of our being.

1.We see what we can distinguish, hence the need to learn.
2. We see what we are concerned for, hence the importance to be clear for oneself and in social groups what concerns/goals we pursue.
Point #2 points out our internal filters which affect what we notice.  It's easier to illustrate than explain:

  • A friend took a new job in a company solely focused on market share.  His experience was all in a profit-oriented company.  "Why don't they care about profits?" he whined to me.  See point #2...management is concerned for market share. 
  • Paul O'Neill took over as CEO of Alcoa in 1987, he was centrally concerned about worker safety.  Surprise...he noticed safety and matters which affected safety.  
  • The public school teacher is concerned for her job.  She thus notices affronts to her union, which she views as the protector for her job. 
We each have concerns, that's not the question.  

The question is whether our concerns align with wise behavior, with worthy professional goals, with productive interpersonal habits.  

And achieving this alignment demands some reflection, to understand, deeply, our real concerns.  And to adjust (or blow up) some of them if need be.  

More to come.


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Thursday, February 23, 2012

How do we Notice?? Part 4

Continuing to review recent communication on "things we notice" with my friend, Hal Macomber, on the work of Fernando Flores on this topic.

Flores explained this more effectively with the distinction "disclosive space." In short, what we see is governed by three concurrent aspects of our being.

1. We see what we can distinguish, hence the need to learn.


At one extreme, consider what happens if you travel in a foreign country.  You don't understand the language and are, effectively, unable to either hear or speak.  You are forced to notice primarily through your eyes, since your ears are unable to distinguish the new language and your tongue does not wrap around the new words.  Yet, even your eyes are less reliable since you are new to the culture.

How to notice better?  This one is obvious; learn the culture, learn the language.

We are in deeper challenge to notice better in our own worlds, however, because we already know a lot.  But have we learned enough?  Do I know enough about my processes to notice if something is amiss?  Do I know enough about my market to notice if a regular customer is no longer ordering?  Do I know enough about my project to recognize if a step is out of sequence?  Do I know enough about people working with me to notice if their mood is altered?

And how do I learn if I am not curious?

The root of learning rests in curiosity.  Inquisitiveness.  Marveling.  Interestedness. It's the opposite of passivity.  Indolence.  Apathy.

Try this today, this weekend:  be curious about something with which you are already familiar.  Perhaps it is your daughter's new phone.  Perhaps it is a single process step you used to actually do.  Perhaps it is the new bush your neighbor just planted.  Learn something new.  And then reflect if you noticed at a deeper level.

More coming next week.

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

How do we Notice?? Part 3

Continuing to review recent communication on "things we notice" with my friend, Hal Macomber.

Hal cites the crucial work of Fernando Flores on this topic.  If you are not familiar with Flores' work on the criticality of language, here is a good summary article.


Flores explained this more effectively with the distinction "disclosive space." In short, what we see is governed by three concurrent aspects of our being.
  1. We see what we can distinguish, hence the need to learn.
  2. We see what we are concerned for, hence the importance to be clear for oneself and in social groups what concerns/goals we pursue.
  3. And, we see in the midst of our everyday doing...the habitual way we engage in the world, hence we need to be deliberate to the point of choosing our habits to give us the opportunity to see.

I'll let you absorb this for a bit and discuss each of these three distinctions by themselves.  It's a bit like eating fudge...very tasty but you can't really enjoy it in big bites.


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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

How do we Notice?? Part 2

Further thoughts on what we see, following interaction with my friend, Hal Macomber.  Hal makes this point on waste, muda.

You can't eliminate waste that you don't see. We practice teaching about waste thinking that will be enough. We need to shift the concerns people have about waste. Waste is evil. Waste kills companies. Waste depletes the planet. Overstatement? Perhaps.


I don't think it's overstatement at all, Hal.

I ask myself:  Has my view of waste gone "soft"?  Do I regard it as an evil to be eradicated with the same vengeance an oncologist going after the cancer in his patient?  Do I see waste with passion or academic intrigue?

I spoke with some colleagues recently about an increase in work-in-process inventory in a supplier's facility with which we were each familiar.  Did they care? Did they grasp it's negative impact on product quality and delivery time?  Or, as we feared, was it a short-term, knee-jerk reaction to management pressure?  Such that the production team in charge didn't even see it??

Each of the Seven Wastes can kill us.  Nothing less.  Can I see them??  Do I even choose to look for them?

More tomorrow.

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Monday, February 20, 2012

How do we Notice?? Part 1

In a recent post, I broached the topic of how our attention causes us to notice certain things.  My friend of many years, Hal Macomber, responded with further insight into the topic, one he has considered for a long time.  This depth is worth noting and I'll do this in the next few days.

