Second Year Hansei at A Lean Journey

Two years ago today I started this blog and as I did last year hansei or self reflection is appropriate and necessary.  I believe without stopping and looking at where you have been it is hard to move forward.  Like in Lean this too has been a journey.  

Let me start by revisiting my first year of blogging.  I entered this endeavor without a plan and limited knowledge of blogging, social media tools, and even writing.  My goal was simple: grow the number of blog readers. I was pretty successful in doing just that my first year. This result was not without the help of a number of great people and those relationships have continued to grow.  Looking forward to my second year I planned to do continue developing good content, learning more, sharing ideas, and dialogging with other Lean thinkers.

So how did I do?  Well, let's look at a couple of measures.

Maybe looking at this quarterly is an easier way to see the data.

I think the number of repeat visitors is a measure of success over time.

My Lean Quote and Lean Roundup series are the most popular series of posts.  The most popular post this past year was the Personal Kanban Kaizen at about 3000 views representing only 5% of the total views.

About a year ago I created a facebook page and I wanted to increase the number of likes on my page.  So at the end of last summer I created the idea of posting a Daily Lean Tip as a way to create a unique value for this page.  I now have over 200 tips posted and about 300 facebook fans.

This past year I also had a chance to embark into a number of other projects.  My good friend Jeff Hajek and I started a monthly webinar series where we share some of our Lean knowledge from experience.  I spoke about Lean Product Development at a local Lean conference in the fall.  A number of authors have asked for book reviews which has been a great learning experience.  I recently had the opportunity to co-author a lean reference book for ASQ that my good friend Tony Manos is leading. 

In looking back, I have had a number of new experiences this past year.  Again, I continue to learn a wealth of knowledge from so many other great Lean Thinkers, many of which I highlight monthly.  As in life and business the people aspect of my blogging experience is the part I treasure the most.  

An important element in hansei is continuous improvement. So I guess it is appropriate to ask what is next?  Well, I would like to create more engagement with my readers. I am not exactly sure how to do that yet. Any suggestions? In the next year, I would like to bring my LinkedIn Group into the fold along with the blog and facebook.  I'd also like to add some guest posts from those Lean Thinkers I talk about each month.

I'd like to know what you think of my second year at blogging. What do you like? What can be improved?  If you have ideas on posts or Lean questions I can answer let me know.  I value your feedback since without you I couldn't do this.  Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my journey with you.


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Lean Quote: Spend Less Time and Energy By Solving Problems

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.

"Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than trying to solve them." — Henry Ford

When it come to problem solving some like band-aids and temporary solutions rather than to solve the root cause. Root cause analysis is the process of methodically gathering and ordering or ranking data about the causes of counter-quality within an organization, then identifying and assessing prevention options for implementability and effectiveness.

The following definitions are important to understand when finding the root cause.

A PROBLEM is the situation that you are primarily concerned about. Example: copy machine malfunction.

A SYMPTOM is the result or consequence of the problem. Example: blurred copies.

A CAUSE is the reason you have the problem. Example: a worn out part.

A SOLUTION is what you decide to do about the problem. Example: replace the part.

Keep in mind:

Corrective Action - Addresses the PROBLEM at hand

Root Cause Analysis - Addresses the RECURRENCE

Preventive Action - Addresses the OCCURRENCE

Root cause analysis determines the underlying cause(s) that need to be addressed to effectively prevent or to lower the probability of a recurrence of the problem. If we do a poor job of identifying the root causes of our problems, we will waste time and resources putting band-aids on the symptoms of

the problem.

Symptom Approach                     Root Cause

• “Errors are often a result of         • “Errors are the result of

worker carelessness.”                   defects in the system.

                                                       People are only part of the 

                                                       process.”

• “We need to train and                  • “We don’t have the time or

motivate workers to be                   resources to really get to the

more careful.”                                 bottom of this problem.”

• “We need to find out why this      • “This is critical. We need to 

is happening, and implement         fix it for good, or it will come

mistake proofs so it won’t              back and burn us."

happen again.”

Root cause analysis helps us reduce turnbacks and frustration, maintain customer satisfaction, and reduce costs significantly. Put your time and energy into solving problems by identifying the root causes and preventing them from occurring. 

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8 Ways to Develop Winning Teams in Lean Organizations Replayed

Jeff Hajek and Tim McMahon  discuss how to develop a winning team in a Lean company. In the April, 2011 episode of their live Lean broadcast, they dive into some practical tips about how to improve the performance of the people working in a continuous improvement culture--all in a way that preserves job satisfaction.



Join Jeff and I for our next webinar:

8 Things to Avoid to Make  Your Kaizen More Successful

Join us for a Webinar on May 23 Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/360559934 A successful kaizen event comes from knowing what to avoid as much as  from knowing what to do. Tim McMahon and Jeff Hajek dive into this topic by  discussing 8 things that can derail your improvement project, and how to  prevent them from happening. This 30 minute webinar, plus 15 minutes for questions and answers, will  provide you with some good information you can use to make your kaizen  activity more effective. Title: 8 Things to Avoid to Make Your Kaizen More Successful Date: Monday, May 23, 2011 Time: 11:00 AM - 11:45 PM PDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information  about joining the Webinar.

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Lean Manufacturing Presentation from EASTEC 2011

Yesterday, while at EASTEC, The East Coast's Largest Annual Manufacturing Event, I have a chance to listen to a number of great presentations on Lean topics.  One of them was from Peter Lariviere, Lista International Corporation CEO,  where he describes Lista's Lean journey.  This CEO seems to really understand Lean.  He provides a great definition of Lean:

• Engage the best thinking of all our employees
• Eliminate waste
• Enhancing value added processes in the eyes of the customer

Here is a sampling of this presentation that also includes a number of great Lean examples from their operations:




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Book Review: Personal Kanban - Mapping Work/Navigating Flow

It was about a year ago while searching for a productivity tool for myself that I came across the Personal Kanban system by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry. Now they have published a book detailing their system called Personal Kanban: Mapping Work/Navigating Life. Most books on productivity focus on doing more but Jim and Tonianne share a system to focus on doing the right work at the right time.

