Recognizing a Lean Organization

First impressions are lasting! When I walk into your organization, what impression will you leave? What story do your people tell? What message do they send? Does the story and message align? Do you walk the talk?

Lean organizations never fail to impress me. From the wait time at reception, through the safety orientation and the facility walk through, these organizations have their act together. It’s about caring for people and the total customer experience. Whether the visitor is a customer, a prospective employee, or a tourist, you only have one chance to make that first impression.

What do I notice and look for during that first walk through at a facility? What are the indications that this company has their act together and is on their way to becoming a lean enterprise?

Here is a short list of some tell tale signs;

• Clear signage to guide me through the lot and the visitor parking area to reception.
• The kaizen award parking stall designation near the front door.
• The absence of designated parking by position or status in the organization.
• A friendly greeting by reception, a smile that indicates they enjoy being part of the team and a wait time commitment that reflects respect for me and my time.
• A simple mission, vision and values statement that aligns with posted community involvement and engagement initiatives.
• Transfer of that mission and vision to a posted true north dashboard once inside.
• Communication boards that are current and relevant.
• Team engagement and recognition, photos of team members and success delivered by CI teams.
• Visual display boards at work centers highlighting what takes priority today.
• Work centers arranged to optimize flow.
• Visual indicators for wayfinding, process flow, inventory control and WIP management.
• Stoplight controls for problem awareness and designation of ownership and accountability (who is doing what by when)
• Standard work procedures that are posted.
• Cross training, demonstrated skills and abilities matrix by station.
• Takt time, cycle time and deviation correction indications.
• 5Y problem solving and CI initiatives by workstation.
• A lack of cupboards, drawers and closets to “hide” clutter.
• Batch size and material movement methods.
• An indication that equipment is cleaned and inspected regularly.
• A workforce that is engaged and enthused about their work and the organization. A work team that talks about what they are doing to improve

As I dig deeper into the organization with the leadership, we’ll discuss their metrics, how they are becoming a learning organization and the initiatives underway to build and maintain the culture they envision. We’ll discuss their vision for the future, the coming months and how they are transforming that vision to an action plan for strategic deployment.

In a lean enterprise, I rarely hear “it won’t work here” or “I’ve been meaning to try that”. It seems that excuses get replaced by actions in the world of lean. And that energy is contagious!


Norm
www.normanbain.com

Make things happen

Just read an interesting post by Gina Trapani who blogs at http://smarterware.org/ that I thought I'd share here. It speaks to the heart of focused change.

Getting things done is not the same as making things happen.

You can…
…reply to email.
…pay the bills.
…cross off to-do’s.
…fulfill your obligation.
…repeat what you heard.
…go with the flow.
…anticipate roadblocks.
…aim for “good enough.”

Or you can…

…organize a community.
…take a risk.
…set ambitious goals.
…give more than you take.
…change perceptions.
…forge a new path.
…create possibility.
…demand excellence.

Don’t worry too much about getting things done.

Make things happen.



Norm
www.normanbain.com

Strategy and Approach to Value Stream Mapping

What is Value Stream Mapping?

All businesses consist of processes. Processes for purchasing materials, receiving materials, storing materials, modifying materials, making parts, moving parts, assembling parts, packaging parts, verifying parts, shipping parts, creating invoices, receiving payments, keeping score, recruiting talent, rewarding talent, training talent ... the list as endless as the imagination and complexity of the organization.

However, many of these processes do not add value for the customer.

The customer is defined as the person who uses your product or service. Your customer may not particularly care if you have a harassment policy and have everyone trained in its application. Your customer may not see value in the time your team spends waiting for instruction or searching for tools. We can all identify several activities that, if viewed through our customers eyes, would not be considered adding value.

To be considered value added, the activity must meet three conditions; (1) it must be something that the customer would be willing to pay for, (2) it must change the “thing” as it moves through the process, and (3) it must be done right the first time. Rework in any form does not add value.

Value stream mapping looks at the flow of product through your entire process and links together the steps that add value. At each of these steps we determine who is involved involved, the time it takes, the value added time it takes, the inventory of parts and product on hand, the signals and instruction that tell us what and when to build.

A value stream map displays a picture of how material and instructions move product through a value stream. So the first step in creating a value stream map, is identifying the value stream. What product, or family of products are we trying to map?

Key things to consider; What products share common processes? Where does the value stream start and end (order entry to shipment)? Are there optional processes? Does everyone on every shift perform the tasks in the same sequence, using the same equipment and the same procedure? Have we asked the people currently doing the work if this is how they really do it today?

Once the map is complete, it will clearly show how long it takes material to flow through the value stream (our lead time) and some opportunities for improvement will become apparent.

A value stream mapping exercise typically starts with a “scoping exercise”. This exercise looks at each step in the process and identifies;

(1) What is the main activity at this step? What comes in and what goes out?
(2) How long does it take (best time, worst time, average time)?
(3) How much of that time is adding value?
(4) What materials are required, how much do we have, how much do we need?
(5) What is our cue to do work (a schedule, an empty shelf, supervisory instruction)?
(6) How long does it take to set up the equipment/job?
(7) How do we move material into the station and out of the station? What is the cue to move?
To complete the scoping exercise, someone who is familiar with the work performed at this step needs to be present.

Once we have completed the scoping exercise, others working in the area should review the result to ensure nothing was missed or overlooked.

Once each step in the value stream has been identified and documented in the scoping exercise, we can transfer this information to a value stream map. The map will present a picture of how our value steam functions and give some insight into how the process can be improved.

The following steps are required in value stream mapping:




The value stream mapping exercise will clearly show where problems/opportunities exist with material and communication flow through the facility. The leadership of the area along with the work team can use this information to formulate an improvement strategy to improve this flow through the value stream.

Value stream mapping is a powerful tool to provide insight to value stream throughput improvement.



Norm
www.normanbain.com

In todays economy - why not create your own job?

Do you have a hobby that you absolutely love? Are you an expert at something? If so, you just might be able to turn that hobby into a few extra bucks every month.

I'm sure you've heard that “it’s not work if you love what you do”. In reality, however, most of us are stuck in jobs we don’t love, working for people we don’t respect, and feel we are going no-where fast. We stay, because we are worried about paying the rent and getting out of debt.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could turn what you love to do into your full time job? Time flies when you're having fun — doing what you gladly spend your other 8 hours doing! Why not make money doing that?

Check out Melanie Jordan's book What you know is worth more than you think!

Here are some things to consider:

1. What can you teach? Before you say "nothing", take a moment and really think about this. Take some time to brainstorm your talents, skills and interests. Do you speak another language? Are you a marketing whiz? Have you mastered social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook?

2. What can you do from home? Brand building. Build web sites. Process forms. Do company billing from home.

3. How much can you make? Consultants and teachers can make $100 to $300 an hour! Freelancers can earn $20 - $100 an hour. Not bad for doing something you enjoy.

The list is endless. Limited only by YOUR imagination. Best success . . .

Get started NOW - With the book "What you know is worth more than you think!"


Norm
www.normanbain.com

The Untold Secret To Lean

The Untold Secret to Whole Business Improvement with Lean Thinking and the Lies you’ve been told about Lean so far!

More companies are becoming frustrated with their efforts to reduce waste and improve profits by implementing lean tools. In this article, we explore the untold secret of Lean and expose why so many companies have failed to deliver the results promised by Lean Thinking.


I’ve been teaching Lean tools for a decade. I was introduced to the tools when I was working as a Tier-1 supplier for Toyota. Before that, I was a proponent of TQM, SPC, and Six Sigma. The tools and foundation of lean thinking has been with me for most of my working career. It was not until I was in my third year as a Lean Consultant that I realized why Lean does not work for many companies. Why they report disappointing results and why the journey to becoming a lean enterprise eludes so many organizations.

Contrary to popular belief, lean thinking is NOT about reducing waste. It is NOT about value through the customer’s eyes, and it is NOT about applying tools on the value stream.

Like many lean practitioners, I got caught up in applying the tools. Identifying the value stream. Eliminating waste. Introducing flow, laying out work cells, implementing kanban, pull and staging kaizen events. In the process, I missed the point. The point that most companies miss. The secret to what makes lean work anywhere.

The tools seem pretty sexy and we get caught up in the buzz about what tool works where. What is the bottleneck process? How can I elevate the constraint? Why I should not try to solve all the problems at once?

