Articles by: Ankit Patel
11/22/09 by Ankit Patel | situational leadership | No Comments »
The last two posts I covered a couple of different ways to deal with different personality types. But there is another factor. People act differently in different situations. The personality tests usually indicate tendencies and not skill levels. If you and a surgeon are talking about how to improve the operating room you will get a different personality then you would if you were talking to the same surgeon about improving the cockpit of a 747. Situational Leadership is just as important or more important than knowing personality tendencies.
Here is what the Center for Leadership Studies says about different situations:
You have two variables:
1)Competence/Ability
2)Commitment/Confidence
We have for situations that come from the 2 variables:
1) Low Competence/Ability & Low Commitment/Confidence
2) Low Competence/Ability & High Commitment/Confidence
3) High Competence/Ability & Low Commitment/Confidence
4) High Competence/Ability & High Commitment/Confidence
Based on the particular situation it can change how you react to individuals and groups. The basic premise is use use personality profiles to learn HOW to talk to people and situational leadership to learn WHAT to say. In the next blog I’ll cover how to use the situational leadership model.
11/20/09 by Ankit Patel | lean personality profile | No Comments »
I want to talk about another personality profile test called the DISC test that is also helpful when influencing people during a lean transformation.
So how do we use this information?
D – Be very to the point and tell them the meat of the discussion. They will be more interested in results then method. Be careful to manage these personality types because they may be too results focused and lean is just as much about the culture as the results.
I – They are more interested in people. Immerse them in team exercises like kaizens and they are at home. These people are also key when going through a transformation. They can be great champions of lean that help to convince others.
S – These folks don’t really like change so like any change lean can be tough to get through. Keep them engaged and activated and ask them questions to get their participation.
C – Details and time line are what these folks like. Focus on the the mechanics and next steps of lean. These folks may have some trouble when it comes to the sometimes unknown aspects of lean such as outcome after events or shifts in timeline for the transformation.
This is just another way to “skin the cat.” How would you communicate with different personality types?
11/17/09 by Ankit Patel | lean personality profile | No Comments »
The last post I talked about some different personality types. What does this mean to lean implementations? Well basically they all have different communication styles! The easiest person to adapt to lean will probably be your Integrator profile. They see systems and how to improve systems so they will probably be the easiest to convince.
Good news, from my experience most people in manufacturing or operations have the integrator profile set. The opportunity is that if you aren’t in manufacturing you have a myriad of personalities to deal with. The personality types listed here are particularly applicable to the senior staff of the company. Here is how to deal with the personality types:
The INVENTOR profile: Very creative profile and loves to come up with new ideas. Have them spend more time on the problem solving aspects of lean and they will be more receptive. They like change so show them the inovativeness of the lean process and it can generate company changing/area changing ideas as well.
The HANDSHAKER profile: This profile likes to deal with the people. Talk about how lean effects people and is a people oriented process. Talk people over numbers
The NAVIGATOR profile: This profile likes leading people. Talk about how lean effects people and the navigators team for the better. Talk people over numbers.
The CONNECTOR profile: These people are more interested in meeting and connecting with people instead of the details. Communicate with this profile by showing them more of the high level approach and keep them involved in multiple groups at a time.
The INVESTOR profile: These are your Wallstreet types and some executives. Show them the benefits of investing time and money now will reap rewards down the road. I know that as a lean practitioner it is not usually a good idea to lead with this element because of the implications to the implementation but keep in mind that you may need to mention it to this profile
The COLLECTOR profile: This personality type is rarely found in operations but you find that the best way to talk to the collector profile is in numbers. Show how doing the changes today will effect the company in the long run. Collectors are found in executive positions and again use the same cautions as with the investor.
The ANALYZER profile: Analyzers are more about details than the whole picture. Show them the step by step processes and the results.
The INTEGRATOR profile: Talk systems to these folks. The typical lean approach works great with the integrator profile.
These are just guidelines to communicating. How do you communicate Lean?
