Blog Archives
Process of Shaving
If you are a male like me you may hate shaving as much as I did. I saw it as a chore. Something that had to be done because I didn’t want a huge ZZ Top beard. Because I didn’t want to do it, I took the short cut. I used an electric razor and then used a multiple blade hand razor to get what was left. The results…lots of ingrown hairs, a super sensitive face that stung when any lotion was applied and bleeding through my neck area. Not cuts but blood seeping through almost like a scrap.
A few weeks ago, my wife talked me into going into a shave specialty shop. I spent a good 30 minutes with the sales woman. She showed me their natural shaving products and then talked about the proper process for shaving. I learned that for most men, the multi-blade hand razors are still very irritating to the skin. The best are the old school single blade razors that you screw into the handle, not the cheap disposable kind.
So what is the proper process for shaving?
- Wash your face
- Apply an essential oil to help the hairs stand up and to lubricate
- Apply shaving cream to a shaving brush in a small amount. I learned that badger hair is naturally anti-bacteria.
- Use the shaving brush to apply the shaving cream to your face
- Shave face going WITH the grain. Use short strokes and rinse.
- Apply more shaving cream with the shaving brush
- Shave face going AGAINST the grain. Use short strokes and rinse.
- Rinse face and dry
- Apply after shave balm for soothing and moisturizing
If you are like me, you are thinking, “really?! That seems like a lot and over the top.”
My wife convinced me to give it a try, so I bought the brush and the oil, shaving cream and after shave balm.
It has been a few weeks and I have to say the results are amazing. I get a much closer shave so I don’t have to shave as often. I have had zero ingrown hairs, my face is less sensitive and I don’t bleed when I shave.
You might be thinking, “Great to know, but in the world does this have to do with lean?”
The answer is…a lot.
Too often we don’t want to follow the process because it seems long, over done or a pain, so we take short cuts. We may end up getting some good results once, but that won’t be repeatable. Take the problem solving process. We may short cut investigating the current state and what the problem truly is. One time we may get a good solution in place, but other times it is patchy results at best.
As tedious as it may seem at times, we should always follow the process when we know it will give us good, sustainable results.
Centralized vs. Decentralized
I had the pleasure of being a guest blogger on Karen Wilhelm’s Lean Reflections site. I wrote about the debate between centralizing versus decentralizing functions of a business.
Here is the beginning:
Should we centralize or decentralize our function?
Have you ever heard this question come up? I bet so. It is a very common question. The discussion could be around any area of service like procurement, IT, HR or many other functions that I haven’t mentioned.
I always seem to get the follow up question of “So what does lean say we should do?”
My simple answer is “Whatever makes the best sense for your company and your situation today.”
Most hate hearing this, but it is the truth. There is no lean perspective on this question. Both sides have good points and bad points to them.
You can read the rest over at Lean Reflections...
3 Years for Beyond Lean
I can’t believe it. Today is Beyond Lean’s 3rd Anniversary. It has been three years since my first post. The time has gone quickly.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
During the last three years, I have met some great people through the blog and developed some connections that I have enjoyed and learned a lot from. Some have inspired me to try new things at work, while others have inspired me to try new things at home.
A lot of reflection has happened during the past 3 years. I feel like I have been able to learn more about business, lean, lean application and myself. That was one of the main goals I made for myself when I started the blog.
I want to thank everyone for choosing to read Beyond Lean and their continued support.
Here’s to another 3 years!!
Book Review: The Lean Turnaround
Art Byrne is an execute that has been implementing lean in several companies around the world. He started our with GE and gained experience with Danaher Corp before becoming the CEO of Wiremold where their lean turnaround is featured in the book “Better Thinking, Better Results“. Since leaving Wiremold Art has used lean to turnaround companies as a partner with J.W. Childs Associates. Art brings his vast experience to the readers.
Name of the Book: The Lean Turnaround: How Business Leaders Use Lean Principles to Create Value and Transform Their Company
Author: Art Byrne
Publication Date: 2012
Book description: what’s the key message?
Art really drives home the message about a company can only be truly lean if the leaders are setting an example and leading the way. A lean executive does not dictate what others need to go do. A lean executive does it himself.
Also, the executives have to transform the people. Get everyone to buy-in from the shop floor to the executive suite. There is no room for people that won’t buy-in. In order to do this, as the leader you need to engage in the change and lead it. Not support it.
Art lays out his principles to follow to becoming lean:
- Work to Takt Time
- Create one piece flow
- Utilized Standard Work
- Connect Customers to Work by Using a Pull System
What are the highlights? What works?
Art does a fantastic job of giving multiple examples of how he engaged employees and led the change even as a CEO. This brings to life how it can be done and the thought isn’t some dream a consultant made up.