Looking back, every book and training presentation I reviewed about lean touched on the secret. But somehow, I missed it. And I’m betting you did too. So here it is, simply and concisely. The “secret” to making lean work anywhere:


Get the rest of this post by clicking here

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Changing Behaviour

I have been challenged with involvement and compliance in an office waste reduction initiative. In our self assessment study, we identified that meetings and emails demanded 20% of our office workers week. The same self-assessment indicated that 78% of the time for emails and 57% of the time spent in meetings was considered wasted by those who participated.

Regardless of this result, people working in the office were reluctant to rate themselves and provide feedback to each other on what they considered wasteful and how to improve. Third party audits are snapshots in time - we are looking for ways to engage and change the office culture to eliminate waste.

I ran across an interesting approach taken by Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital (BJSPH) in St. Peters, MO. If you have been struggling with the carrot/stick approach to changing behaviour, their model may be of interest. Click here for their approach.

Anyone seeing the results of our self assessment agrees that we are on the right track. What is your experience in changing behaviour to support "doing the right thing".

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Why do CI tools fail to deliver results.

I had an interesting discussion with a client this morning. We have been talking through his organizational challenges and he was pondering which tool we should be using next.

I received an email from Seth Godin today that struck me following this conversation. Seth’s message was that “to a person with a hammer, every problem seems like a nail”. While I had heard this axiom before, it really hit home today.

Perhaps this is why many people are not seeing the results that they are striving for with their continuous improvement initiatives. Rather than looking at their organization systematically and identifying the opportunities for waste elimination, we look in our toolbox and select which tool to play with next.

With all the focus on tools, we can easily lose perspective on a systems approach. The opportunities in the organization drive the need for the tools. Our understanding of lean thinking helps us select the right tool to apply. We should not be selecting the hammer and go hunting for loose nails.

Perhaps this is a common problem when learning the tools. Perhaps this is why I hear “we tried that before - lean does not work here”. I’d hate to see the doctor for a head cold and be told he recommends surgery, just because he is a surgeon.

Food for thought.

Norm
www.normanbain.com

The Journey to Whole Business Improvement

Why do change management initiatives fall short of the mark after delivering such promising initial success? Why are gains in one area of the business difficult to duplicate in others? Why are many businesses disappointed with the results of their improvement initiative? Why are the concepts of lean manufacturing difficult to apply outside the factory? How can I engage the entire organization in the improvement plan? These are the questions answered in this brief discussion on whole business improvement by applying “Lean Thinking”.

How profitable is your organization? Profit is the lifeblood of business. Every business needs profit. Without it, they will not be in business for long.

This graph from www.p360.org,

shows the typical profit margins for selected industries. Most fall between 1 and 20%.

A company with a 6% profit margin must generate $983,000 in sales to pay for a $59,000 improvement project. Is that what your employees think about when they propose that new computer system?

Most manufacturing operations have a profit margin of less than 8%. While the target gross profit margin is typically much higher (35%), the finance and G&A costs erode that number significantly.

While other industries can generate higher profit margins, we commonly hear the following statements in traditional organizations:

• It takes too long to get products through the process.
• Administration costs are climbing faster than sales.
• We need more people.
• Problems with our products go undetected until our customers are using them.
• Things are fixed, but they don’t stay fixed.
• Our inventory is too high. Yet we don’t have what our customer wants in stock.
• We tried that before. It won’t work here.
• You don’t understand the culture here. That’s not the way we do things. Its different in our industry.
• We have quality teams, continuous improvement teams, ISO programs, re-engineering efforts, balanced scorecards, six sigma trained black belts. Its like the flavour of the month program, yet we are not seeing the results in real numbers.

When you hear the word Lean, what do you think about? “Manufacturing”, is the usual first response. “Lean Manufacturing”. Toyota is the example most often used. Toyota and Cars. Assembly line manufacturing. That’s what most people think Lean is.

Manufacturing is also the first place many people look to implement improvements. Yet manufacturing processes typically account for less than 20% of the total process lead time (the time it takes from when you get a customer order, to when you cash the cheque).

It may seem surprising, but Lean thinking has nothing to do with cars - or manufacturing. It is about eliminating waste and solving problems in processes. Any process.

The challenge with lean is in seeing the problems, identifying the waste.

In most manufacturing operations, only 5% of activities add value for the customer. Adding value means (1) it changes the thing going through the process, (2) the customer is willing to pay for the activity, and (3) it is done right the first time. This implies that 95% of what we do does NOT add value and is potential waste. In offices, the waste is even higher.

Managers and supervisors will only see 2% of the waste.

In office and administrative service environments, supervisors and managers only see 2% of the waste. They are too far removed from the daily work to see the waste.

The people doing the work have learned to live with the waste. They may have created work-arounds in the system to get things done. These, in themselves, add more waste.

What are these unseen wastes? The time it takes to find a document. The extra signature required on an expense statement. The rework on a proposal because the correct template was not used. The time it takes to walk across the building to photocopy a report. A power point presentation made, just in case the boss asks for it. The meeting that does not start on time or runs too long. The manager who “walks the floor” to “see what is going on”.

In a typical office, it is assumed that if people are at their desks and look busy, they are adding value. All seems well, especially if they have a good attitude.

A purchasing person who works hard, never takes breaks and is always helpful will be seen as a stellar employee. The fact that he takes 25% longer to complete the task due to poor training or lack of resources will be overlooked.

When we apply Lean Thinking in an organization, we look at how we do the work, how the system can be improved, what waste we can find and eliminate. Its not about the person doing the work - whether they are a “good worker” or not. Its about improving the work methods, standardizing processes, providing training and increasing skills.

Lean thinking is about is solving problems, elegantly, with innovation

Learning to identify and eliminate waste is fundamental to lean thinking. We must learn to see waste, and systematically eliminate it.

Thinking of problems as opportunities is not something we are trained to do. With lean, we need to learn to treasure problems - celebrate finding them – this is our opportunity to improve!

Once we clearly see the problem, the root cause must be identified. This requires some structured problem solving. We need to avoid treating the symptoms. Unless we identify the true root cause, the problem will re-occur.

Once the problem and its root cause is clearly understood, we can create solutions. An elegant solution can be a single tiny idea that changes everything. Quite often, this solution is not spending capital.

An elegant solution is one in which the desired effect is achieved, with the least amount of effort. John W. Gardner, the former US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, once said, "We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insolvable problems."

Elegant solutions are not obvious, except in retrospect.

Organizational Change.

Leaders like silver bullets. Take this tool, transplant it to my organization and everything will be magically fixed.

That’s the flavour of the month.

We end up with so many tools and initiatives underway that we can’t support them all. We keep dropping the ball.

Lean requires a more systematic approach. It has some well known tools to use, but requires discipline, structure and mentoring to make it work. This is why so many organizations report they are disappointed with their lean initiative results. The tools are applied without the systematic approach. “Lean does not work here”, they say.

A flaw with Lean is in the tools themselves. They are simple and when observed in the factory, they seem like common sense. So leaders take the tools from the plant floor and transplant them on their office or service organization. They don’t transplant easily. I don’t see accountants and engineers respond well to tape outlines for their stapler and keyboard.

Truth be known, Lean Thinking works anywhere. Health care, offices, engineering design, sales teams, construction projects, mining industries. Anywhere work gets done, Lean Thinking can be applied. However, it takes a strategic and systematic approach to be successful.

How do I do that?

Working on how we do the work.

A key limitation of traditional improvement initiatives is that they focus on ...

Click here to download the rest of this article.

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Trust, Respect and Integrity

People say you can't do business with friends and family. They strongly caution against it. They say it is a recipe for disaster.

I say this is a fallacy. My business is built on relationships. The majority of my business comes through my network of contacts. Through the business relationship we become friends and referrals follow. The key is mutual Trust, Respect and Integrity.

I've been doing a great deal of work on the topic of Lean Communication. Through my association with OEM Consultants, I have been working with groups to understand and build on this model of 100% trust and 100% respect. While I'm discovering this communication model, I'm learning that lean communication is not easy or simple. Its tough to communicate clearly, with few words and no assumptions. I know what happens when I assume things ... I make an ASS of U and ME. Yet assumptions continue to be prevalent in my life and my discussions, as I'm sure you experience in yours.

I was taught that trust and respect is earned. I preached that mindset to my kids. My professional experience has shown that there are people who will benefit from my action and ideas to my own detriment. I've discovered that this belief is one reason why change is resisted in organizations. Who will get the credit? I've also learned that this is not the norm. Most do not react this way.

If you are building a team that will effect change in an organization, you must understand the organizational culture. You must build accountability into the team. And that demands mutual trust, respect and accountability.