Personal Kanban is a simple system with dramatic results. It helps us manage ourselves, but also lets us share our work and our goals with others. Personal Kanban creates a visual display of work elements and allows you to manage your workflow.

The beauty of the Personal kanban system is that it is endlessly flexible. Our lives are not static, and neither is our work. Personal Kanban evolves as our context changes, encouraging us to innovate and invent in response to the variation we encounter daily.

There are only two rules with Personal Kanban:

     1. Visualize your work
     2. Limit your work-in-progress

Think of Personal Kanban as a dynamic, interactive map that surveys your personal landscape for lies heard, what you are doing now, and what you did.

Jim and Tonianne take you through the steps of creating your own Personal Kanban:

     1. Getting Your Stuff Ready
     2. Establishing Your Value Streams
     3. Establishing Your Backlog
     4. Establishing Your WIP Limit
     5. Begin To Flow or Pull
     6. Reflection

They also talk about prioritizing your tasks and relate the Personal Kanban thinking to that of other time management theories like Covey’s Urgent and Important Matrix. There is even a section on metrics to help you gauge your progress. Jim and Tonianne conclude with the importance of retrospection and introspection which lead to improvement and solving problems at their source.

Personal Kanban is a fun, practical read on time management. Each chapter ends with several Personal Kanban Flow Tips that summarize the key points of that chapter. The appendix of the book covers several Personal Kanban designs that will surely stimulate thoughts for your system. Jim and Tonianne have included numerous visuals to facilitate learning this productivity system.

There are two key takeaways from this book: Work unseen is work uncontrolled and we can’t (and shouldn’t) do more work than we can handle. Personal Kanban can help us see life’s complexities and make better decisions. With introspection, kaizen, and retrospectives we are better informed, more attentive, and relaxed.

As someone who has used this system, Jim and Tonianne have done a great job in this well written book explaining a novel productivity system. This book is a must have for anyone looking to become not only more productive, but also effective, and efficient. It serves as a guide, a springboard, and a mentor for establishing your own system. And remember Personal Kanban facilitates kaizen.


Note: The authors provided a copy of this book for review.

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Lean at Home: My Visual Schedule

I am often asked if I practice Lean at home. In my experience true Lean practitioners don't separate home and work.  They can't shut it off.  They are trained to find waste and put countermeasures in place to improve the situation.  I am continually teaching my family about Lean so we can make things easier  and better.

I thought I would share one example of Lean from our home. My wife and I are very busy with our 3 kids between the ages of 4 and 8. There are school activities, sports, church activities, scouting, youth hockey association (board members), and parent-teacher association (wife is treasurer).  This is probably like most households with young kids.  It is extremely important that we are organized and have a plan.  We use a central calendar on the fridge to keep track of all our activities.

The calendar is simple but the color coded writing tells a message:

• Black - family meals, we plan out the plan out the entire week on Sunday
• Red - Kid activities or meetings that we need to go to
• Blue - Tasks, things we must due by these dates

This helps keep us organized, forces us to plan ahead, communicate our plan, and keep our sanity.

Do you practice Lean at home?  Share your experiences in the comments section.

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Lean Quote: Successful Manager Have an Appetite for Learning and Work on Themselves

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 best managers are those who have an appetite for learning and are willing to work on themselves." — From " Becoming a Manager " by Linda A.Hill

Leadership is very important. One must learn how to become a leader first before becoming a master manager. Managers provide a direction for the employees and lead them by power, influence, vision, persuasion and communication skills.

Here are 10 good traits and characteristics of successful managers:

Be a Role Model – Remember that you are the leader for the people who work under you. They will mirror you and your work ethics. Be worthy of being a role model.

See Possibilities – Good managers know how to bring out the best in others. They look for possibilities that perhaps no one else can see.

Be Creative – A creative manager separates a competent manager from an exceptional one. Creativity adds that special spark to otherwise mundane responsibilities and projects, and can act as an inspirational tool for co-workers and other employees.

Great Customer Service Skills – No matter what type of business you are in, you can benefit from having a manager who is excellent in dealing with customers and clients.

Being a Team Player – The manager has to be someone who is committed to working with a team of people for the improvement of the whole business. This means that the manager isn't in the business solely for the selfish reasons of "getting ahead". Instead, they are is interested in growing the business because it is going to be to his benefit as well as to the benefit of the other people working with him in the company.

Commit – Commit not only to the success of your team’s project, but to your team members as well. Remember: your level of commitment is contagious.

Be ‘Human’ – Don’ let your authority create a gap between you and the members of your team. There is nothing wrong with being yourself. Be someone your team members can look up to. Gain respect, loyalty and a good connection that way.

Stay Versatile – There is always room for flexibility and versatility. Be open to sudden changes and others suggestions – even if they are a junior.

Optimistic Attitude – You don't want a manager who is calm but indifferent. You want a manager who is going to approach each project and each work day with an optimistic attitude. You want a manager who will come in smiling and who will express genuinely good feelings about the work that she is doing with her team. This will help to keep morale in the business high which leads to satisfied employees and higher rates of productivity.

Have Fun While You Work – A good manager knows how to have a good balance between being professional at work and having fun in the process. I’ve known this quality to work wonders in combating attrition as well! But don’t forget, there is a very fine line between having fun while you work and still staying focused.

If you are willing to learn to be a great manager from other great managers and work on improving yourself in terms of these 10 characteristics you will find you will be successful, too.

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