During last week there were a number of productivity boosting lessons laying themselves out for my clients as part of their improvement projects. I have summarised them here for you to consider: Basic Office Software Skills Time and time again the ability to use the software we have in our offices comes to the fore. A small improvement in learning how to use the tools we have infront of us can make a huge difference if we have to handle information on a regular basis. If you feel that you have some weaknesses in this area then it might be really worthwhile speaking to your colleagues about how they use their software, or looking online for shortcuts and tips. Ownership versus Execution When there is no ownership of a process it can go off course! No surprises there. What was interesting last week was finding out that some of my clients were struggling with the 'execution and ownership' issue. Owning a process means that you are responsible for it. Executing a proc

I am in the process of developing the Making It Happen site to host the Improvement Club. This updated site will not only include the original Making It Happen library, but also the other courses, kits and products that I have created over the years. As part of the subscription there will be the opportunity to ask me a continuous improvement question each month, specifically for you and your business. I would very much like to get some feedback on the direction I am currently taking with this new service. If you have three minutes to spare could you answer the following questions? Thanks, Giles Loading... About the author Giles Johnston is a Chartered Engineer who specialises in helping businesses to grow and improve through better business processes. Giles is also the author of Business Process Re-Engineering and creator of the ' Making It Happen ' continuous improvement toolkit. Discover practical improvement strategies to drive up productivity f

Discussions around improvements are really interesting. There will always be some people who are in favour of an idea, some who are opposed and some that don’t really mind either way. When an improvement makes sense to the majority of people around the table it usually gets traction and things happen. When enough people aren’t sure about the merits of an improvement it can be easy for the idea to be killed off. However, changing the way that we present our ideas can bring about a completely different outcome.

I'm pleased to announce that two more of my books have now made it into paperback format: Effective SOPs and Office Productivity . Office Productivity was written to translate some of the great practices that come out of business process re-engineering and lean manufacturing activities into an administration setting. Many of my clients are outside of the manufacturing sector and this book is a compilation of the methods I have used with them to boost their productivity.

The photo you can see below is a simple, inexpensive and effective visual management solution for one of my client's previously ongoing business issues - their heating system switching itself off (because it has run out of fuel!). Simple visual management system example A heating system might not be your most gripping business issue, but the point of this post is the big issue behind visual management systems... Visual management approaches don't work if the staff of a business don't look at the information being presented. The above window is only effective if the people who can refill the hopper regularly look at it in order to make a decision. If everyone walks past the window and does nothing then the window is pointless. Clearly having a window is better than having no window (they used to have open the hatch to look in). But not looking at the window makes having a window redundant. So, let's extend this point past this example: Visual operator ma

Two more of my books are now available in paperback: On Time Delivery: A True Lean Manufacturing Story This short book is a chronicle of my time as a Production Manager in an under performing factory . The book recounts the steps (good and bad) that I took to take the OTIF performance from 22% to 98% in just a few months (as well as the lead time dropping from 20 weeks down to just under 4). The book includes learning points and a reflection of what I would do differently next time. You can get your copy by clicking here . Sunrise Meetings: Create Effective Routines To Make Your Business Run Like Clockwork Sunrise Meetings are those short, effective, daily meetings that really jump start how your business operates. If you find yourself in a position where there is too much fire-fighting and not enough results then this book can help you to organise your business through a more formal approach to operating your business processes . Like many of my books, this is a

I bet that you can think of three changes you want to make in your business, that would drive up your levels of productivity, as you read this. How easy are these changes to make? Are they new ideas, or are they items you are struggling with?