I started my career in management when teams were all the rage. Individual effort was ignored and individual recognition was discouraged. There is no "I" in "Team". I began to speak in terms of we, rather that I. So much so, that I once had a recruiter ask me exactly what my involvement was in an important improvement project I was describing. I had led the project and driven the results, but had been programmed to talk in terms of "we", not "I".

Times have changed. We live in an age of perceived "entitlement". People tend to think the world owes them something, yet they are not accountable for anything. Perhaps we lost that accountability by focusing on teams. Who, exactly, is "we" when the team work is not done.

There may not be an "I" in team, but there is a "me" if you look for it. Part of lean communication is understanding my responsibility, accepting that responsibility and being accountable for delivering in my role on the team.

I'm coming to understand that lean communication may be the foundation for lean thinking. If we can communicate more effectively, we drive out waste. That is a key principal in lean thinking. And lean thinking can be applied to manufacturing, health care, offices, design houses or any business model.

Lean communication starts on a foundation of trust and respect. Without trust and respect we lose accountability. We lose integrity. And without accountability and integrity we miss the results. So becoming a practitioner of lean communication my be a great foundation to becoming a lean organization.

This foundation of trust, respect and integrity is what makes friendships and family work so well. We don't betray that foundation with family or friends. So why do we in business?

If you would like to learn more about lean communications, contact George at OEM Consultants. Its a different approach. I'm finding it effective. I think its fascinating. I have a lot to learn before I become a lean communicator.

Norm
www.normanbain.com

For more information, see my post on Leadership and Self Deception

An on-line 5-why problem solving tool

I have had several questions come my way lately about how 5-why can work as an effective tool for problem solving. I explored this topic on this blog at this post in the past.

I thought it might be fun to create a tool to manage the 5-why process for team problem solving on-line. I could not find one, so I built a 5-why problem solving website. Its free for anyone who wants to try it.

You can explore it by adding a problem here:
http://www.leanjourney.ca/5Why/5why.php

To explore the 5-why example in the earlier post click below:
http://www.leanjourney.ca/5Why/problemsolve.php?qid=1&qcode=uocz3vae

Have fun!


Norm
www.normanbain.com

Making my website work

Recently, I’ve had an increasing number of discussions with clients who are VERY dissatisfied with their websites. This seems to be a continuing theme as more people develop their on-line presence. What prompted this blog, however, was an email I received about how bad this situation has become. Kate was PISSED OFF to say the least about web designers who create “award winning” sites that cost huge amounts of money and do nothing for the business owner – no measurable improvement in business from being on-line.

A web site should be your online calling card. It should NOT be a status symbol. It should bring in business and MAKE money for you. Is YOUR website doing that for you?

Kate went on to say that the web designers she contacted did not even discuss SEO, keyword placement, traffic, conversion etc. When I discussed these things with her, she was genuinely shocked – the designers she talked to apparently gave this little or NO consideration. Just a pretty site with some cool flash animations.

Before you take the plunge and create a website, be sure to give consideration to what you want your website to do. In particular, give serious consideration to what your CUSTOMERS want from your website.

For more information, download my free ebook, how to make your website work as hard as you do!

Best Success

Norm Bain
www.normanbain.com
Contact Me

Lean Product Development

Thinking Lean is usually associated with manufacturing processes. Many people lose sight of how to apply lean concepts outside the manufacturing plant floor. Articles and case studies are readily available to assist someone starting their lean journey in manufacturing. Not so much is available for those in office environments, accounting departments, engineering teams or in service industries like health care.

While this blog post is geared toward lean product development (concept, design, engineering, production readiness), it applies to lean thinking in many venues. It may provide some insight on how to approach your lean journey.

How would you feel if you reduced your product design cycle by 50%. Kudos all around! How would you react if you were tasked by your boss to deliver your next design project to the market in half the time. How would you approach this challenge? These are the results that design teams are achieving through lean product development. Read on to discover how you can apply these tools in your facility.

In applying lean to the product development process, there are six key issues to explore; focus, clarity, alignment, ideation, WIFM and strategy. We’ll briefly explore each.

Focus

Lean thinking demands we develop our skill in identifying and eliminating waste. We focus our effort on the value stream – the things that provide value for our customer. In office environments, waste manifests itself in several forms. The two most common are distractions and lack of coordination.

Distractions come in the form of interruptions. People requiring assistance, problems that arise, email and spam, letters and correspondence. Each of these place demands on our time – and the result is time, our most precious resource, is wasted. Consistently, in time studies, 60-70% of our day is spent on activities that do not add value to the customer in the product development process. We’re too busy fighting fires.

Lack of coordination translates directly to rework. Priorities change, steps are missed, specifications change, the customer requirements shift. Typically meetings are twice as long as they need to be and have the wrong people at the table. Several people in a typical meeting room do not contribute to the discussion and distract others by texting away on their blackberries. The people who should be in the room are too busy to show up and do not send updates or designates. Meetings don’t start on time and consistently run overtime.

In fact, the first step in improving lead time for product development is waste elimination through time management and communication. Meeting rules, email rules, 5S for the office cubicle, standup coordination meetings and dedicated time for project work are a good place to start.

Clarity

The workplace is a social experience. Many people love to tell stories and debate trivial or low priority points or tasks. Some people spend more time figuring out how not to do something than it would take to just get it done.

Communication in all forms should be clear, concise and to the point. Verification that the intended message was received and understood is essential. The social media site Twitter is a lesson in showing us how to be concise. Summarize your message in just a few lines, and link me to more information if I need it. Tell your story in the subject line of your email – then I don’t even have to open it! When we get good at shortening our message, we don’t have to use the kids acronym language to convey our message. We just become more thoughtful and concise – we think about the customer, the reader, and how they will interpret our message.

Developing lean communication skills should become a priority for your team – and like any skill it must be learned and developed through practice. Develop a safe feedback method to identify and correct team member undesired behaviour and provide tools for your team to measure progress as they improve.

Alignment

In many organizations the structure of the design team itself leads to inefficiencies. Most designers have several bosses and many projects underway simultaneously. While most of us believe we are good multi-taskers, in reality few of us are. We struggle to move each project forward at the same time and all projects are delayed as a result. Traditional design houses are organized by function. This creates its own problems with islands of expertise – similar to departments in manufacturing. Ideally, the organization should be re-arranged by value stream (work flow through cells). In practice, a matrix organization typically develops and this creates its own unique challenges.

Utilize visual management tools focussed on project deliverables to align your team. Toyota’s Oobeya (the big project room) is a great model for this. While many companies do not have the resources to create this type of focussed room, the tools of this model can be readily applied. Use the lean moto “borrow with pride” or “steal shamelessly”. Where you see a good idea that will make you more effective – use it!

Oobeya starts with a model, a visual representation of what we are building to ground the team, focus on the customer and facilitate Quick Problem Solving (QPS). Out of the model flows a graphic representation of the project objectives with links to the corporate strategy or larger project plan. From the objectives, the expected outcomes are displayed and reported along with any urgent issues. From the expected outcomes, the team develops metrics to measure performance and report progress using a Red/Green stoplight approach. Quality, cost and project timing are all included so the team gets a full picture of project status. Next to the metrics, a project schedule defines deliverables by department. This is broken down on a decomposition board to schedule items requiring urgent attention more closely. Issues are clearly posted, whether they are potential or real and the resolution is displayed for communication of lessons learned. From the issues board, an escalated items area is dedicated to issues that require involvement from outside the team, typically decisions by management. The room reads like a storyboard and tells the story at a glance of how the project is progressing as well as how the team is identifying and dealing with issues.

Adopting just a few of these visual tools in your project area will help align your team and smooth the work flow.

What’s In It For Me (WIFM)

Surprisingly, for people not regularly exposed to design teams and engineering professionals, accountability can be a real problem. As professionals we think we know how to manage our projects effectively and do not react well to feedback on performance. Managers tend to step back and let the team work the black box magic that it takes to create the design. Delays and missed project milestones result.

So how do we instil accountability in an organization? Typically, it starts with clarification of roles and responsibilities. Everyone must understand what they are responsible for in terms of expertise, deliverables and timelines. The players themselves must determine how they are going to approach and deliver their tasks on time. The leader asks questions to assure themselves that the expertise and approach will deliver the desired result. Ease off the questioning and pressure as they “get it” and provide positive feedback as results are delivered. This coaching approach will instil accountability and earned trust in the organization.

