A client of mine, many years ago, was very frustrated that their project plans were never stuck to. They were baffled as to why their perfectly good (and well thought out) plans always failed. Due to this frustration I was asked to have a look at their plans. Although I wasn’t an expert in their line of work I was able to ask a few questions that were relevant. We worked through the sequence and the work contents which all seemed fine. I then asked about the resourcing and finally struck something that was awry with the plan.

Over the years I have worked with a fair number of businesses that had thought that implementing a MRP system would solve a lot of their problems. Instead, they found themselves: No further ahead with their on time delivery problems. No better off from an inventory management point of view. Still lacking teamwork across the business. Feeling frustrated with their system and creating spreadsheet workarounds. Stuck with higher levels of admin tasks, for no obvious gains...

It's a fascinating time of year, from a continuous improvement perspective. Ideas on how we want to change our business often flood through our minds at this time of year. Has this happened to you during the last few weeks?

Once you get the ball rolling with continuous improvement projects it can be quite astounding as to how many other improvement opportunities come out of the woodwork. However, when you get 'too many' managing them can become difficult. If you face this issue then it might be time to have a master list.

On our quest to grow our businesses it can sometimes be frustrating when our progress slows down. With growth comes both rewards and frustrations; getting past the frustrations is key to the next phase of growth and it usually starts with a conversation.

If you would like to get yourself a copy of my Making It Happen  programme for only $47, you have until 9pm on Monday the 7th of November 2016 to use this discount code:

Making change happen can sometimes happen in an instant, when you manage to hit on the right combination of desire, momentum and skills. Other times it can take longer... During these longer periods it is perceived that you will require a thick skin to navigate the obstacles, friction and problems that you will face. Reflecting on this:

I have just uploaded a revised course outline for the my Making It Happen  online course. The course is designed to improve an individual's continuous improvement skills, whilst also improving the performance of their business. It works really well as a team training framework and provides a structured year of continuous improvement.

Scheduling is a skill for many people, an effective schedule can make a big difference as to whether a project is delivered on time, or not. I have noticed a very basic mistake that gets made with scheduling that I want to share in this post. Do you make this same mistake?

There is a lot written about high performing teams . Understandably this is an important topic; if your team works well then you can achieve more than with just the individuals put together. Do your teams work like a team, or are they just a collection of people who are called a team?

Do you have plenty of time to spend on completing your improvement projects ? Unless continuous improvement is your full time job it is unlikely that you would answer 'yes' to that question. So, if you answered 'no', how about you take a holiday instead?

At first glance you might be thinking that this is an obvious question to answer for your business. Over the years I have come to realise that many people try to tick things off their 'to do' list early, just to get the feeling of achievement from having them ticked off. I see the same effect taking place when businesses report internally (and even externally, in some cases) on the progress of projects and production.

How do you measure your business processes? Do you have a good feel for how well things are going, or does your experience tell you something else?