I really like how Art lays out obstacles to achieving his lean principles. Accounting and standard costing is the biggest obstacle because it can show a negative result or cause bad decisions when doing things that are helping. He then explains the changes that are needed and gives examples of the changes and how the finances would look different.
There are more examples of other metrics that Art recommends for a lean company.
Another powerful section of the book is how he used lean to grow businesses and profits even during tough economic times. Art even lays out a strategy for looking at companies when thinking about acquisitions.
The real life examples as a CEO and board member of companies really drives how a lean turnaround can be achieved. A CEO must do a 180 from the traditional methods to do it and a leap of faith will be needed, but the reward is very high.
What are the weaknesses? What’s missing?
This is a really good book, but I do see one thing missing. Art speaks from a CEO or executive viewpoint, which is great, but what if you aren’t an executive?
One question I would like to see answered is how do lower level employees help executives want to do a lean turnaround? Sure, one answer could be give them the book, but that probably won’t change everyone’s mind with just a single read. How do you help an executive that seems to want to do it, do it? Give them that final push and really start to see the benefits?
The book can also give the feeling that if you don’t have an executive leading and doing everything in the book then you might as well not go through with lean because you won’t be successful. Art does not say that explicitly. The book just gives that feeling.
How should I read this to get the most out of it?
I recommend this book for anyone but especially high level level executive or CEO. Art lays out a great game plan and a compelling case for the executives to transform their work and create a lean turnaround. Read the book straight through and then re-read it as you develop a plan to change your company.
I would also recommend it for more Wallstreet and finance people. It would enlighten them on how to look at companies that deliver long term value to their customers. Not just short term gains.
Blog Carnival Annual Roundup 2012 – My Flexible Pencil
At the end of the year, John Hunter does a great job of facilitating an annual roundup of business and lean blogs at Curious Cat Management. The roundup is a review of blogs by other bloggers. This year I have the honor of participating in the Blog Carnival Annual Roundup.
A couple of years ago, I met David Kasprzak through blogging. David is a professional that has worked in large companies throughout his career and recently finished his MBA. During this time he started his blog, My Flexible Pencil.
David covers a wide range of topics. He discusses observations of business he has from being with his family, like how helping his son pick something out for show-n-tell was a lesson in teaching people how to develop answers not directing them towards an answer.
David also blogs around business issues like continuous improvement, project management and behavior & culture. At the beginning of 2012 David had a long series of blogs about ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment). The topic spurred great conversation from many in lean and ROWE alike. David wrote a few blogs on the similarities and differences of ROWE and Lean. Then wrote his own thoughts after hearing both perspectives. I think it is worth reading and developing your own opinion on the subject.
I read a lot of blogs and respond when I have time to as many as I can, but My Flexible Pencil has caused me to sit back, think and respond more than any other blog. My Flexible Pencil is a great read.
Controlling the Message
Are politics eating away at the ability of businesses to be competitive? I don’t mean capital P Politics and elections, just cultural office politics. I wonder if we have gotten so good in so many cases at “controlling our message” within our walls that we lack the ability to discuss what our true Current State really is.
(Don’t worry. I learned my lesson quite clearly when I brushed past the pool in my post inspired by the music business not to mess with the holy trinity of Politics, Religion, and Free Stuff on the interwebs. I tried and failed to come up with a different word than politics for this post…Sorry)
So much of the Lean philosophy and toolkit is built around either highlighting the gap between the current state and the ideal state or following a process to move closer to the ideal state from the current state. These are only effective if you’re willing to talk about your true current state. I don’t know of many businesses that are willing to have these conversations. In many cases, the ability to interpret what is happening in the most palatable way possible far outweighs the ability to identify what is really happening. The narratives that are created have become the currency that keeps the operation rolling and keeps everyone happy.
Here’s the thing about ‘messaging’…it rarely stops. The people delivering become incentivized to keep the message on the same path for risk of losing credibility, job security, or recognition. The people receiving want to believe the message, if for no other reason than it seems pretty silly to reject the communication of the people you are trusting to keep you up to date.
How does this culture impact Lean leaders? The biggest obstacle comes in getting people to recognize the existence and scope of a problem. It can be extremely difficult to get resources, time, and commitment when key players are invested in making sure that the problem area continues to be spoken about in glowing terms. Data helps, but not always. In some cases your best bet is to find ways to create a bridge from the narrative to the reality. Yes…that means that you may need to become engaged in a system of politics that you despise, but these waters are tricky and need to be navigated somehow. Sometimes it may mean that you have to go covert and work on the project “off the record” to improve something you know needs help. (That one falls under the umbrella of being easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission.)