Transforming the culture of an organization is a never ending and primary task for the leadership. Re-enforcing desired behaviour through constructive feedback is key. If you have read Leadership and Self Deception (Berrett-Koehler Publishers) you will identify with being “out of the box” when you do this to be effective.

Ideation

Ideation is the process for forming ideas or images. Using lean visual management and story boards in the product development area to generate and capture ideas, solutions and improvements will yield surprising results. The creativity and collaboration possible with visual problem solving continues to amaze me. When used with creative teams, the results are impressive. Get out of the cubicle and get some group think happening.

Approach

So what is the approach to implementing lean product development? Where do I start?

Lean’s PDCA cycle is a great model to follow. Start with an assessment of where you are – how lean are you and what are the wastes. A day in the life of your team member is a great place to start.

Once the status of lean in your group has been established, identify the top wastes to be addressed and provide an introductory orientation/training session for the team. Starting with lean communications is appropriate in most design teams.

As you implement the corrective action ideas, pay close attention to what the team is saying. This will give you clues of where to dig for more wastes. Have the team validate and prioritize your list and you have their commitment to proceed with implementation.

Continue this Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and you’ll soon be mapping processes, validating data and becoming lean.

Learning as you go is the best way. Lean is a journey, not a destination.


Norm
www.normanbain.com

Innovators and Integrators

I read an interesting blog from Steve Shapiro through a link in his newsletter that I thought I'd share here. What struck me most was the frame of reference as integrators and innovators. It re-enforces and expands the 5-why concept;

“(As innovators,) we are architects of companies and industries. An architect is not a ‘reengineer.’ To illustrate this point, I often ask clients what is the difference between an optimist, a pessimist, a reengineering consultant, and an architect. The optimist looks at a half filled glass of water and sees it as half-full. The pessimist looks at the same glass and sees it as half-empty. The reengineering consultant sees too much glass. Cut off the top. Downsize. An architect looks at the same glass and asks questions such as ‘Who’s thirsty?’ ‘Why water?’ Or ‘Is there another way to satisfy the thirst?’ It is this questioning, challenging and rethinking that differentiates architects from those who rearrange the deck chairs on The Titanic.”

Find solutions everywhere. Embrace open innovation. And think like an architect. Ask the difficult questions. Assess what matters most. And build a core competency around integrating point solutions.

Read the entire blog post here

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Business problems show up as inventory

Have you heard the business axiom "business problems show up as inventory"?

Whether you count inventory as WIP, raw materials or finished goods, the health of your organization is generally apparent in the level of inventory on hand. Many companies recognize this simple truth and adopt a goal to reduce inventories. The senior leadership typically sets a target for a 20% inventory reduction. Most companies typically carry 30-40% more inventory than they need to.

But without effective tools to identify excess inventory and properly manage it, most companies fail to achieve and, more importantly, sustain this inventory reduction goal. The impact of poor sales and operations planning, poor scheduling, engineering changes, material shortages, long lead times and cycle times, batching and large order quantities, overzealous buying and early material receipts are often blamed as causes for excess inventory. Without a structured approach, sustained inventory optimization is difficult to achieve.

Many companies have applied ABC categorization of inventory. This time tested approach states that by paying attention to a small percentage of line items in your inventory (20%), you can manage the lion's share (80%) of your inventory value. Most MRP systems are based on this premise.

The next step in achieving inventory reduction (as a focussed initiative unto itself) is to use the IQR methodology. Inventory Quality Ratio (IQR) is a ratio of your high moving items to the total inventory value. This is typically 30-40% in most companies. By further categorizing your inventory into active, excess, slow moving and non-moving inventory, you can improve this quality ratio enormously - typically identifying, achieving and sustaining a 30% reduction in inventory on hand.

While Lean Thinking as a strategy will yield impressive results in WIP and inventory reduction, the results can take from 6 to 18 months to see. Using IQR as a tool for rapid inventory reduction deployment, expect to see step change results in 3-6 months. Contact us for more details.


Norm
www.normanbain.com

Lean Resource Guide

Confused about lean concepts or terminology? Then visit the NBI knowledge center or our management library. Our on-line education and continual learning resource guide!

Norm www.normanbain.com

Lean waste elimination fails to hit the bottom line numbers

Many companies, embracing the concepts of lean thinking, hear the urging to 'Just do it', in the spirit of the leaders and pioneers of the Toyota Production System. They then excitedly delve into the transformation process. They stage a kickoff meeting to share their passion, pick something important and start removing waste quickly to capitalize on that “low hanging fruit”.

The target area becomes a beehive of activity, kaizen events, continuous improvement blitzes, 5S initiatives and production tracking boards. People get engaged in the process improvements and the staff gains some hope that finally the company is listening to what they are saying.

Yet flow through the facility does not consistently improve, the mounds of in process inventory do not reduce, and expediting hot orders remains the norm. No cost savings reach the bottom line, there is no demonstrable service and quality improvement for the customer. The improvements are not sustainable. Processes drift back to the old ways of doing things.

So management reaches the conclusion that lean does not work in this environment. We are “different” and the principals must not apply in this industry. We cannot demonstrate a return on our investment.

This lean offensive with its disappointing result drifts off as another abandoned program.

So why does this happen? Why do the concepts of lean, that seem to be such common sense, not work when we apply them? How can so much information be readily available about this approach to process improvement, yet it is so incredibly difficult to implement with concrete demonstrable results?

Click here to read the rest of this article and explore the answer to this all too common dilemma

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Creating a Sense of Urgency Among Employees

John Ryan of the Center for Creative Leadership posted an article this week on Creating a Sense of Urgency Among Employees.

In it he talks about:

• Don't take your foot off the gas.
• Don't hesitate to share bad news.
• Convey optimism and passion.
• Publicly praise urgent actions.
• Partner with colleagues on strategy.

Great thoughts from a great organization. Read the post here.

I had the pleasure of attending the Center for Creative Leadership LDP program early in my career. It was a great experience - good people, great advice!

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Typical approach to solving problems - Fly Swatting

Lean teaches us to look at problems as treasures. An organization that has no problems cannot improve. In order to learn and grow, we need to take risks, make mistakes, discover problems and solve them. The first step to continuous improvement is finding problems.

So, by changing the environment so that discovering problems is encouraged, we create a no blame and learning organzation. An organization where the people are engaged in improving their processes, eliminating waste and adding value for their customer. An environment where people want to work and contribute to the organizatons success. Companies who embrace this philosophy become the employer of choice and typically see a noticable reduction in turnover.

An end result of a systematic approach to problem solving is continuous improvement, lower cost, quicker response and higher profitability. All the things that businesses strive for!

And now I have another problem. All these people finding problems and working to solve them is akin to swatting flies. Everyone is swatting away, but we are not looking for why the flies are gathering in the first place. We need to ensure we get to the root cause of the problem and solve that, rather than the symptoms (swatting flies).

This requires a formal approach to problem solving (so that we get to the root cause) and a systematic approach to improving our system (the value stream) so that we get results sooner and focus our resources on what is important for system throughput. The more responsive our system is to customer demand, the better we can act and improve profitability.

So a great start to a lean journey is to insist that your leaders find and solve problems, and are looking at the business processes as a value stream. A great measure of success would be system throughput and lead time!

Looking to improve your operation? Start by asking your people what value they add for your customer and what problems they are solving!


Norm
www.normanbain.com

A Lean Roadmap - where do we start?

I'm often asked what a typical lean journey looks like and how long it takes to become a lean organization. While the answer to those questions is as varied as the organizations that ask it, this post will explore the most successful and repeatable approach that I have been engaged with. If you would like a copy of this post as a downloadable PDF, click here.

Step 1 Create the environment

The concepts of lean and the thinking behind lean can seem quite foreign to traditional organizations. Thinking, approach and activities must be changed, sometimes dramatically. This is often referred to as the "culture" of the organization. Lean requires a collaborative, team oriented, customer focussed and systematic approach. This shift may appear threatening to people. Fear of change is real and usually unspoken. Often, a compelling driver for change is required - an "oh-shit" experience that instils a sense of urgency with the team. This could be the loss of a major customer, a competitor challenge, or a downturn in the economic climate similar to what we are currently experiencing. This "pain" can be a strong driver to explore new ways to do things and make your world a better place. Linking lean to the global organizational strategy is a winning approach. Top management must support the initiative and communicate global measures for success. It is important to assure people that they will not lose their jobs directly because of the lean initiative. Respect for people is a lean fundamental. People are a key part of the system.