Hal gives a clear example of how we notice, instinctively:

The effect is governed by the reticular activating system, an ancient part of our brain that keeps us safe. The fundamental trigger of the system is the commitments we live. For instance, a parent's naturally acquired commitment is to the safety of her child. Parents are walking-around always-seeking hazard-finding machines....and without consciousness for that. Making commitments, setting goals, getting clear about our own and others' concerns is the way to direct our noticing. Yet so many people don't have specific enough goals or commitments that they produce the shift. Rather, many people notice little that could help them.

The parent is wired to notice things which will harm or help her child.  So, she notices them.  This comes naturally, for most.

Yet are the other goals we have in business or life that clear?  Do I have a personal mission statement which helps me choose which activity to pursue and which to ignore?  Do I know what are the key steps for my business to succeed?  Have I written them down so I will recognize opportunities more clearly?  

Put simply, to what am I committed?  If I don't know, I won't notice much.

More to follow.


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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Information Flow

Does the knowledge worker do things in a Lean way by simply having a clean desktop?  Is it merely a matter of clearly alphabetizing her book shelf?

That's perhaps necessary but far from sufficient.

So much more revolves around the knowledge worker treating the flow of information the way an assembly worker treats the flow of physical material.
  • Does information flow?  
  • Do I turn the raw data into a readable report, promptly?  
  • Do I take my education on writing C++ code and make it flow into quality software?  
  • Do I take the income statement and cash flow statement and make a prompt decision on that purchase request?  
This topic increasingly grabs me.



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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Dragging the Digital Heels

It really shouldn't be that difficult to unsubscribe from an email list I'm no longer interested in.  So why does the stock message say "We'll comply with your request in the next ten days"? 

Back in the days with preprinted mailing labels, I could see where the delay would be.  But now??  With sophisicated, cheap and fast databases??  It strikes me as rude.  And certainly not an excellent process.  Maybe they want to keep bugging me with email, despite my request?? 

It is simply an example of a lousy process.  Waste of attention.  In our digital culture, waiting 10 days is no longer acceptable.  The marketplace has changed.  The process has to change with it. 

Some of you receive this blog via email.  There's an "unsubscribe" link at the very bottom of this email.  If these thoughts don't add value for you, feel free to unsubscribe!   And I'm pretty sure it will happen immediately!

And, one way or another, keep learning.

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Monday, February 13, 2012

Beware "Email to all"

Consider the ubiquitous office email, sent to "all".  Everyone in the company or department gets the notice, which may only relate to some.  This broadcast method distracts attention and, thus, injects waste.

Even worse is the follow up email which is not really following up.  A Team Leader sends a note to ten team members requesting a response in a week's time.  During the week, four of the ten team members responds.  A week later, the Team Leader sends out a second email to the Team, saying "Please answer my question."  He does it because he has made a "Group" for the team.  So, even the four people who DID respond are bothered again, perhaps wondering if they did actually respond to the original request.   Far better to only send the note to the six slackers and make each email carry real meaning. 



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Sunday, February 12, 2012

PDCA, even in 140 characters

In this recent Wall Street Journal column, Carl Bialik wrote about efforts to quantify public opinion by analyzing millions of Twitter feeds rather than conducting traditional phone polling.  The validity of this approach, according to one person he quoted:

"depends a great deal on whether or not people using these tools are willing to make real predictions and then evaluate them against the actual outcomes, as opposed to simply looking for interesting patterns after the fact and reporting on the ones that look good." 

Sounds a lot like a good Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, to me.  

The PDCA cycle is always worthwhile.  But to work really well, it needs to be honest, as quoted above.  It requires a stated, written expectation ahead of time and an honest, reflective review after the fact.  It can't "pick and choose" the facts it wants to support.  

In my experience, it is the reluctance to reflect on results and how they compare with the plan that is the weak link for many PDCA efforts.  Once done with a project or a fiscal year, the weary warriors just want to get on with something new.  Unfortunately, when we do this, we are often doomed to repeat the same errors that made us miss the mark in the first place.  Reflection and honesty are the best antidote.  But we often don't want to take that medicine.  

Steve Spear's excellent book, Chasing the Rabbit is the best description of PDCA out there, with a myriad of examples from multiple industries.   I commend it highly to you.  It's in the top 5 books about Lean out there.  

Keep learning.

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Thursday, February 09, 2012

Labels

"Sure, you can bring it back" said the customer service rep, with a friendly voice.

Which door at your store should I come to, I asked.