I guess what I’m getting at is that sometimes the reality of our cultures gets in the way of doing the right thing. It doesn’t mean that people are intentionally doing the wrong thing, just that it’s not always clear how to get people aligned and rowing in the same direction. Use what you have at your disposal and make a difference.
GE Appliances Going Lean
I have not been very high on GE as a company. I have dealt with too many command-and-control managers that came from GE and Jack Welch I think is the single most overrated CEO in history. He destroyed GE’s manufacturing to gain his golden parachute.
It has taken awhile but GE seems to be making strides in a great direction. A year or so ago, GE announced the building of a manufacturing complex in Louisville, KY dedicated to building their appliance lines using lean manufacturing.
An article last week highlighted some of the reasons and the results from the first venture in GE’s new dishwasher plant. My favorite heading in the article is “Washing Away Decades of Outdated Manufacturing Practices”. AMEN!!!
So what did GE hope to accomplish by investing $150 million in the new facility?
When planning to make GE’s newest dishwashers, the manufacturing leaders had several challenges: to build new production lines in a space-constrained factory where existing lines would keep providing about one in every five homes with a dishwasher; to create a process that would leverage Lean manufacturing principles to reduce the time it takes to make each dishwasher; to reduce operational costs and unnecessary work for employees to improve productivity while increasing quality.
They needed to reduce cost and delivery time and increase quality. Something lean can help improve all of. Not one while sacrificing others.
How was lean going to help?
Relying on a new culture of continuous improvement and a collaborative work environment, fostered by Lean manufacturing principles, GE took employees from every discipline needed to design, build and operate the new lines and co-located them in one location so communication could be instantaneous and fluid. Each member of the team had a voice and a role–from engineering, to advanced manufacturing to the operators who assemble the products – all were on one team with a common goal – to improve the processes and products.
Great ideas and they seem to be working very well. The results listed in the article are incredible. Here are just one bullet point listed as a result.
Included production workers in the designing of work stations and processes, improving efficiency and ergonomics by reducing parts inventories and movements to complete tasks; in developing new job instructions to help eliminate quality issues and improve safety; and in improving the timely supply of parts to work stations. As a result, the overall production time per unit was reduced by about 65 percent.
Great to see the employees doing the work involved in the improvement process. With all the great results this is what I was the most happy to read.
Now, their dishwashers will be loaded with more U.S. parts than ever before. In fact, about 85 percent of the parts in GE new dishwashers will be made in the U.S. — including an increased number made at Appliance Park in Louisville, Ky
It shows that manufacturing close to the consumer in a “high cost” country can be competitive in any industry. Kudos to GE for attempting to change their manufacturing ways.
More From The Fine Folks At Taylor
About a year ago, when I was merely a “Guest Post”-er, I wrote this little piece about some really interesting things I read about in a book called Guitar Lessons written by the co-founder and namesake of Taylor Guitars. As a companion to both that post and the one earlier this week with some personal Lean inspiration, I wanted to share another link and story that fits both categories.
(As an aside, it was brought to my attention that I may have quoted an incorrect number in the previous post, but I wasn’t able to get confirmation on that. If anyone with Taylor would like me to correct it and is willing to help, let me know.)
This really cool piece of information comes in the form of the most recent copy of the company’s magazine “Wood & Steel” and is written by the other co-founder (and CEO) of the company, Kurt Listug. (If you clicked on the file, I’m referring to “Kurt’s Corner” that shows up on the left side of the .pdf page 3 or magazine page 4). In his ‘Corner’, Listug refers to a “Process Improvement Project” that sounds, as a whole, like it was build on some hardcore Lean principles. I don’t pretend to know enough about what goes on at their facility to make a judgement either way on what or how they are doing what they do. What I do know is that it excites me to read about companies using these types of concepts (whether built directly on Lean/TPS or not) to do things like 20% increases in daily production, improved quality, reduced queue times from weeks to next day, and growing employment built around value adding work. These successes, whether I had a hand in them or not, remind me of why I chose to work in this field. I have no idea what Taylor’s path looks like from here, but I do appreciate reading about companies that are working to try to be the best they can be.
I realize I sound like a fanboy for Taylor and that’s fine. If I didn’t own a couple of their guitars, I wouldn’t have received the magazine to read in the first place. But, in addition to the small piece above, I highly recommend at least 2 other pieces in that publication. The first is a piece on Taylor’s involvement in Ebony supplying in Cameroon. (It starts on magazine page 12, pdf page 7). On it’s own, it’s a fascinating story about a company getting involved in its own supply chain, finding a way to work with existing government regulations, creating a better situation for the people and the forests in the area, and pretty much turning that in to a role supplying their competitors. From a purely business standpoint, I’d read an entire book on the way this evolved, regardless of what company was involved. The other small piece is from an ongoing bit they started called “What are you working on?” where they talk to people that work in their factories about their jobs. (Magazine page 28, pdf page 15). As somebody who is engrossed with manufacturing, I find it fascinating to see what people do in their plants.