11/13/09 by Ankit Patel | myprofiletest | No Comments »
You might have heard lean is just as much (if not more) about cultural changes than tools. I 100% agree from everything I’ve seen but how many tools do we have to tackle cultural changes? From a tools stand point we have standard work, layered audit processes, A3s, etc. but what about using personality profiles and situational leadership to get the lean implemented?
There are lots of personality tests out there but I like the personality test from
Surviving Business which has a few categories:
The INVENTOR profile: “Creating a better product” Inventors can’t resist creating. They keep creating long after they have run out of resources, money, and other people’s patience.
The HANDSHAKER profile “Creating a unique brand” The Inventors set the stage, and the Handshakers steal the show. Handshakers get their most valuable feedback in the limelight, and find their flow while on their feet.
The NAVIGATOR profile “Leading the team” While Handshakers are busy shining; Navigators are busy lighting up others. Navigators are the strongest leaders, as they can translate value into action through people.
The CONNECTOR profile “Bringing people together” Like Handshakers and Navigators, Connectors leverage by magnifying out in front. While Handshakers are high in the sky, however, Connectors have their ear to the ground.
The INVESTOR profile “Buying low, selling high” Investors are masters of timing but, unlike Connectors who make their money by bringing assets and resources together.
The COLLECTOR profile “Collecting appreciating assets” While Investors create wealth by accelerating money flow; Collectors create wealth by decelerating it. Rather than making money by buying and selling off waves, they make money by buying and holding on rising tides.
The ANALYZER profile “Controlling cash-generating assets” Analyzers love the detail, and are renowned for their thrift.
The INTEGRATOR profile “Creating a better system” If Inventors need to have their head in the clouds, and then Integrators need to have their finger in the pie. While Inventors are great at starting things, Integrators are great at finishing things. They are perfectionists, which is why they cannot resist finding ways to do things better.
Keep in mind that these are just tendencies and affinities. Most people are 1 main profile and have 1-2 secondary profile affinities. How do we use this information? The profiles all have different communication styles and different ways of looking at the world. Don’t forget you’ll find different people depending on the industry you are working.
So how do we communicate with all these different styles? Well it’s a combination of the situation and the major profile. More to come in Part II but until then what profile are you? Find your personality type at myProfileTest.com.
11/04/09 by Ankit Patel | lean culture, lean manufacutring, the lean way consulting, usa today | No Comments »
I came across this great article in the USA Today on how Lean is helping manufacturing companies survive the recession.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2009-11-01-lean-manufacturing-recession_N.htm?csp=34
It’s pretty simple. Get rid of waste, empower your people, and keep changing to get better and you have a winning formula. Now thats a bit easier said then done but if you are really committed in making your business succeed it is something that needs to be a focus.
How committed are you and your company to success?
11/04/09 by Ankit Patel | lean, lean manufacutring, the lean way consulting | No Comments »
I was reading on how mayonnaise is judged and can you believe there are over 40 categories to measure how “good” a mayonnaise is! There are characteristic like color, shine, several dimensions of taste, etc. If you were trying to make the best mayonnaise possible would you try to get every single variable the best it could be or would you take a holistic approach and focus on the preparation, the ingredients and the cooking techniques?
I’m guessing most people would want to deal with just a few variables instead of over 40. Sometimes the indirect approach works better than the direct approach. So what does mayonnaise have to do with operations? There are several ways to figure out how to measure and improve the parts of the mayonnaise but the real question is is what we are measuring and improving really giving us a better mayonnaise. In other words do the sum of the parts (measurements) equal the whole (great mayonnaise). Sometimes we are so driven by the bottom line that we only focus on the multiple line items on the P&L like headcount or metrics like uptime or utilization. The question we have to ask is are these the right things?
Traditional operations says we focus on the bottom line by optimizing individual areas and focusing on metrics that typically reinforce sub optimizing. Example: We want to reduce costs so we look at the biggest cost line item (head count) and we want to find ways to reduce HC without realizing impact to the culture and productivity.
