Tag: Process Improvement

Have Many Irons in the Fire?

Too many irons in the fire hark back to the days of blacksmiths when irons were heated in a fire stoked by a bellows.  The irons were heated red hot and then pounded into shape by the blacksmith using an anvil and hammer. Having too many irons in the fire meant that the blacksmith could not handle all the work he had to do. Today, we use the saying for too many projects that we’re doing.

It is in our training and in our desire to help. We take on some tasks which interest us we take on even more because the powers-that-be want us to do more. And sometimes there is not enough money for two people to do the tasks and therefore one is let go in the other one has to do the tasks for both. This happens more than you think.

Often, this takes place without a lot of complaint up the chain. For one thing, we still want the job, and the higher workload is one of the requirements to keep it. Another item that’s not so well understood is that many of us are wired to take on added work and/or are ashamed to admit that we need help. We see asking for help as a sign of weakness.

Here’s the question, and if you’re new to our blog so I always ask questions. Is it better work as hard as you can, knowing some things will fall through the cracks; or, is it better to ask for assistance or delegate work?

As much as we would like to be the hero, save the day, get all our work done and never need to ask for help, it does not always happen. Would you rather be standing in the boardroom explaining why a pet project was not completed? Would you rather be standing in the board room,  congratulated along with your team that helped to complete the project?

We all live with some fear in the back of our mind about what others may think of us. Most of that fear leads us in wrong directions. Leadership always prefers the person with that will ask for help when needed because the action shows they put the project first. And everything being equal, leadership respects and honors positive project actions.

Next time you have too many irons in the fire get a few more blacksmiths and just pound that project out.

Thanks for being with us. We have piled up a few irons in the fire ourselves. And I am hoping by the end of this week or the beginning of next we will have some exciting news to share.

Mountains and Molehills

Hi there!

Did you sit down and consider the questions from yesterday? Did you write something down?

I saw a saying that goes you can be anything you want to be. A Variation on the saying is that you can do anything you want to do. Another variation is you can go wherever you want to go in life.

For some people, those things appear to be just lip service. They point at obstacles, and hindrances, and the results of poor decisions because no one to give them a chance. At the same time, there are people whose mountain of concerns make other people’s look like molehills, and yet they succeed.

Many people look at those who succeed and say, “Sure, but there they are outliers.” My thought on that is, “Yeah, so?”

You can do whatever it is you set your mind to. And, the second part of that? You have to be willing to do what it takes to succeed.

We will talk about what that looks like tomorrow.

Hidden Factories???

Up until now, we’ve talked about systems and habits at home. Most workplaces also have systems in habits. Some of those systems and habits probably work well. Some could always work better with a little improvement.

There is always the formal workplace and the informal workplace. Both are important to the business. One is the direct channel that management uses to set up processes and requirements and to maintain the actions needed for the business to be sustained. The other is the method by which the workers take what management dictates and makes it happen.

As I said, one does not work well without the other. Smart management and smart workers know this. The really smart companies don’t set up new systems and requirements until the management and workers have sat down together and gone over them.

On the other hand, sometimes management sends down new processes that it expects to have implemented within two weeks. The workers who actually do the work day in and day out look at the new processes, find the places where it does not work well, and simply substitutes whatever they feel it takes to complete what they think should be accomplished. When this happens, no one is happy.

Changes always work best with good, logical explanations and positive agreement before implementation.  Without this step, your new systems have just turned into hidden factories.

What is a hidden factory?  Join us Monday for our next blog, and I will tell you all about it.

How Are Your Systems and Habits?

Systems are important, and the habits that keep us using the systems are vital.

Did you know that glass is not a solid? I saw that this week on the Internet when I was looking up the various unique characteristics of glass. Glass is considered a fourth element. Glass is never found as a solid or gas. Glasses are always in a liquid state. It is just that the way glass is made. The molecules are super-cooled, and the electrons move very slow.

I am not sure that our habits or the systems we use should ever be in a solid or gaseous state either. A gaseous state would mean there would be no coherence there would be nothing to grab onto. If our habits and systems are rock solid, there is no room for error which is good. And yet, there is no room to take care of an anomaly. And there is always an anomaly somewhere that in life or in business you must take care of.

My ideas and systems need to have good habits that can bend to higher needs when the occasion arises. I also believe in systems that are well understood and have the capacity to work well on situations which fall well outside of the norm.

