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The Blue Yarn

October 8, 2018 by Chris Scherer Leave a Comment

 


So, the blue yarn. What does it mean?

The best way to understand the blue yarn is to follow it. That’s exactly what Dr. Gary Kaplan did. In 1998, he was CEO of Virginia Mason Medical Center, which was losing money. As he searched for a better system to manage the hospital, he ‘wound up’ at a Toyota factory in Japan where he spoke to a sensei familiar with the Toyota Production System.

What he found was something very simple that, at the time, had been around for nearly 100 years. Sakichi Toyoda developed a self-correcting loom that could stop when thread was broken or defective. They ultimately automated the process and made it mistake-proof. This process is called Jidoka, or autonomation, and means automation with human intelligence.

Why Jidoka?

Jidoka is important because it stops a process immediately when a problem first occurs. Not only does it fix the condition, but it ultimately eliminates the root cause of the problem or defect. In an automated Jidoka process, equipment monitors its output (products) independently from operators, thereby enabling operators to operate multiple pieces of equipment and improve productivity.

Why the blue yarn?

Back to the hospital. The sensei used the blue yarn to map the path a patient would follow in a visit through cancer treatment. What they found was a mess. Cancer patients were already low on time and energy, but this ‘process’ had them winding all over the building in a seemingly needless pattern: a waste of time and energy.

When they ‘re-mapped’ the process, the savings from insurance expense alone were 37% and they were able to increase the number of patients without additional staff. Ultimately, they reduced patient receive treatment time by 50%. Dozens of hospitals have since adopted the Virginia Mason Production System. Based on a recent study of US hospitals, for two years Virginia Mason has placed in the top one percent in safety and efficiency.

Clearly, the flow of the process is one piece of the puzzle. Of equal importance is the decision to enable employees to: monitor a process, identify defects, stop the process, fix the problem, identify the root cause, and, ultimately, help eliminate the root cause of defects.

Imagine following a blue yarn through every step of one of your processes, including mistakes, corrections, delays, handoffs, miscommunications, etc. Recurring mistakes building on other recurring mistakes will create a big mess. Now imagine every person in that process having the ability to address those gaps and improve the process. Addressing the root cause will build a mistake-free and efficient process that is much cleaner and direct.

There is a method to achieve this. It starts with:

  • Clarity around your dream or whatever it is you want from your business (i.e., ultimate business outcome and whatever ‘freedom’ means to you)
  • Your mindset to achieve your dream
  • Your decision to use a methodology and management system to bring your dream to life.

 

Ready to achieve your dream?

  • Email me so that we can learn more about your business: chrisscherer@ceofocusmi.com
  • Join our Facebook group for key insights: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StressfulToSuccessful/

 

Listen to the original story

Here: 99% Invisible – The Blue Yarn

Filed Under: 0 Organizational Profile, 0.2 Organizational Situation, 0.2c Performance Improvement System, 3 Customers, 3.1 Voice of the Customer, 3.2 Customer Engagement, 3.2a Product Offerings and Customer Support, 3.2a.(1) Product Offerings, 3.2a.(2) Customer Support, 3.2b Customer Relationships, 3.2b.(1) Relationship Management, 3.2b.(2) Complaint Management, 4 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management, 4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement of Organizational Performance, 4.1a Performance Measurement, 4.1b Performance Analysis and Review, 4.1c Performance Improvement, 4.1c(1) Best Practices, 4.1c(3) Continuous Improvement and Innovation, 4.2 Knowledge Management, Information, and Information Technology, 4.2a Organizational Knowledge, 5 Workforce, 5.1 Workforce Environment, 5.2 Workforce Engagement, 6 Operations, 6.1 Work Processes, 6.1a Product and Process Design, 6.1b Process Management, 6.1c Innovation Management, 6.2 Operational Effectiveness, 7 Results, 7.1 Product and Process Results, 7.2 Customer-Focused Results, 7.2a Customer Satisfaction, A Core Values and Concepts, A.01 Systems Perspective, A.03 Customer-Focused Excellence, A.04 Valuing People, A.05 Organizational Learning and Agility, A.06 Focus on Success, A.07 Managing for Innovation, A.11 Delivering Value and Results, Uncategorized

Crisis Management & how to overcome it

May 3, 2018 by Uwe Wetzel Leave a Comment

Here is an interesting story I want to share. Back in my past as CEO of an injector manufacturing plant there was a phenomenon for several weeks. Every Friday at 3:00 pm we were in crisis mode. At that time, we were working seven days, three shifts and at 3:00 pm on Friday, the assembly manager indicated that we need to shut down the assembly line on the weekend due to inadequate parts supply. The logistics manager struggled to get the parts from the fabrication department or outside suppliers, which had to produce the parts by working overtime and expedited shipping cost.