Step 2 Introduce basic concepts

This may start with a benchmarking visit to see how other organizations do things. It may start with a seminar or conference. Or you may invite someone to your site for introductory training. Exploring how others have applied lean ideas and how these can transfer into your own organization is a key concept in lean thinking. Learning from the experience of others is key - you cannot afford (in terms of both time and money) to make all the same mistakes yourself. Some formal introductory training for your team to develop an understanding of the supply chain and your value stream usually follows. The language of lean and introduction to the terms so that they are widely recognized follows.

Step 3 Manage Visually

The internet revolution and our fascination with technology has led many of us away from managing visually. In our quest to have dashboards and KPI information on our desktop, we stop visiting the gemba - where the work is done. Lean visual management requires that we can see at a glance in the workstation what is working well, what is not working and where our hot spots are. Shadow boards, production control boards and product flow lanes can quickly highlight trouble spots and direct our attention to where we should focus. By understanding and implementing the power of visual management, we can achieve a step change in product throughput. This is the quick win "low hanging fruit". Managing visually typically starts with introducing a 5S process. The 5S process pulls the other lean tools out of the toolbox as the need is identified. Can you find anything in your work area in 3 minutes? Can anyone else find anything in your work area in 5 minutes? In most workplaces, a large amount of time is wasted looking for parts, materials, instruction or decision makers. Managing visually means that you can see at a glance what is working, what is not and what corrective action has been initiated.

Step 4 Understand the current state

Now that the organization has a fundamental understanding of lean concepts and is starting to manage visually, its time to understand what kind of mess we are in. A scoping exercise identifies each task we do, how long each takes, what inputs are required (materials, instruction, approvals) and which of these tasks add value (in the eyes of the customer). We start to identify waste and see improvement opportunities in our processes. At this point, its easy to get confused and overwhelmed with information. Often, even in small to medium sized organizations (under 100 people), several hundred improvement opportunities arise. What do I tackle first? How do I manage change so that I get the maximum benefit from my limited resources?

Step 5 Identify the bottleneck

These questions are very real - and very important to the organization. No company has unlimited resources and every company realizes that they cannot tackle everything at once. The key is to look at the value stream system throughput and focus our improvement effort on where this system throughput is bottlenecked. Spending time and money on any process that is not affecting system throughput will not achieve additional revenue for the organization. And if the bottleneck to the process is a lack of customer orders, then we should not be producing to forecast. In this case, we should focus our efforts on marketing and sales so that we only produce what we have commitments for, and our system can meet our customer demand. Continue to look at your processes as a system and focus your improvement efforts on managing the bottlenecks.

Step 6 PDCA

Now that we know where to focus our attention, its time to pull out some more lean tools from the toolbox. Put the Plan-Do-Check-Adjust continuous improvement cycle to work. Host kaizen improvement events in the bottleneck areas and ensure the team is using standard work, pull signals (Kanban) and error proofing techniques. Continue the PDCA process within your bottleneck processes and improve flow through your entire system.

Step 7 Strategy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri)

At this point in the lean deployment the organization has seen some success and continuous improvement can take on a life of its own. Many departments are adopting the principals and utilizing the tools effectively. An air of excitement exists where people see real change occurring and can envision the potential for future improvement. Its time to align the entire organization around our strategy and ensure we are all pulling on the same rope. Departmental objectives need to align with the company purpose and vision for the future. Often departmental initiatives are not aligned with corporate goals and may even directly oppose other departmental initiatives. In other instances, duplication of effort exists as departmental improvement initiatives outpace the internal communication processes.

The first place to start this alignment process is with the senior leadership. What is our vision for the organization in the next few years? What are the biggest issues facing the organization today that prevent us from achieving this vision? Define the organization's true north - the business needs that must be achieved. These will exhibit a magnetic pull for the organization, the same way a compass guides the traveller. If we don't know where we are going, we'll never get there!

Conventional strategic management emphasizes planning - strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, values and social responsibilities. Lean strategy deployment asks the same questions, but emphasizes deployment - any fool can make a plan, its the execution that gets you screwed up!

Strategy deployment (Hoshin Kanri) utilizes A3 storytelling. If you cannot tell your story on one page (the A3), you have not thought it through thoroughly enough. Keep it simple and easy to understand. Tell your story and execute! The mother A3 will support the organizations true north. Baby A3's are initiatives that support the mother A3. This process focuses our attention, resources and effort on what's important for the organization as a whole. It focuses on execution - where the rubber hits the road - getting it done!

Step 8 Follow-up and review

Now that the organization strategy is aligned and resources are deployed on what's important, we must monitor the results of our activities and make corrections based on results. (The PDCA cycle applies here as well).

The approach above begins the lean journey with leadership team commitment. It engages the team leaders and people doing the work by introducing the tools and lean thinking concepts where the work is done. We achieve step change results by focussing on the bottleneck. And we align the entire organization with strategy deployment. Sound like a winning approach?

Feel free to contact me for real world examples of where this has been deployed and the actual results that can be achieved. We can also discuss typical timelines - how long will this take in your organization. Lean truly is a journey - its not just a set of tools or the program of the month!

Best success on your journey!

Norm
www.normanbain.com


If you would like a copy of this post as a downloadable PDF, click here.
To discover more about organizational strategy and the A3 strategy deployment (Hoshin Kanri) process, click here.

Solution to the global financial crisis

I had an interesting note pass by my desk this morning that I thought I'd share here. Stange as this sounds, it close to how our economy works!

It is August. In a very small town in the Okanagan Valley holiday season should be in full swing, but it is raining so there is not too much business happening. Everyone depends on the tourists. But there are none so all are heavily in debt.

Unexpectedly, a rich American tourist arrives in the foyer of the small local hotel. He asks for a room and puts a US$100 note on the reception counter, takes a key and goes to inspect the room located up the stairs on the third floor.

The hotel owner takes the banknote and rushes to his meat supplier to whom he owes US$100.

The butcher takes the money and races to his supplier to pay his U$100 debt.

The wholesaler rushes to the farmer to pay US$100 for pigs he purchased some time ago.

The farmer triumphantly gives the US$100 note to a local prostitute who gave him her services on credit.

The prostitute goes quickly to the hotel, and pays the US$100 for her hourly room used to entertain clients.

At that moment, the rich American comes down to reception and informs the hotel owner that the proposed room is unsatisfactory and takes his US$100 note back and departs.

There was no profit or income. But everyone no longer has any debt and the small town's people look optimistically towards their future.

Using this same process could be the basis for the solution of the Global Financial Crisis.

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Taking the lean message to the world

Consulting is a rich mixture of exploring, training, guiding and implementing. Its working with business and institutional leaders that recognize that doing the same thing as we have done before will yield the same results! In order to implement change, we must develop a different approach.

Become lean! With the current level of economic uncertainty, companies must recognize the hard facts and realize that unless they start streamlining - they will be left behind - far behind. Lean thinking is an approach that re-assesses organizational capability in terms of what the customer wants and what brings the customer value. With management committed to be ruthless with everything that fails this critical test, the organization will emerge from this economic crisis leaner and meaner.

A Winnipeg consulting company, endorsed by Supply Chain Logistics Group (SCLG) of Middle East is bringing that message to leaders on the world stage. This group brings an opportunity of education, training, seminar and networking among like-minded professionals and corporations on global basis. The group is operating with the legal backing of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is founded with the help of senior management professionals representing variety of industries on Supply Chain.

Sheraton Dubai Creek
Hotel & Towers, UAE
10th & 11th May 2009

Get the flyer here

The most dangerous kind of waste is the waste we do not recognize.


Norm
www.normanbain.com

Zero Quality Control

I picked a book off the shelf this morning and browsed through it again. I'm always amazed at what I miss the first few times through a good read. This time, I actually read the preface!

The book was Shigeo Shingo - Zero Quality Control. In the publishers message, Norman Bodek talks about engineers and their approach toward quality. He says that according to Shigeo Shingo, there are three types of engineers - Table engineers - who spend their time in meetings arguing about problems on the shop floor, Catalogue engineers - who spend their time browsing for the latest gadget to solve these problems, and Nyet engineers - those who put the kibosh to any improvement suggestion.

He suggests that instead, we should strive to become Improvement engineers, by spending the majority of our time on the shop floor - observing problems, making suggestions and working with those who do the work to implement solutions to problems. Go to the Gemba!

His quote from Shingo really hit home - "My medicine works, but only if the patient takes it". How often have good suggestions been discarded, forgotten or ignored.

It’s tough to change the mindset when what we have done so far has brought us so far. Becoming a successful company was no accident.