Am I asking for miracles? No. I remember who I work for. I work for my family. And as I have said before, I work for the man upstairs, and he has me working for you. That makes everyone involved very important. I want to make sure I am doing those things that are important to everyone involved.

How are you with the systems you use to get things done and the habits that keep you using the systems? Think of your habits and systems overnight and make a list. And we will talk about this again in the morning.

Thanks for being here with us, I look forward to tomorrow.

 

Who’s Fishing, What’s Biting, Be Pleasant

Thank you for being with us again.

Today we take a final look, for now, at comfort zones. From time to time we will come back to the comfort zone, as we are exploring other things.

When we’re going to move from one comfort zone to another, it is always good, as with anything we do, to do our research. Research is the homework that makes us look better when we’re out in public. We want to know the basics that we can find out on the computer before we arrive.

It’s good to know the company motto, the mission statement, the major company beliefs, a general overall ‘who is who’ especially for the top brass. These days, you can find out who the senior staff is on a company website. If there are no pictures there, you can look up the leadership individually by name, and there will usually be a picture, especially on their Facebook or LinkedIn.

If you know a few facts about the company or recognize the head of the plant or the director of manufacturing before being introduced, you score some big points because at that point you are no longer a visitor, you are starting to grow into the role of a member of the tribe.

You want to research the facts that you can find and know them. Yet, at the same time, you do not want to over think things. And you don’t want to come off as the nerdy geek. I’ve already filled that job. Be yourself never try to reach for something you’re not. It is over thinking and overreach that killed more opportunities than anything else.

Remember that smiles are better than frowns. And, letting the person in charge lead a little is always good when you’re not quite sure. Finding your way into your new comfort zone is a time for smiles and positives. Think of what people like, what you like and be that person. If you have been invited into their company and they have shown interest in you, they really want you to succeed. The last thing that anyone on staff wants is to go back to the drawing board to find someone else.

Whether your new comfort zone is being the new plant manager or occupying the fishing spot under the tree on the bank. The work you do to get there is the same. Know who is fishing, know what’s Biting, and be pleasant.

 

 

If You Change Your Angle

Hello and welcome back.

We’ve been talking about comfort zones. Up until now, we’ve been talking about having a comfort zone and going to a new one as something fearful. There are always worries about what might happen. The truth is you don’t know until you try.

Would it be fearful for something to offer you a large sum of money? To give you prestige? To give you a better lifestyle? You’re probably expecting me now to tell you all this happens with the comfort zone to the next. Sorry. As stated in the last blog, I have been around the block a few times. But I am here to tell you that with a little research and a little work moving from one comfort zone to another can be a very good thing.

Look at changing a comfort zone like this. I had a friend in Alaska who won a free trip to Hawaii from a radio station. It was for him and his wife, and the catch was they had to leave in two days. They both had jobs, and kids, and other responsibilities.

Most people would have just said no I can’t go, I have too many responsibilities. The contest involved packing suitcases, so the suitcases were packed. They each made a quick call and explanation to their jobs and their employers who understood and encouraged the trip. The next-door neighbor, who they traded babysitting with offered to take care of the kids while they were gone. And in about 18 hours, they were ready to board the plane and enjoy a vacation paid for by local radio station.

Many things look impossible when you’re down looking up. If you can change your angle of view a little bit, you can start to see ways in which obstacles diminish and opportunities become possible.

Take another look at the worries and concerns that you may have in trying to achieve something new. If you can adjust the view, maybe with reading a few articles or watching a few YouTube videos, maybe you can see a way.

Thank you for being with me today and listening to one person’s ideas. We hope you find the way to seek and find what you’re looking for.

We look forward to being with you again tomorrow. Thank you.

 

 

Just One Opinion

Thank you for being here again, it is always great to provide these blogs for great people and friends such as you.

Yesterday we talked about the fears of leaving the comfort zone. And indeed there are real fears in doing so. And considering that, why would anyone ever want to leave their comfort zone facing all that fear? Before we decide to stay where we are forever, let’s look at some other views of comfort zones.

Comfort zones can quite often hold us back when it is time for us to move onto something better. Again this happens because fears of the unknown prey upon us and make us want to stay where not everything is perfect, but at least we know more about the situation.

