Skip to main content

Go Backwards When Your Continuous Improvements Dry Up


Continuous improvement is a phrase that is commonly used, but one in my experience that is not utilised in most businesses to any great effect. Going from bad to OK is a good thing to do when you start a process of change within your business, but eventually you will need to try and tackle the change of going from OK to amazing. This is where a lot of businesses find that their continuous improvement activities stall.

I don't believe it is down to a lack of vision as to why the movement from OK to amazing doesn't take place. I think people are busy with their working lives and that most of their motivation comes from trying to avoid their bosses giving them a hard time for things not working properly. Now of course there are lots of people who are motivated to see how good they can make things, and I am not trying to take away anything from managing a well performing business process, but if people potentially have lots of ideas then why aren't they more forthcoming?

I do believe that if you give the staff in your business a small amount of time each week to generate and implement improvement ideas then the move from OK to amazing can be achieved. The three ingredients are; time out, conversation and a focal point of some sort. The first two points are self explanatory; the third point I believe needs to be there as the opportunities available to improve a business can be so wide and varied it can stump a lot of people as to where to start.

The reverse brainstorm is an interesting tool that can help to provide the kind of focus I am writing about. Get your team to list (brainstorm) how an awful business would conduct itself and then invert all of your answers, with the help of the team to get the wording right, and lo and behold you have a simple list of ideas that the business can strive towards. Prioritise the list and you now have the conversation agenda for your time out sessions.

Continuous improvement needn't be a hard task for any business to undertake, it just needs some time, some leadership and some regularity. I have witnessed many times a team's shackles being released from having some very basic conversations about innovating their processes; even the most simple of changes can yield huge benefits for a business when implemented. Of course, and here is my word of caution, launching your business into a continuous improvement 'programme' without the commitment, resources or discipline to follow through can be very de-motivating for the people who are involved. If you are in doubt, start small and start effective.

Giles Johnston is the author of a short guide to implementing effective continuous improvement processes. It is available from Amazon for the Kindle App / reading device; http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007U78ISW

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Giles_G_Johnston


Smartspeed Consulting Limited
Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Kamishibai Boards

Available to purchase here. Some tools are incredibly simple to use, and also deliver some amazing results. Kamishibai boards are a great example and are superb when you want some visual control over routine tasks. By the way Kamishibai is pronounced "come-e-she-bye" in case you were wondering! As simple as you could want it, a Kamishibai board is a T-card system that has red cards glued to green cards (so that each T-card has a red side and a green side). The red cards are for the incomplete tasks, where as the green cards symbolise that the work has been done. See the photo below of a board in use. On the red side of the card you write the name of the task that needs to be completed, and if appropriate you can include details of how the task is to be completed. This is not expected to replace standard operating procedures, but can be a good opportunity for an aide memoire. The boards can be organised for daily, weekly and even monthly cycles. They are g
Read more

Kamishibai Boards: A Visual Management Tool to Improve Discipline and Workplace Habits

If you need to increase your effectiveness in the workplace and need a visual tool to help with day to day task management then this short guide is for you. Giles Johnston, a business improvement consultant for small to medium sized businesses, takes you through the steps needed to implement a low / no cost solution to your day to day management problems - a 'Kamishibai' board.  A Kamishibai board can help to improve discipline within the workplace and ensure that the working days / weeks / months are more effective. Common within businesses that use 'lean' methods to improve efficiency and performance (and very effective to use when implementing 5S), a Kamishibai board can be used in its own right, in any kind of business, whether you are going through a lean transformation or not.  Click here to view on Amazon.com. Smartspeed Consulting Limited Taking the frustration out of on time delivery.
Read more

What is 5S and how does it help to improve the performance of my business?

Many businesses have heard of 5S; it is a simple workplace organisation system that is designed to make workplaces more effective and more efficient, as well as safer. Many businesses also try and fail at implementing 5S . It might be simple, but as you will know, anything that involves changing the behaviours of your staff isn’t always straightforward. If you haven’t heard of 5S before there are five basic steps, all beginning with ‘S’. They are: Sort – clearing out the clutter and re-distributing other people’s belongings. Set in order – optimising the workplace so that everything you need frequently is close at hand. Shine – cleaning the workplace to an appropriate level. Standards – defining what good looks like and how you will keep it that way. Sustain – forming the habits to retain the benefits of an organised and disciplined workplace. So, how does 5S improve the performance of your business? From a safety perspective, fewer accidents means less downtime.
Read more