Making the company the best that it can be means challenging your paradigm, looking at things differently, going to the gemba and working with your team to drive out waste. That's a lot of work - and not as comfy as the board room chair. I guarantee the result of this effort will not only open your eyes, but it will shock and amaze you. Because continuous improvement means just that - you can ALWAYS do better.


Norm
www.normanbain.com

Gain focus with Strategy Deployment through A3

I received a timely note from Jim Womack this morning. He touched on the topic of strategy deployment and the loss of focus at GM in these trying times.

Several companies I contact are struggling with aligning their teams and establishing priorities. Even in this difficult economy, I’m surprised how many of these folks report their order books are overflowing and they are unable to keep up with customer demand. Between expediting materials, cooling the blazing customer calls and keeping product flowing out the door, there is little time for improvement initiatives. Juggling these demands means they are clearly unable to see the forest for the trees. It’s difficult working ON your business when you are so busy working IN your business.

Strategy deployment is all about focus. Many companies get overwhelmed with too many initiatives on the go. We seem to think we need a lot of different projects going or we’re not doing "it" right. During a recent value stream mapping exercise with a client, the team identified over 130 “opportunities” for improving their processes. While this low hanging fruit could help the organization, getting it done is the challenge. And how do we determine what to tackle first? Success is about getting the right things done.

Do we start at the top with senior management, or do we work on one departmental initiative to show success that we can build upon. In transitioning from a being a planning organization to becoming an execution based organization (just do it!), initiatives are driven from both top down and bottom up. We meet somewhere in the middle. The focus is on your zone of control, be it a team, department or facility.

Probably the most important thing to tackle is team leadership thinking. Transitioning from “thou shalt” to “what do you think” requires leaders to take responsibility for developing their people. Once that door has been opened, people come forward with ideas for eliminating waste and making process improvements that could not have been foreseen at the outset. Getting the people who do the work engaged in improving the work is key to success. The “thou shalt” philosophy is so ingrained in business culture that it has spawned a great following in the Scott Adams Dilbert cartoon series. We know its there, but exposing it directly could be a CLM (career limiting move). Many organizations utilize coaches, mentors or consultants to challenge the leaders mental models and guide the organization to better understanding.

How well your strategy will be implemented depends on how persuasive a story you can tell. How well have you engaged your team in developing the plan? How simple is it to explain to others?

The A3 process works because it is simple. Plans must be defined well enough to be presented on a single piece of paper – if you can’t express your plan on one page, you probably don’t understand it well enough. The A3’s tell a persuasive story, using the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) methodology with its roots in TQM from the 1980’s. Using a storyboard format, the elements of storytelling are covered – what do we need to achieve, how did we do last year, what have we tried before, how did it work, what do we need to achieve our objectives, what is the plan, are there unresolved issues, what help do you need. Keeping the action plan tight – no more than 5 key action items – ensures that work will get done. Using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable, Trackable) goals ensure we know where we’re going.

Aligning the A3’s to the organizational goals is a key part of the process. The senior leadership defines the organizations “True North”. The “mother A3” aligns the strategy with the true north. Departmental initiatives build on the mother A3 with “baby A3’s”. Using this methodology, activities and efforts are aligned and everyone starts pulling on the same rope.

Defining the True North can be a challenge. One of the first questions to ask an organization is “What is your purpose”. The typical response of “to make money and grow” has nothing to do with the customer. Developing a customer focus is essential. The customer provides the money the organization needs to grow and prosper. So making money, growing and increasing shareholder value is an outcome of your strategy, rather than the strategy itself.

This takes us back to Jim Womack’s email this morning. In it, he told the story of GM losing focus. In 1921, GM's leader Alfred Sloan produced a simple memorandum on the topic of "Product Policy" that defined GM’s purpose for generations to come. Sloan stated that General Motors would provide a carefully configured range of products for "every purse and purpose", from used Chevrolets at the lower end of the market to a "fully loaded" Cadillac at the top end. This simple memo rationalized GM's chaotic product line-up so its vehicles would not overlap in the market. Instead, they would each have a clearly defined place in a status hierarchy and would always be more refined, a bit "classier" with a higher price, than competitor products in each market segment.

Somewhere, GM lost its focus. Like the Titanic sailing across the ocean oblivious to the dangers ahead, it crashed and burned, taking a world economy with it. And now they are restructuring. But before you restructure, state your purpose.

Your entire organization needs to align on your true north to focus the strategy. Many organizations have put significant effort into defining Vision, Values, and Mission statements. Refining that into your True North, and developing a strategy deployment plan will move the vision from its resting place on the lunchroom wall to a living, breathing process on your workplace floor. And that will create an execution culture in your organization with the mindset of “Get it Done”.


Norm
www.normanbain.com

Thought for today

If you want 1 year of properity, plant seeds
If you want 10 years of prosperity, plant trees
If you want 100 years of prosperity, plant people.

Chineese Proverb

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Staying in touch with your customers

Several months ago, I joined Linked-In. Its a pretty good tool for connecting with people if you are job hunting, or looking for someone at a particular company. My direct linked in network has grown to over 4,000,000 people over the past few months!

Last month, we talked about starting a newsletter and a direct marketing campaign for our products and services. Great idea! We have lots of customers and people we network with!

Ha! I discovered, after some painful research, that our opt in list of people that we can contact directly is really quite small.

So I set out to see if we could purchase a contact list. I found a good company that had great referrals on their website and I discovered I could get a targeted list for just over $229. The list was several thousand names. Seemed like a pretty good start!

Working on the list, I pared it down to my target start area, eliminated duplicate companies, and discovered my list had dropped to 671 names. But 8% of the mailing addresses bounced at the post office (and that, it turns out, is MUCH better than the 20% bounce rate others have experienced). So, when all is said and done, $0.47 a contact is what I paid. At a less than 1% response rate, this is not a great way to get leads!

There must be a better way.

I have heard alot of buzz about this thing called attraction marketing ... but the secret to its success seems elusive. While my network of contacts has grown substantially over the past few months, my network of customers - those that pay the bills - has not! In fact, in this economy, its shrinking at a steady rate.

Remember Kevin Costner’s character in “Field of Dreams”? He based his plans on whispers from the corn fields … “If you build it, they will come”. And in the movie, they actually did come. The real world takes a lot more work.

Start by listing everyone that you know. You’ll be amazed at the size of the list you come up with. According to Jeffrey Gitomer, all things being equal, people prefer to do business with people they know - their friends. So listing the people you already know is a great place to start building your network.

Now that you have a start, don’t be afraid to ask if these contacts know anybody else who should be on your list. Assuming you’re pleasant and not too pushy, they’ll be glad to help you. Remember, its not who you know that makes you successful - its who knows you!

Get out from behind that computer and get some face time! A great way to build your pipeline is to get out and meet new people. Look for relevant events or trade shows in your area where you can network and collect business cards.

Don’t forget to network with other local business owners as well. Strategic partnerships are built by businesses seeking similar customers, but for completely different, non-competitive products or services.

Next, do some research. Head to the local library and check out recent issues of trade journals relating to your business. You’ll find articles about people who buy what you have to offer. Check the daily newspapers, particularly in the business section.

Keep building your list and touching base with your contacts. Remember that it takes between 5 and 8 touches to a prospect before they may decide to buy from you!

Best Success! And happy Networking!

Norm
www.normanbain.com

PS: If you are looking for great on-line tools to help you stay in touch, try the links below:
http://www.stayintouch.onlinenow.ca
http://www.freecrm.onlinenow.ca

The CRM search

Customer Relationship Managers - CRM.

So, my first attempt at CRM was the same as many folks; outlook on my personal laptop. I was simply looking for way to manage client conversations and an easy follow-up system. While it worked great for my email, outlook seemed too cumbersome for this task.

So I migrated to a similar product called Chaos Intellect. I found it much simpler, friendlier and flexible in managing emails and accounts. But the functionality for client conversations was simply not there.

I hired a telemarketing company last year who did some impressive and significant work on a shared outlook database. While I found it fastinating and useful, it was cumbersome and was not delivering what I was looking for – there must be an easier way, I kept thinking.

With my limited success I began searching for a web based product. Alas, all the CRM systems out there seemed horrendously expensive, in fact many did not even quote a price on their site. So I set about to identify what I want this software to do.

