'Winning Ugly' - the real art of continuous improvement?

I see a lot of frustration in businesses when it comes to implementing continuous improvement projects. I see it so much that it reminds me of a phrase I heard from a performance psychologist called Dr John Eliot. He was talking about the frustrations of performances not turning out exactly as planned and talked about the ability to 'win ugly'.

This phrase stuck in my head because it translates directly across to the world of continuous improvement. You come up with a game plan, you execute the plan and then review the results. Sometimes they are as predicted, other times they are better (and many times they are worse). At this point you can choose how you want to proceed. Some people get upset that the results weren't amazing and give up. Other people see the results for what they are, feedback, and then they choose to have another attempt.

If you're a regular reader of this blog then you will see this theme running through my posts; continuous improvement needs to be continuous - you've got to keep going in order to achieve meaningful results.

A really good example of 'winning ugly' is when you implement a new process (especially standard meetings) and the first attempt is awful when compared to the vision you had in your head. Instead of all of the pieces of the process fitting neatly into place at the right time the process falls over and looks a mess. If you keep going then enough practice will take place and you will achieve the slick new process that you want in your business. You usually have to go through the messy phase in order to get to the slick phase.

So, are you prepared to 'win ugly'?

Are you prepared to keep going with your new improvements when they aren't quite working out for your business?

Can you give people time to get the hang of new processes and stick with them so that they can make the new processes really work for your business?

Will you live with the short term state of imperfection in order to achieve your continuous improvement goals?

Great, then go to it.

Giles Johnston
...optimising MRP systems and re-engineering business processes

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

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.

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.

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