A taste of reality

In most organizations, the leaders assumption about what is happening in the workplace on a daily basis does not align with what is really taking place. Does that sound surprising?

I hope not. If you are becoming involved with lean thinking in your organization, I’m sure by now you’ve heard of the gemba walk. When was the last time you were in the gemba - the place where value is added for your customer? Go there - you may be surprised at what you find.

Most leaders in organizations are really good at:

1. Setting direction with challenging targets

2. Spotting abnormalities, waste and opportunities that others fail to see.

That can sometimes lead to big frustration and stress. A feeling that you constantly have to "babysit" and subscribing to the stress reduction kit to hang on your office wall - "bank head here".

Continue Reading by clicking here ... http://leanjourney.ca/page/The-Gemba/

Norm
leanjourney.ca

Are you a consultant, coach or marketing executive?
Do you earn your living with information products?
Do you use websites, ebooks, emails or training programs to market your products?

If so, I guarantee you are leaving big money on the table – literally hundreds of thousands of dollars that could be in your pocket - real money that you are giving away - every day - unless you are using the simple secret.

This is NOT the power of the universe secret - "think positive thoughts and they will manifest themselves into your life".

No, this secret is real world, practical advice that will change your thinking about what to put into the information products you offer and thousands of dollars into your pocket. And I guarantee that this information is not available anywhere else on the planet - on the internet or off line.


http://normbain.com/page/SimpleSecret/

Norm

The Journey To Lean

Lean is not a new concept. These days most manufacturing facilities, many service companies and several public services have been introduced to the power of these tools. Many organizations claim to be using lean and several consulting firms offer implementations.

So why do so many organization struggle to implement lean? http://leanjourney.ca/page/Home/

// Norm

Learning to SEE

In my consulting business I see missed focus and missed opportunity all the time. The chaos of day-to-day survival in the corporate world makes remaining focused really, really hard. People who have been introduced to lean are pumped about implementing tools. They come back from a conference or training wanting to change the world - make a difference - let's get going! The missing ingredient is “learning to see”. Not everything is a hammer or a nail. Just because you have a tool does not mean you have to use it all the time. Take the time to "See" where to start the journey. "See" what’s really going on, not what’s supposed to happen. "Listening" to ideas from the people doing the work. "See" what’s adding value to the customer. "See" what can leadership can do and say to move the process forward today.

I’m tempted to fall into this chaos trap myself. When visiting a business, I’ll often spot an opportunity to apply something I’ve learned while running the restaurant, or from the world of manufacturing. It's really tempting to stop and spew my "great" ideas. It’s totally painful not to point these ideas out to business leaders right then and there - on the spot. While it may be a great thought or idea, it’s essential as a consultant or coach to remember implementing change is like feeding the birds

Christian Mickelsen pointed out these 3 insights from watching people feed the birds;

#1) When you chase anyone, their instinctive reaction is to run away. Even when you chase them with something they want!

#2) When you toss out a few tasty bits, you start attracting to the point of having them eating out of the palm of your hand.

#3) When overwhelmed they moved on, even though there is “all you can eat” right in front of them!

So the strategy for implementing change in your business is the same as attracting customers to your business. Feed them a little bit at a time until you have established yourself as the trusted go-to person for what they are looking for.


Norm www.normbain.com

Leaving LeadPages ... Here's Why You Should Too

They want you to pay a monthly fee for "hosting" while constantly asking you to upgrade, upgrade, upgrade just to get ANY of the features and functions that you REALLY need to build robust and high converting sales pages.

And yet, this EXACT scheme that most "point & click" page building companies are running can be hosted on your own site.

Here's how ... with web builder tricks http://namron.ca/page/WebTools/

The Road To Independence

Six weeks after closing the Restaurant and I’m still wide awake at 4am each morning. I guess those years of 18 hour work days have developed early rising into a habit. No alarm required. Watching the sun come up has given me the time to reflect on this next phase of life’s game plan Click to continue reading ...


Norm www.normanbain.com