Lean operations says focus on the bottom line by focusing the whole system AND the people and culture of your company. Example: We want to reduce wastes and increase flow and intern that will improve our costs.
Are you measuring just a sum of the parts of your operation or are you looking at the whole system
How does your company make “mayonnaise?”
10/30/09 by Ankit Patel | lean, lean culture, lean manufacutring, the lean way consulting | No Comments »
Many companies have already started lean but I think many people might ask “Are we lean?” You might measure “being lean” on how much waste is removed. To be truly lean 100% of the waste form a process has to be removed and the reality is that there will always be some level of waste. Another way to think of it is that lean is a way of doing business. LEAN IS NOT A SET OF TOOLS! Lean is a cultural change to the way a company does business. Because it’s a culture change it becomes more of a journey than a destination.
Here are some ways to differentiate between lean culture and lean as a set of tools:
How do we as an organization move towards a Lean facility? Here are the steps to follow:
1) Determine where you are and how you react to the situations above. Be honest with yourselves and have your lean consultant help you.
2) Once you determine what needs to be addressed you will want to begin changing areas of the operation. This can include but are not limited to the following:
a. Metrics Used to Measure Performance
b. Governance Process
c. Policy Deployment
d. Daily Meeting Schedule
e. Leader Standard Work
f. Performance Management System
g. Cultural Training
3) Once you determine the areas for change then the leaders and the lean
How does your company execute to lean?
10/28/09 by Ankit Patel | Uncategorized | No Comments »
A question I hear a lot is “how do we sustain our changes?” I wanted to share a question one of the lean experts I’ve trained in the past asked David Meier (Author and founder of Lean Associates Inc http://www.leanassociates.com/about.php):
Question from lean expert:
What are best practices from sustaining improvements after kaizen events/activities?
Answer from David Meier:
Bill — This is a bigger question than it appears. People don’t sustain things for many reasons. The main reason I think is that they were not part of the process of developing the improvement (even if they were on the team). One other reason is that kaizen is not an “event” anyway. It is a mindset and it means that things should improve AFTER the event, not just sustain.
Very often in a kaizen event, due to the short timeframe, the ideas generated are not perfected. It is easier for people to “go back” to what they knew before than to tweak the new method. Remember I said that the learning takes about 10 times longer than the process change. So if you do a 1 week kaizen then it will take people 10 weeks to adapt to the new method — and they need regular coaching and follow-up during that time (usually from the team leader and group leader). People need to learn how to refine and perfect the ideas generated during a kaizen event.
I want to expand on a couple of points: 1) Mindset is the key to lean 2) Change takes time because learning takes time.
Mindset Change:
“Kaizen is not an event” in other words it is just what we do. Kaizen roughly translates to continuous improvement and the most successful companies that implement lean don’t have “Kaizen events.” Continuous improvement is just how they run their business. A problem is noticed, a few people on the line get together and solution the problem very quickly and then implement the solution and then move on. From a previous posting “It’s the Culture Dummy” we mentioned that culture is 80% the impact so keep that in mind when running or working in a lean environment.
Change Takes Time Because Learning Takes Time:
In our instant gratification culture we want change now! Unfortunately that is not the way the world works. How often did people learn how to write the perfect essay after 1 draft? How many people are expert chess players after 1 game? The same concept applies to lean learning. To learn a new process and a new way of thinking it takes about 10x the time it did to implement the change. If an event takes 1 week it takes about 10 weeks to really learn the process. Constant guiding and coaching is needed to make sure that the learning happens. If there is no coaching/guiding then the process will revert back to the old process and there is nothing gained from the initial change.
How is your organization learning? How does your organization make change?
10/26/09 by Ankit Patel | exercise, lean | No Comments »
I’ve been thinking about Lean lessons and I had an inspiration from my workout. I work out out at
CrossfitCFT (a
Crossfit affiliate gym in Nashville)and we have a mantra “be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” What does that mean and what the heck does working out have to do with Lean manufacturing.