I hope you enjoyed reading some of the pieces (if you were able). I always enjoy seeing what other people are doing to make their business run better and I love finding little bits of inspiration in places where I’m otherwise looking for a distraction.
Have a great weekend!
Real Life Lean
I live in a part of the United States where houses are made of board siding which requires the siding to be painted every 5-7 years. This is new to me because the parts I have lived in prior the houses were made of brick or aluminum siding. Both do not require any regular maintenance. So a few weeks ago, we had our house painted.
I had watched paint crews take a couple of days or so to paint neighbors’ houses. The crew we hired painted the house in 1 day. The process was amazing.
Most crews were 2 people. This was a 4 man crew. When they started, two men started taping off the windows and fixtures on the front of the house. The main painter started mixing the paint and hooking up his spray gun. The main painter started painting the house the base color and following the tapers around the house. When the tapers finished, the main painter was on the back of the house and the front of the house was dry enough start painted the trim a different color. The tapers started painting the trim while the sprayer was still working around the rest of the house. When the sprayer finished the two working on the trim color got help from him. Then one member broke off and started taking off the tape and then started doing the touch ups.
The fourth crew member was a runner. He mixed paint, brought paper and tape to the tapers, relieved painters during breaks and anything else that was non-value added work. He was the support system that kept everything going.
1 day. 10 hrs. 4 men. 1 custom painted house.
It was incredible to watch. They get paid by the job so everyday can be a payday but not if you take more than one day to do the job.
What real life examples have you seen?
Book Review: Agile Kids
This is my first book review on the website. I was contacted and asked to review the ebook. It is a good book and a quick read with great visuals.
Name of the Book: Agile Kids
Authors: Shirly Ronen-Harel & Danko Kovatch
Publication Date: May 2012
Book description: what’s the key message?
Shirly and Danko have spent several years working in hi-tech industry learning and implementing lean and Agile concepts. They saw a practical use for these concepts at home with their kids. Through their experiences, Shirly and Danko learned ways to implement these concepts with their kids in order to clearly define the work that needs to be done and show progress made towards completing the work.
Shirly and Danko discuss how to use visual task boards and daily update meetings as well as practical advice on how to get everyone involved. They covers everything to make the process work; the tool, the roles and responsibilities of the parents and children, how conduct a daily meeting as well as a reflection (retrospective). Shirly and Danko cover all three P’s (product, process, people) in describing the concept usage at home.
Shirly and Danko state they are not child psychologists. This is a way they have found to positively engage their children in the work that needs to be done around the house. They have found it to be fun, interactive and it drives responsibility among their children showing how lean and Agile can be used at home.
What are the highlights? What works?
Shirly and Danko do a great job of bridging lean and Agile concepts from the workplace to the home. Even with no lean or Agile experience, the concepts can be understood. The book gives great step-by-step instructions in how to go about implementing the task board, the roles and responsibilities of the parents and children as well as the daily meetings and reflections.
The pictures that are included as examples area a great help as she steps through the process. Shirly and Danko give a true sense of what the outcome can look like and how it would work. The reader can follow the process and implement the ideas they have outlined.
What are the weaknesses? What’s missing?
Sometimes the book teeters between being for someone with a lean and Agile background and being for anyone. A few times technical terminology is used. Later Shirly and Danko give the reader typical everyday terminology for the same thing. One example is using the term “backlog”, which is common computer and data terminology, to describe the list of “to-do’s” or “tasks to complete” that is easier for everyone to understand.
It would be helpful to have a Table of Contents to enable readers to find content in the book quickly. There is good reference material but the reader will be flipping page-by-page through the book to find something specific.
This is an ebook. I have a copy in .pdf format. I transferred the file to my Kindle 2 in order to read easily at home. It was very difficult to read on my Kindle. The font was extremely small, the great summaries were not readable and the pictures are harder. After three chapters, I had to read the file on my computer which was great. The pictures and graphics were vibrant and easy to see and the font was very readable. I know .pdf is not the normal format for a Kindle file, but Kindles are made to read .pdfs and this is the first time I had this trouble. It may work very well on a Kindle Fire that has color. I have not tried.
How should I read this to get the most out of it?
If the reader is someone who has lots of lean and Agile experience, the concepts are basic and easy to understand. It shows how the concepts can work at home and is easy to translate to work at the office.
If the readers do not have any lean or Agile experience, the concepts are laid out simply so anyone can understand and try to use them. It can help a parent at home or be used to understand how to implement the concepts at work.