Here's my list so far;

1) Manage my contacts. Keep my contact information at my fingertips and be available anywhere I want it, anytime.
2) Conversation tracker and followup reminder. I have many people that I touch base with and need a good reminder system to ensure I am regularly following up with prospective customers. Several prospects that I missed calling back signed on with other companies. Sucks when you drop the ball.
3) Relationship tracker. People move about quickly these days and its good to know where they worked before and in what roles.
4) Campaign scripting. Unfortunately, cold calling is still a big requirement at this stage of the game. What I learned early in my career (and again from the telemarketer) was that scripting not only helps, its absolutely essential.

A few cool tools may be on the radar for the future, but they are not needed just yet. These include:
a) While sharing my data with others in the sales team is coming, its not high on my agenda right now.
b) an auto-responder for signups on my website with inclusion in my contacts list.
c) tag tracking for emails, newsletters and websites so I can see which of my contacts are interested in what topics.
d) Newsletter (email) delivery and tracking software.

The first stab at developing a CRM came from a family genealogy search I was doing. I created the site networking.onlinenow.ca which looked quite promising. But other demands pulled resources from the project and it lay dormant far too long.

The second stab at CRM came as a result of a job search. I created the website findtalent.ca as a search engine and built a CRM into it. While it worked fairly well, its interface was not as simple as I envisioned it should be. Back to the drawing board!

So I set about to “build a better mouse trap”. As part of the business made easy suite, I've included a CRM in the frey. Surely I'm not the only one looking for this! So its being tested and released for free use by all. As I get feedback on what works and what doesn't, the mousetrap gets better!

So if you find yourself in the same boat, post your thoughts on what features you need. The voice of the customer makes the best product, so I’m all ears. Try the pilot at freecrm.onlinenow.ca Lets build an affordable and power packed tool for the small business entrepreneur.



Norm
www.normanbain.com

Your Morning Smile

This is one of the cleverest e-mails I've received in awhile.
Someone out there has way too much time on their hands.

Clever Anagrams ...

DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM

PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER

DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME

ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE

THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER

Start your day every day with a smile!

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Making 5-Why work for you

One of the simplest tools to use in solving problems is a 5-why analysis. It is also one of the least understood and poorly applied tools. It seems that simple concepts can be the most difficult to apply and execute.

In almost every instance where I have seen it used, the answers to the "why" seem shallow and the root cause of the problem - or even the real problem - is seldom identified or resolved.

So how does a tool that we all learn to master at an early age become obsolete as an adult? Kids at 4 years of age are masters at this … why-dad, why-mom, why, why, why, they’ll drive you nuts if you let them. And they get the answers and the understanding they seek through the process. But we lose that mastery when we grow up and enter the world of business.

Problem solving can be a bit like swatting flies. We see a fly (the problem) and swat it. But we don’t get to the source of the flies … what is attracting them and what the cause is in the first place.

In many businesses, problem solving takes a similar approach. We solve the problems as we find them, but we don’t know if we are working on the right problem, or the biggest problem with our limited resources.

That becomes increasingly important in these tough economic times. When everyone is tightening their belts, how do I make sure my limited resources are focused on the biggest problems in the organization?

Using 5-why is not enough. The 5-why process is most effective when it is used in combination with “therefore” and “so that”. If that sounds confusing, its because we lost the art of asking “why” when we grew up. As 4 year olds, we did not accept an irrelevant answer. So lets re-learn the key to making this work.

Think of problem solving as the branches of a tree (or the file structure in your computer).

5-why is useful in identifying potential causes of the problem. The “why” opens up more branches of the tree. This gives us many more potential avenues to pursue.

Using “therefore” moves us closer to the trunk. If the answer opened by the “why” question can not be returned by a “therefore” test, the answer to the why is not relevant. For example, if we follow the line of questioning that Kent Blumberg used on his blog post:

The “why” process takes us DOWN the chain

The gas bill is high, Why
The gas consumption is high, Why?
We turned up the thermostat, Why?
We shiver if it is set lower, Why
We are wearing shorts

The “therefore” process takes us UP the chain

We are wearing shorts, therefore
We are shivering, therefore
We turned up the thermostat, therefore
The gas consumption was high, therefore
The gas bill is high

By validating the “why” answers with a “therefore” statement we ensure the path remains relevant and we are on track. This process will help eliminate the shallow responses.

Now that we have validated the “why’s” with “therefore’s” we need to ask “so that”. The “so that” statement relates how effective our solution is to our goal.

We are not wearing shorts “so that” the gas bill is not high.

Our solution of “not wearing shorts” to meet our goal of “lowering the gas bill” may not be the most effective. Perhaps we could have had a better answer when we asked why the gas consumption was high.

By combining the “why” analysis with “therefore” checking and “so that” validation we have an effective tool to get to the right problem and the right solution.

How did problem solving become so complicated? It seemed so much simpler when we were 4 year olds.



Norm
www.normanbain.com

Flexibility to manage your business remotely

Your folks are busy working on the road. They need to buy stuff to keep your projects moving. Time is of the essence. They know they are under the gun to get the job done.

You know this too, but you need controls. Spending seems out of control. Paperwork does not get done. And the accounting staff is spending way too much time trying to untangle the mess.

What do you do? Add more controls and slow down the project? Give everyone credit cards to buy what they need?

Many companies struggle with this situation every day. And the company computer system is not able to cope with different needs of the organization – keeping the road warriors effective while keeping the accounting books straight and timely.

That is where we come in! We’ve been there! Having managed people working in every corner of the world, we understand.

Why can’t the people on the road just complete the paperwork and send it in?

Why can’t life be simpler?

It can be!

You don’t pay your road warriors to do paperwork. So make it easy for them to get the job done. Give them the tools to easily meet your needs, and theirs. Enable them to record expenses as they make them, either through their laptop at the hotel or through their web enabled telephone. You see their expenses as they enter them, from anywhere in the world. And they can easily compile them into an expense report and send them off to you – electronically. For bigger purchases, they can create field Purchase Orders that you can see, approve and track – on top of the action as it happens. The POs can be sent through the approval process as well. Securely, electronically.

Designed to make your world smaller, easy to manage and easy to use.

Sound pretty cool? Take a FREE test drive today! Then sign up and lock yourself in for 80% savings for as long as you are a member! Our designers and developers are behind. This project is past due ... our launch date has passed and the site is not fully released. So YOU get the bonus! 80% off for as long as you remain a member. This is a limited time offer - our developers are working 24/7 to complete the project. And when its ready, this discount ends! So sign up NOW and lock in your savings for LIFE!

Purchase Orders, Expense Forms, Time Sheets - Simple, efficient, effective!

Running your business should be this simple! http://www.expenses.onlinenow.ca

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Embrace Change

Saw a great video today "change is good ... you go first!"

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Are you looking at Lean for your company?

We're looking for Canadian companies that are exploring Lean!

Have you started a lean journey? Are you looking at lean to improve your operations? Tell us your story and win a Lean Thinking tee shirt!

Lean Thinking applies to so many companies ... in fact, we can't think of one that it does not apply to! So why do we still think of Lean as a "manufacturing" initiative? Lean Thinking applies equally well in health care, offices, government, engineering design, construction - in any industry, anywhere!

So we're looking for some folks to help us spread the word! If you are exploring lean, or already implemented lean in your facility - tell us about it! If you have some secret tips that our readers would enjoy, share those too! And in return for sharing your lean stories and tips, you could get one of our Lean Thinking tee shirts for FREE!

Just click here to visit the web site and tell us your tips and story. Let us hear your story so we all learn about lean!


Norm
www.normanbain.com

A Fishy Story

I have had the pleasure of working with many different organizations through my career. And I can truly say that each one of those workplaces was unique - in its challenges, with its opportunities and with the characters that work there. While I have enjoyed each assignment and approach my work with a passion to get the job done, I have never had the pleasure of walking into what I would characterize as a “fun” place to work at the get-go. Teamwork develops over time, and the people start to have fun as they come together as a team. But that generally happens after the team starts to gel.

Contrast that with the world famous Pikes Fish Market. Excitement and energy fills the air when you walk into the place. The energy embraces everyone, even as they approach. Its like returning to the fairground when you were a kid. So how can this be a workplace? How can they have so much fun, engage the people and accomplish so much when the work itself is not that fun. Selling fish was certainly not on the top of my high school careers list!

If you are visiting in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), seek out and stop by a Licks Hamburger joint. Feel the energy when you walk in the door! And listen to the order taker sing your order to the kitchen – then they all chime in from the back to confirm its on the grill and on its way! The customer becomes part of the experience that this team is delivering!

There is a small toy store in Stratford, Ontario that became the best toy store in Canada. Walking into the store you are captivated by the small aisle ways, wooden floor and the people actually playing with the toys. Most of the folks working there are kids themselves – no, really kids! They show you the best stuff, and engage you with what’s new. A visit to Family and Company is an experience in itself! And often the only adults you see are the customers themselves!