What we need to remember is we are smart, strong people. We can easily learn new ways and Excel at new tasks and, if we are training correctly we can excel. And these days training is as easy as YouTube and the Internet.

I’m here to assure you, if you do not try you will never know the great things you could accomplish. If you do not move out of one comfort zone, you will never get the rewards of the next comfort zone.

I believe it was Teddy Roosevelt when talking to a gathering of business leaders, both successful and unsuccessful. He told them he was glad to be there because everyone there had one thing in common. He told them it did not matter, were they successful or unsuccessful. The thing that they had in common was everyone in the room had tried. And Teddy Roosevelt felt that the most important thing was to at least try.

Can I promise you that everything will always be roses, and nothing bad will ever befall you? Sorry, I’ve been around the block a few times myself. What I will say, is that Win, lose, or draw, you will be happier in trying, than in never trying and not knowing.

Of course, this is one man’s opinion. But it is one person’s opinion, shared by a president of the United States and a multitude of others.

Thank you for being here with us today. Please leave a comment, and we look forward to meeting with you again tomorrow.

 

 

Comfort Zone Security

Looks like we secured some of the technical problems with the computer and the microphones and today we are looking at why somebody would move out of their comfort zone.

I like my comfort zone. It is not neat, and not pretty. My comfort zone, though, is something that I am used to living in. I know where things are. I know most answers to whatever may come up. And I understand what my expectations and limitations are within my comfort zone. And yet, I have had to move out of the comfort zone many times before, and I know I will do so several times in the future.

Sometimes we move out of the comfort zone because we search for something better. Sometimes we move out of our comfort zone to support others in their quests. And sometimes we are forced out of our comfort zones through actions and changes which we had very little control over.

Some of my changes in comfort zones were because I was in the military and moved from one base to another. These changes were very agreeable to me because as a child my father was in the military, and we would move every two or three years. I liked seeing new surroundings, seeing new things and of course learning.  Every time you move from one comfort zone to another you learn new things.

Sometimes those things aren’t what you really wanted to learn. That is okay. I have a philosophy that says learning is good. At one point after I retired from the military, I learned what it was like to have your factory to close and move all of its operations overseas. I did not ask for this to happen. I was unhappy for myself and the hundreds of people out of work. This forced me to change my comfort zones whether I wanted to or not.

Everything being equal, you are at most risk when you move from one place to another. It is true when you go from one house to another, and when you’re on the road. The risk is present when you move from one job to another and have to learn new ways of doing things. When you move from one neighborhood to another, positive changes include meeting new friends. Negatives include the fact that you don’t know what the good and bad of the new neighborhood will include. Risks are always unpleasant. To minimize risk, we always want to get back into our comfort zone, new or old, as fast as possible.

With your permission, in upcoming blogs, I would like to explore the idea of the comfort zones a little bit more in detail. And maybe with the help of you and others, define some precautions that we can take while outside of our comfort zone which will make getting into the new comfort zone easier.

Thank you for reading, please leave us a comment!

 

 

 

A Quick Question

Today I have a quick question for you:

When you look to find out something online, how often do you just want one piece of information, and how often do you want to know a little more about the item or subject?

Please think of that and let me know in the comments.  The comments section does not put you on a mailing list, it just allows me to take a quick poll of people.

Tomorrow, we will look at the answers and talk about this idea a little more.

Learning

I find it amazing what people can do when they put their heads together. Singularly we are but one voice in the wilderness. Yet, put us together, and amazing things can happen. I am working in a multinational class learning to run my business better.  I do this so I can better serve my customers (That’s You.)

We are working to make our businesses better, not for greed, or money, or fame. We are working to make our businesses better so we can reach out and do better for those who need to learn and grow. We each have our own idea of how we can help others.  Working to help others helps make the world a better place. We have people from many countries and continents all working together to better learn our craft.

Our goal is to learn how to develop and maintain a workable business which allows us to keep a flow of both good and goods to others who need the items and education.

The people who are teaching us are smart, energetic and willing to give of themselves and their time to help us to learn these wonderful nuggets of knowledge.

They say that as you rise into space and look down on the earth, you do not recognize borders. You recognize land and sea, clouds and ocean, some rivers and of course the great barrier reef and the great wall of china. You know that there are people down there. It seems to me the more we work with people and the less that we let invisible borders impede the flow of education and knowledge, the better we all will be.