Avoid interruptions in the workplace
This video is worth watching regarding making your workplace more productive. It’s a great message by a person who has some great products (basecamp, campfire etc)
Have a great day!
Lawrence
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Instead of JIT how about JOM
For years businesses had the philosophy they should carry large inventory of all products to make sure they wouldn’t run out of product or parts. Then organizations switched to Just in Time inventory (JIT). The idea was by receiving materials right when they are needed, there would be great savings in inventory, insurance, storage etc.
The problem is many organizations are trying to use JIT inventory for their materials and miscalculating their needs and shipping times. They anticipate running out of a vital material on Wednesday so they plan on having the more materials delivered on Tuesday. This becomes a problem when they don’t anticipate shipping delays (bad weather, mistakes, their supplier not having enough product etc). As a result, instead of just in time inventory, too often they have NO INVENTORY.
While large manufacturing plants might have the manpower and experience and computers to operate a true JIT system, smaller organizations are the ones that frequently are struggling with the concept.
As an example, there used to be a little sandwich and pizza place in town. There were days they didn’t have napkins. There were days they didn’t have lids for the drinks. Almost every day something on their menu wasn’t available because they had run out of an ingredient. They were trying to use JIT and failed miserably. It’s no longer a problem because they are NO LONGER IN BUSINESS.
An alternative to JIT is Just One More (JOM). This concept involves having one additional piece of everything so instead of ordering for exactly what you will be needing instead, you order to replace the one extra.
As a simple example, if this little sandwich shop was ordering napkins in quantities that would last one week and they were re-ordering each Monday, they would make sure they have enough for the entire week PLUS one more week. This allows them to make sure they always have enough in stock without having to carry large inventories.
JIT is a bit cheaper than JOM but unless you have truly mastered JIT, JOM might save you a LOT of money in lost opportunities.
Just something to consider
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Settling
Do you get to a certain point and then settle? Once you settle, do you start to fall back?
Think of a thermostat. You set the temperature to the level you want to achieve and once you hit that temperature, the things level out until they fall below the level you want and then you have to heat back up again.
Do you work the same way? Do you set a goal, achieve that goal and then start to get lazy?
The alternative is the sprinter. The sprinter doesn’t run to the finish line and then stop but rather sprints through the line and keeps going further and then gradually slows down.
Don’t be like the thermostat and constantly going up and down. Rather, sprint through your goals and keep on going
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Untapped Ability
Do you ever step back and take a long look at the various abilities and capabilities within your organization that are not being used?
This might be something as simple as looking in your computer and seeing all of the software you might have that could be used to be more efficient. Or, it might be finding out all of the skills your employees might have that are being underutilized.
So many people are quick to rush out and buy the latest and greatest thing and forget to look at what they already possess which might be as good, if not better.
In most cases, we don’t take advantage of the skills, abilities, programs we already possess and instead waste money on something newer, shinier and in many cases, not as good.
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Find the pattern and then the cause
We tend to look at individual events and ignore patterns that can be built upon for future development.
As an example, a restaurant might find they have their best sale days on Thursday’s. Some might be content and be happy. Others might look at the pattern and look for the cause. The pattern of good sale days on Thursday’s might be the result of plays at a local theater and people come by after the play. If this is the true cause, rather than be content, the restaurant might decide to be proactive and sponsor another night of plays at the theater While it would cost money in the sponsorship, the increase in sales might more than offset it. Without looking at the pattern and cause, this would never happen.
There are very few truly random acts. Winning the lottery might seem to be a truly random act. However, in looking at the pattern one thing that will be discovered is no one wins the lottery who hasn’t purchased a ticket (or had a ticket purchased for them). Purchasing a lottery ticket in no way guarantees a winning ticket but it does increase the chances over not purchasing a ticket.
When looking at problems with a computer program, there will almost always be a pattern that will show the problem. If you are willing to look hard enough, you will find the pattern and then the cause.
See the pattern, determine the cause and the rest will be easy
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Coach in the moment rather than after the fact
Many organizations have annual reviews for their employees. In these reviews they look at what was done well and what was done poorly, they determine improvements that need to be made and those things that need to be continued.
The problem with these yearly reviews is they are all done after the fact (and frequently, long after the fact).
Instead these evaluations and adaptations should be done during the moment. Fix as soon as possible as opposed to letting things build up over time. This will allow your organization to adapt quicker and also will allow you to prevent the building up of frustration over time
Coach in the moment as opposed to after the fact and see how quickly good things will happen
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Be a real person
I can’t speak for anyone else but personally, I prefer to buy from a person as opposed to an organization.
This means I would rather buy from a small privately owned business rather than from a big multinational conglomerate.
This also means I would rather deal with “Lisa” rather than “customer service” and would rather work with “Rich” rather than “Coach”
For some reason some people think it sounds more impressive to be “accounting” rather “Mary” even though it’s turning off some people they are dealing with.
Take advantage of your true personality, it’s your best selling point!
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Do you have a sounding board?
When you have a problem or idea, do you have someone to bounce the idea off of?
Frequently a problem arises and when you keep it to yourself, it builds up in your own mind to the point where it seems to be MUCH bigger than it really is. By talking it out with someone (especially someone who is not closely related to the issue) one of two things will frequently occur.
1.You will realize the issue isn’t as big as you have built it up to be
2.You will realize there is a solution that might not have been readily apparent without talking it out
The sounding board frequently doesn’t actually give you the answers, they just allow you to verbalize the issues and let you arrive at the answers yourself.
If you don’t have a sounding board, I strongly recommend finding one soon
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Go build a bridge
If you were to ask me to build a bridge and those were the only instructions I was given, I might build a bridge that goes over a river, it might go over a street, it might go over land or might go no where at all. It might be made of concrete, of aluminum or of paper.
If you were to ask me to build a bridge and then gave me the specifications (from Point A to Point B and should be able to support X, Y and Z and should be modeled after G, H and I) there is a much greater chance you will get the bridge you were wanting in the first place.
The more specifics you can provide, the more likely you are to get what you want.
Be specific!
Have a great day!
Lawrence
PS. If you ask me to build a bridge, you will be sadly disappointed, I don’t know how
No No No
Do you want to support a negative organization? If a store keeps saying no to you, are you going to keep going back? If you think there isn’t a lot of negativity out there, take a look around some time
No smoking
No cell phones
No checks
No exit
No No NO
I’m not saying you should encourage or allow these things but can they be presented in a more positive way?
Instead of “No Smoking” how about “Thank you for helping us provide a smoke free environment, if you feel the need to smoke, we have an area on the side of the building available to you”
Instead of “No Checks” how about “We gladly accept cash, money orders and credit cards”
Anything you can say in the negative, you can find a way to say in the positive.
There are times you might want to stay with the negative approach (“Do not touch, HOT!”) but if you want to improve your business, look to create a more positive approach
Instead of “no, no no” find a way to say “yes, yes, yes” you will find it’s contagious!
Have a great day!
Lawrence
If there is one thing Lawrence Fine is most passionate about it's teaching. From sharing his knowledge about soccer as a soccer coach, he now shares his expertise in the field of human resources and the Internet. (More...)