First off the picture is me and I wanted to illustrate a point. The exercise is a dead lift and the weight is 325 lbs. A year ago when I started I was able to lift 225 lbs. How did I make such a big jump? Lots of reasons but to simply I kept improving and I was very comfortable at being uncomfortable. The improvements from changes in diet and technique were huge at first (225 lbs – 275 – 315) but I started to level off. The next improvements were smaller (315-320-325-327[current level]) but were steady. The reason the improvements were being made was because I would operate outside my comfort zone. I would push myself hard but not to the point of injury. When we are in our comfort zones we aren’t growing or changing and if I didn’t push myself I would still be at 315 or less. It’s hard work getting better when you’re at the edge of your abilities and too often we forget that other people don’t stop training. Today you may be the heavy lifter but a few months from now you aren’t because someone else has been working hard and pushing themselves outside their comfort zone.
It then hit me! Lean is the same way. Everything we do is designed so we don’t stay in our comfort zone and we continue to grow. We have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable because if we aren’t adapting our companies then we aren’t growing and changing and we are going to be over taken by companies that are adapting and changing. So let me ask you if you are practicing lean: “how comfortable are you at being uncomfortable?”
10/22/09 by Ankit Patel | lean, lean in non manufacturing, lean manufacutring | No Comments »
Most people who know lean know the frame work around how to apply it to manufacturing. One thing I haven’t seen is an agreed upon framework to apply lean to non manufacturing settings. Thats what I want to talk about in today’s blog. What is the “standard” approach to applying lean to non manufacturing.
Toyota had defined lean in 3 elements 1)Muda (wastes) 2)Mura (flow) 3)Muri (overburdening). So the question because do these elements apply across the board? Let’s apply lean to a baseball pitcher.
Starting from the top who is/are the customer(s) for the Pitcher? Here is a first pass:
1) Catcher
2) Teammates
3) Fans
4) Team Manager
5) Owner
Wow that’s a lot of customers! Luckily they all have something in common, they all value winning and some value entertainment. Naturally we would do everything to maximizing winning (aka value) and I’m going to apply the lean principles of Muda, Mura, and Muri to maximize the ability for a pitcher to win.
Mura (flow):
Warm up
Pitch count
Rest and recuperation
If a pitcher doesn’t “flow” from one aspect to the other the pitcher can be in danger of fatiguing or injury if they don’t go from one aspect to another in a smooth rotation. If they get “stuck” in one zone then there is a danger of loosing thier edge, fatiguing, and/or injury.
Muri (Overburdening):
Standard warm-up time
Standard range for pitch count
Standard rest days
Standard rest process (i.e. icing, massaging, etc.)
This is basically making sure the pitcher follows a standard process to ensure peak performance to maximize potential for winning a game.
Muda (waste):
Too few pitches
Too much rest
Injury’s
Fatigue
Uncontrolled pitches
Fans are bored (fans value entertainment)
This is where it gets interesting. For Muri (overburdening) and Mura (flow) the concept is well maintained from manufacturing to pitching. Muda doesn’t seem to apply. Do all of the 7 wastes (Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overprocessing, Overproduction, Defects) apply to this example? Some do but there are unique elements that do not apply to anything but sports. One example would be “viewablity.” Fans want entertainment and winning. If you are really boring to watch or not winning then you have a real problem. Some wastes aren’t wastes at all in this case. Waiting to throw a pitch isn’t a waste with the pitcher. They are resting to make sure they have a good next pitch. They are playing mind games with the hitter. They are building suspense for the audience. The waiting actually adds value because it helps with winning and can help with entertainment.
Here is what seems to apply across the board. Mura (flow) and Muri (overburdening) translates well across the board in any business. Muda (waste) needs to be customized for the particular business. The 7 wastes are actually a great starting point but each business sector needs to find their won TIM WOOD. So when taking lean to another sector outside of manufacturing find your muda. All Comments welcome!
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