Shutting down the assembly line would have had a dramatic impact on the supply to our customer as we were one of their just-in-time suppliers. We would have shut down their production line with a huge financial penalty. We were in crisis mode every Friday for a couple of months.

Finally, I called all managers involved in the supply and production process into a meeting to discuss the constant crisis mode on Fridays. After lengthy discussions and analyzing the root cause of the shortages, we agreed to meeting on Thursday mornings, everyone providing information about demand and supplies for the weekend production. We were now able to prioritize and adjust production where needed. Within two weeks there was no crisis meeting on Fridays any more. Problem solved. We were able to reliably provide the necessary quantity to the customer.

Conclusion: Unless you find the root cause of the problem using six sigma methodology and eliminate the issues in the process, you will not see improvements in your processes and production output.

Filed Under: 1 Leadership, 3 Customers, 4 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management, 4.1c(3) Continuous Improvement and Innovation, 6 Operations, 6.1b Process Management, 6.2 Operational Effectiveness, 7 Results, 7.1 Product and Process Results, 7.2 Customer-Focused Results, A Core Values and Concepts, A.01 Systems Perspective, A.03 Customer-Focused Excellence

Four Barriers to Business Transformation

February 12, 2018 by Jim Adkins Leave a Comment

As I have led or been involved with dozens of business changes, I get asked often, “What makes you so successful?”  I might offer up a different perspective, “What can stop a business transformation in its tracks?”  In my experience it boils down to four things:

  1. Spotting the Need to Change

There’s an old line, “Watch out for the truck…behind the bus.” If we’re looking the wrong way, it’s easy to miss the change bearing down on us from a trigger event somewhere else.

Most of us in most of our firms are experts in our small little space in the universe, and we focus all of our energies on understanding and mastering the rules of the game in that space. Those fancy terms, dominant logic and market myopia are our real adversaries here.

They blind us to the truck behind the bus.

They keep us from seeing the impending systemic disruption. And our own biases and experiences keep us falsely optimistic in the face of big changes in our arena.

  1. Extreme Organizational Pride

Marshall Goldsmith famously suggested in business, “What brought you here won’t take you there.” Proverbs more famously suggested, “Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Sometimes, culture is the problem. There’s truth but not a foregone conclusion that culture eats strategy for lunch. (I push back in my article, Sometimes Strategy Must Eat Culture.)

In my travels, I’ve encountered more than a few organizations and the people in them predictably and proudly holding on to a past that was indeed glorious but is no longer relevant.

My friend mentioned above suggests this is the natural sequence of events for all businesses and those that have outlived their utility must pass.

Good, maybe great for awhile, and then as conditions change, gone. C’est la vie.

Alternatively, sometimes culture can be disrupted as well. (More in the next post in this series on knocking down the obstacles.)

Know that the passion and emotion surrounding resistance to radical change in your organization may very well be the last thrashing of a dying business.

  1. Incorrect or Incomplete Diagnosis

We all understand the importance of an accurate diagnosis for our health maladies. The same goes for business. Much like the organizational culture change issue described above, human biases, emotions, experiences deadly sins and failings all get in the way of cultivating and agreeing on the answer to the question, “What the hell is really going on here?”

Fail to answer that question properly, and the succeeding events move organizations down the path to decay and demise.

  1. Lack of Leadership Courage

Transformation requires asymmetrical bets on new strategies, markets, technologies, and investments. Our management systems are set up to optimize in the short-term, and throwing sand in the gears of the management system requires leadership courage that many lack. (Young child to Mom, “Mommy, what are gears?”)

We might understand what we should do, but putting oneself on the line for a hard change and an asymmetrical bet is a commitment many will not make, and a risk most won’t take.

Why I Don’t Blame the Management System?

I debated throwing the present management system in as the fifth big obstacle to organizational change. Indeed, it is a factor. Nonetheless, I believe it is leadership’s responsibility to drive the changes needed in a system leading the firm down to the path of destruction. A management system is a tool of leadership, and as a tool, it can be changed or adapted to fit the situation. The fact that we often fail to adapt our management systems is a failure of leadership.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Walt Kelly, the illustrator of the famous and long retired comic strip, Pogo, once suggested (drawing upon a quote from the War of 1812), “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

It’s always true. What’s not guaranteed is your organization’s failure in the face of existential threats. In my next post, we blow up these big obstacles. And remember, all it takes is courage.

 

Filed Under: 4.1c Performance Improvement, 4.1c(1) Best Practices, 4.1c(2) Future Performance, 7 Results

Will Your Business Be Sold Or Will It Fold?

January 17, 2018 by Chris Scherer Leave a Comment

Did you know?

  • Approximately 50% of businesses fail within five years
  • Over 70% of businesses are owned by Baby Boomers who are nearing retirement and most will never find a buyer
  • Over 80% of these Baby Boomer Businesses are not “transaction ready”.
  • Only 4-5% of businesses listed are actually sold in any one quarter (BizBuySell.com).
  • Over 70% of businesses sold fail to meet the expectations of the buyer.