So where does the magic come from? How have these folks turned their shops into “world famous” or “best in Canada”. The solution is found in a simple philosophy. Simple and fabulous to experience, but more of a challenge to implement!

So what would happen to your workplace if you took these principals and applied them well. If everyone was aware that YOU choose your own attitude and that work can be play. That the team is actually present for their customers and they work to make the customers day! Your organization could become world famous too! And people would really want to work there.

So how do we develop a culture like that? How do we transform from a group that hates Mondays, works to get over hump day and embraces TGIF (thank goodness its Friday) with the POETS (Pee on everything tomorrows Saturday) afternoon get together?

By choosing to just dive in, experience the change and become world famous. Like Ghandi stated so well - "We must be the change that we want to see in the world".

Want help? Lets talk! Learn more about changing your organizational culture here.


Norm
www.normanbain.com

Web Site or Web Presence?

So, many of you may know that NBI is in the web site design business. It started as a part time hobby, building my own specialty websites and I then entered the hosting service market by being cost effective. People found us and I was asked to do custom sites for others. I became quite busy and enlisted some web designers to help. While we were building websites and developing a web presence for our customers, we became much more hands on in improving their business models. With a background in business and operations improvement, we were able to deliver, and that's how our consulting arm was born. Consulting has been our passion and, while we still do great web presence work, our focus has been working hands on with businesses to improve results. Our sales team is focused almost exclusively on the consulting side. If, during the discussions, we learn that a company is not satisfied with their web site performance (which over 90% of those we talk to are not) we offer a web presence solution. But most of our web work is third party generated, similar to a broker. Our reps contact companies who need web work done and we bid the work through the broker. The broker adds a markup (like, doubles the price) and passes that to their clients.

So, I had the opportunity the other day to talk directly with a potential client on some web site work. They have had a site for several years and just wanted to "spruce it up". They already had 3 bids on their site when I talked to them. But they did not have a spec or requirements list - "just talk to the sales guy" was the passing comment.

I checked their web site code and noted that they have no web traffic tracking system in use. I did a little SEO pre-work and created a report that showed how little exposure they had on the web. I gave them that report along with my ebook "how to make your web site work as hard as you do" a few days before I went to talk with them.

I put our typical bid package together and, just to give some negotiation leverage, I doubled the price (just like my broker does). Then I had the discussion with the client. I reviewed the background information with them and asked if they had reviewed the ebook. They were quite impressed with the presentation and asked why the other suppliers had not even mentioned web presence. Seems they just want to build a web page with flash, movies and pretty graphics. My client was surprised to hear that these flashy sites actually detract from search engine listings. Search engines like content. They can't read pictures or movies - (yet, technology is a wonderful thing and is changing quickly).

So I told my client that if they just want a pretty site, find a kid in school to create one. A kid can likely have it done for a fraction of what the design houses charge and they'll end up with a "pretty" result (the "kids" are pretty talented these days). But, if they want to make their website work for them, they should put more thought into (a) what they want from the site and (b) building web presence (not a web site) into their marketing strategy.

Marketing strategy? Oh ya - we need to work on that too.

Hey - we can help you with that! So this is the normal situation - the current reality - with many businesses. They hear about the web's growth and (rightly) believe there is a huge market for them to tap into. But they don't have the time or resources to learn what a web presence is about. They are too busy working IN their business to work ON their business. So they settle for a web page. And the results don't come.

Attraction marketing and developing a web presence can work for any company. So why are so many people not jumping on board? Because they are so busy working IN their business that they don't have time to work ON their business. An important distinction if you want to grow your profits.


Norm
www.normanbain.com

There will be no more changes allowed here!

I was reminded of an interesting story this past week and thought I'd share it here. It speaks to how we resist change, go with the status quo and jump on board a sinking ship (or sagging economy?).

It all started with a cage containing five monkeys ...

Inside the cage, a string of bananas were hanging above a set of stairs. Before too long, a monkey went to the stairs and started to climb towards the bananas. As soon as he touched the stairs, all of the monkeys were soaked with ice cold water.

A while later, another monkey made an attempt with the same result - all the monkeys are soaked with ice cold water.

Pretty soon, none of the monkeys tried to climb the stairs.

The water supply was then shut off. One monkey was removed from the cage and replaced with a new one.

The new monkey saw the banana and went to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all the other monkeys attacked him.

After another attempt and attack, he learns that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be beaten.

Another of the original five monkeys was then replaced with a new one. The newcomer approaches the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer enthusiastically takes part in this punishment! After another attempt and attack, he too learns that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted, so he stops trying.

A third original monkey is replaced with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey approaches to the stairs, he is attacked.

Now, the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey. By replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been soaked with the ice cold water.

Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the bananas.

Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here!

So this is how company policy is maintained! This is how a culture develops. And this, my friends, is why there will be no more changes around here!

A fable so close to reality - it hurts.



Norm
www.normanbain.com

Do you have a road map?

Every day I pick up the paper and read about companies cutting jobs. The Globe is cutting jobs in Toronto, The Free Press is cutting jobs in Winnipeg, 4500 jobs lost at Boeing, Air Canada closes its flight center, Snow lake shuts down its mine, Paper mills close down never to re-open. Even Microsoft announced today that they are cutting 5000 jobs, 1400 today. There were 636,000 Manitobans looking for work in December last year, unchanged from November.

The past few years we focused on how to deal with unpredictable rising costs of materials. What will the challenge be in 2009? The Global Insight forecasting firm said the country will lose an additional 100,000 jobs in the first 3 months of 2009. Do you have a plan?

Todays leaders face bigger challenges than ever before. The financial markets are in crisis and it seems the economy is not far behind. How well equipped are you to face these mounting obsticals. Do you have the right teams in place to tackle your key issues.

I have released a new ebook entitled "The 5 Action Steps That Will Make Your Business At Least 50% More Profit in The Next 90 Days". It is available free at the NBI website http://www.nbi.onlinenow.ca. Just visit the site and enter the phrase "Profit" in the "Get It" box.

Sometimes it seems like we need an “oh-shit” experience to take action. We wait until we are in real trouble before we take action. A crisis makes us become more focused. It wakes us up to what was under our noses all along – but we were too busy to pay attention.

I hope you are not in crisis. I hope you are looking for a way to strengthen an organization that is already strong. Whether you are or are not in crisis, this ebook will help.

Norm
www.normanbain.com

Keep an Open Mind

No matter how open minded we think we are, there are occasions where we get caught being closed. That happened to me this week when a friend of mine came forward with an off the wall comment. He said it with a smirk on his face that made me call bull$%^&. I must admit, I was wrong.

He and I both wear glasses. I have worn them most of my adult life, having been surprised that I could not see well enought to pass my DOT medical without corrective lenses. I've tried contacts and wore them for several years. But having lost them water skiing and not being able to wear them while working in food plants and weld manufacturing operations, I just resigned to wearing glasses. My wife has suggested getting Laser corrective surgery - maybe some day, my prescription has been the same for years so I am likely a good candidate.

So living in Western Canada, the typical day is in the -20 C range. It gets colder, hence our reputation, but that's an average that most residents are comfortable with. So when I walk into a home, office, mall or other building - the glasses instantly fog up. An entire industry has cropped up for anti-fogging solutions - creams, sprays - I've heard of them all. We were discussing how effective these solutions are, when he suggested I just back into the building.

What? I thought I miss-heard his comment, or his Timmy's coffee was a tad stronger than normal. But he held firm stating that if you enter the building backward, there is something about the warmth of your face that eases the shock factor and your glasses will not fog. So I tried it last night when I got home. And it worked. So I went outside to shovel the walk, and when I returned, I walked straight in - instant fog.

Interesting phenomenon. I'll have to eat my words next time I see him. I don't expect it will work at -50, but then, what does at -50. It worked several times today.

Now the danger is that everyone will be walking into the office and shopping malls backwards once they hear about this. Sounds like a safety hazard to me. Although I'm not sure its more risky than stumbling about with the glasses fogged up - or with them in hand, frantically waiving them about to clear the lens. Maybe we can install moving sidewalks like they have in Vegas so we can turn around and enter safely. A new business opportunity?

So, next time you hear a "dumb idea" from your team, don't be too quick to judge. There may be some gold nuggets in those "off the wall statements" you hear. We just have to figure out how to capitalize on them!


Norm
www.normanbain.com