Who
doesn't love LEGOS? It's fun, it's practical, and...it's philosophical.
Approach Lean like a LEGO project: brick by brick.
"Today
I want you to stop worrying about that final plan, and instead focus on just
putting the next LEGO brick in the right spot. THAT'S IT." That's pretty
much how you build with LEGO. One brick at a time, placed in the right place.
Don't worry about the next brick. Just the brick in front of you.” - Steve Kamb, NerdFitness
You
build small, simple pieces that are easy to understand and then you assemble
them in a variety of complex ways to accomplish a particular goal. When faced
with a challenge that seems overwhelmingly complicated at first break it down
until you can understand the pieces, then watch how they fit together - suddenly
almost anything seems doable.
Building
with Lego bricks is a slow progression that takes patience, especially when you
have a large number of loose blocks to sort through while you are building.
Trying
to do too much when introducing a new process can be overwhelming. Strive to
accomplish small steps over time and build on your successes.
Continuous
improvement is about small changes on a daily basis to make your job
easier. Small step-by-step improvements
are more effective over time than occasional kaizen bursts, and have a
significantly greater impact on the organization culture - creating an
environment of involvement and improvement.
Small
victories tap into motivation. Achievement is fueled by making small amounts of
progress, such as accomplishing a task or solving a problem. Help employees
break projects, goals, and work assignments into small victories. Help them
jump into an achievement cycle.
Making
one small change is both rewarding to the person making the change and if
communicated to others can lead to a widespread adoption of the improvement and
the possibility that someone will improve on what has already been improved.
There's no telling what might occur if this were the everyday habit of all team
members.
Sponsored by Brick Dave. Learn more: Top 10 Ways Legos Are Educational for Your Child: Learning with LEGO
Sponsored by Brick Dave. Learn more: Top 10 Ways Legos Are Educational for Your Child: Learning with LEGO
Hi Tim
ReplyDeleteJust like in many Lego building projects were a tiny part can be the key to the whole project. In real life Lean Improvement efforts sometimes those tiny little efforts are more critical than any major improvement. The little ones also have the benefit of creating a culture built upon several successes, while it is far more likely large efforts will experience far more problems and can also fail.