Filed Under: 2 Strategy, 3 Customers, 4.2b Data, Information, and Information Technology, 5 Workforce, 6 Operations, 7 Results, 7.5 Financial and Market Results, A.08 Managing by Fact

Who’s In Charge

November 6, 2017 by Richard Doyle Leave a Comment

There was a disruption in your business recently and now it is time to do an analysis and report to your Board about the incident. This is your chance to be a Leader or demonstrate that you may not be in charge of your business.

I was working with a client recently and during a break I was having a quick conversation with their Director of Finance. He told me how much respect he had for the CEO, and I asked why. He told me that each month he attends the Board Meetings with the CEO to cover the financial aspects of the business.

He told me that anytime the CEO needed to advise the Board on any recent challenges, he never once pointed the finger at any of the employees. The CEO’s only comment when asked who had the problem was that he is in charge and the buck stops here. The Director of Finance also told me that when there was a great accomplishment to discuss, the CEO always gave credit to the employee or employees involved.

After a few meetings, the Director of Finance mentioned what he was observing and hearing to his peers on the management team. They were stunned, they had never worked for a person who was quite like this CEO.

What a great example of a Leader!! Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself if you could be compared to that CEO.

If you are the CEO, President, Owner or Founder, you are in charge. Do you act like it? Do you have the kind of respect and trust that this CEO’s team and Board obviously have of him?

If not then Who’s in Charge?

Filed Under: 1 Leadership, 1.1 Senior Leadership, 1.2 Governance and Societal Responsibilities, 7.4 Leadership and Governance Results

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Categories

  • 0 Organizational Profile
  • 0.1 Organizational Description
  • 0.1a Organizational Environment
  • 0.1a.(2) Mission, Vision, and Values
  • 0.1a.(3) Workforce Profile
  • 0.1b Organizational Relationships
  • 0.1b.(1) Organizational Structure
  • 0.1b.(2) Customers and Stakeholders
  • 0.1b.(3) Suppliers and Partners
  • 0.2 Organizational Situation
  • 0.2a Competitive Environment
  • 0.2c Performance Improvement System
  • 1 Leadership
  • 1.1 Senior Leadership
  • 1.2 Governance and Societal Responsibilities
  • 2 Strategy
  • 2.2 Strategy Implementation
  • 3 Customers
  • 3.1 Voice of the Customer
  • 3.2 Customer Engagement
  • 3.2a Product Offerings and Customer Support
  • 3.2a.(1) Product Offerings
  • 3.2a.(2) Customer Support
  • 3.2a.(3) Customer Segmentation
  • 3.2b Customer Relationships
  • 3.2b.(1) Relationship Management
  • 3.2b.(2) Complaint Management
  • 4 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
  • 4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement of Organizational Performance
  • 4.1a Performance Measurement
  • 4.1b Performance Analysis and Review
  • 4.1c Performance Improvement
  • 4.1c(1) Best Practices
  • 4.1c(2) Future Performance
  • 4.1c(3) Continuous Improvement and Innovation
  • 4.2 Knowledge Management, Information, and Information Technology
  • 4.2a Organizational Knowledge
  • 4.2b Data, Information, and Information Technology
  • 5 Workforce
  • 5.1 Workforce Environment
  • 5.2 Workforce Engagement
  • 6 Operations
  • 6.1 Work Processes
  • 6.1a Product and Process Design
  • 6.1b Process Management
  • 6.1c Innovation Management
  • 6.2 Operational Effectiveness
  • 7 Results
  • 7.1 Product and Process Results
  • 7.2 Customer-Focused Results
  • 7.2a Customer Satisfaction
  • 7.3 Workforce-Focused Results
  • 7.4 Leadership and Governance Results
  • 7.5 Financial and Market Results
  • 7.5a Financial Performance
  • 7.5b Marketplace Performance
  • A Core Values and Concepts
  • A.01 Systems Perspective
  • A.02 Visionary Leadership
  • A.03 Customer-Focused Excellence
  • A.04 Valuing People
  • A.05 Organizational Learning and Agility
  • A.06 Focus on Success
  • A.07 Managing for Innovation
  • A.08 Managing by Fact
  • A.10 Ethics and Transparency
  • A.11 Delivering Value and Results
  • Baldrige
  • FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • The Blue Yarn
  • Crisis Management & how to overcome it
  • Creating a Learning Organization
  • Four Barriers to Business Transformation
  • CEO Habits to Develop in 2018
  • Will Your Business Be Sold Or Will It Fold?
  • Measure Your KPI’s
  • Avoiding Blind Spots
  • Who’s In Charge
  • Dream of Selling

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