"Oh, just the one in the back," she replied, casually.

I knew from a previous visit there were six "doors in the back."  It was a large store. Is there a number on the door you want me to take it to? I asked again.

"It's kind of near the north-east corner," she told me after some thought.

Why do we label things?  Why do we put numbers or names on exterior doors?  Why do we put name tags next to cubicles?  Why do we put shelf labels in the warehouse?  Why do we make legible labels for file folders?

Clarity.

A lack of clarity is a breeding ground for errors.  Clear labels are a good start towards deeper clarity.


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Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Can't Have It Both Ways

Some days, the Lean Leader has to be fully strategic.  Big picture stuff.  "Here's why we use pull and not a scheduled build."  "This is why we make these labels so clearly."  It's qualitative.  Perhaps cerebral.  Almost always the verbal/written formulation of ideas.

Other days, the Lean Leader has to be fully tactical.  Detail stuff.  "I crunched these numbers and here's what I learned."  "We can't take 4 minutes of labor time here, it misses our target cost."  It's quantitative.  Perhaps boring.  Almost always with calculations and conclusions.

You often don't get to chose which day it's going to be, either.  So, smile when you wake up...it's one or the other.




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Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Seeing the Same Thing Differently

Confronted with a soul-suckingly deep pile of email in my in-box yesterday, I felt some level of despair.  I had to get through it but found the prospect extremenly discouraging.

When I recalled a trick I had read some years ago.  Rather than looking at the inbox with its default listing of most recent email first, resort the pile.  Sort it alphabetically by Subject.  Sort it by sender.  Reverse sort it by sender.  Anything.  Make the pile look different.

So I did.  And I quickly whittled the pile of 50+ emails down to the 10 that truly needed attention. 

And then I wondered: "Why is such a dumb little trick so effective?  I didn't alter the pile...I just rearranged it.  Why did is cease to be a despair-inducing exercise?"

I think it is just the new sequence.  Busting out of the chronological sequence into some other sequence, even one that doesn't make much sense.  It makes the inconsequential emails about available free kittens seem even more silly and more easily deleted. 

Which is also why it's good to look at any process backwards, rather than forwards.  You see new things.  And silly things which are so very deletable. 


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Sunday, February 05, 2012

Raw Efficiency

Is there a more efficient system out there right now than Craigslist??  Every time I interact with it, I'm in awe.

  • It is spare...no bells and whistles, so it runs fast and runs simply.
  • It is local...it links me to people and goods in my community, unless I want to make a larger search
  • It is free...for almost all of its services, there is no charge at all.  It makes all of its money off of a few categories
  • It is intuitive...posting, responding, deleting a post...it all is obvious
  • It is connective...it allows buys and sellers, givers and receivers to connect
There are strategic and practical examples for us here.  It is worth reflection.


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Knowing

The following lucid sentences appeared in the paper yesterday, regarding a leader having a hard time corralling followers:

...his insides are unknown to them.  They don't know what's in there.  They fear he hasn't absorbed any philosophy along the way, that he'll be herky-jerky, unanchored, merely tactical...


The writer was Peggy Noonan in this opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal.  She writes of Mitt Romney.  But my point is not political.

These same words could be said of any of us offering leadership in our companies. Do those who work with us know our "insides"?  Do they know what overarching framework will shape our actions?  Do they fear us being "herky-jerky"?

This is why a deep understanding of Lean as a strategy is crucial.  Why having that framework is essential for the motivation and engagement of those with whom we work.  Why letting people see our "insides" is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.


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Thursday, February 02, 2012

Really?

Picked up a new question today.  One word. 

      Really?

And I've been thinking about it. 

Stated calmly and without an edgy tone, it invites the speaker to contine.  To amplify.  To add some further information.  It does not commit the speaker to agree or disagree.  But it does engage.  It does state a willingness to listen further.

If I'm truly interested in listening, it will often result in more depth. 

Really?

Yeah, I think so.  I'm trying it. 


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Wednesday, February 01, 2012

On Seeing Waste

We know our job as Lean leaders is to eliminate waste.  We also know we can’t eliminate waste unless we first see it. 

 

How do we see it well?  Consider this paragraph from a Productive Living email from David Allen:

What we focus on changes what we notice. Our brain filters information, seeing one thing in a situation instead of something else, based on what we identify with, what we have our attention on, what we're looking for—more or less consciously. In one meeting optometrists notice who's wearing eyeglasses, affirmative action advocates notice the ratio of minorities in the group, and interior designers notice the color schemes.

Unapologetically, the Lean leader sets out to see waste.   And when she does, she sees it.

 

 

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