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We hope you enjoy this month's edition of our operational excellence newsletter. Please take a few minutes to read Arun Hariharan article Is Quality Only for Operations. It clearly spells out how quality, or continuous improvement for that matter, applies to administrative processes as well as manufacturing processes.
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Quantum Associates, Inc
Operational Excellence Newsletter
Delivering Swift and Significant Results
"Our groove is to help you improve."
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January 2016
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Looking For better Process Performance- Rely on Cultivators not Supermen
I received a call from a senior operations executive a few days ago requesting some process improvement expertise. As with most calls I conducted a mini assessment to find out more about how the company managed its processes. During this brief assessment the executive explained that to improve process performance she appointed "supermen | superwomen" to head up the key functions and to achieve high level of performance to which I asked what happens if they underachieve? "I find another superman (woman)."
Why do you need so many supermen? Why aren't your processes performing at a consistently high level? I asked. To which she replied "our business is so dynamic and we are constantly bombarded with issues that need immediate fixes."
The problem with this mindset is that supermen engage in crisis management tackling a situation in which everything is out of control and quickly restore some semblance of order. Crisis management usually do not address the long-term stability of an organization's broken core and support processes. Dispirited employees develop workarounds to cope with these defective processes.
What we need are cultivators. Every important business process should be tended by a "cultivator", someone who takes responsibility for process performance by ensuring that the purpose of the process is correctly defined, steadily taking action to create value for the customers of the process, and actively engaging the people touching the process to make it better.
Many organizations have poor results because they rely too much on "supermen" Supermen usually fail to transform the business because they are focused on short-term improvement. These improvements are not sustained because there are not enough "cultivators" in place to manage the process improvements. Supermen tend to move on to the next crisis before realizing the need and critical contribution of cultivators.
So if you are like the operations executive I mentioned earlier I hope as you think about improving your processes please give some thought to this cultivator mindset-someone who takes responsibility for the processes they touch, obsessive about creating value and improving process performance.
Happy New Year!
Willie
"Our groove is to help you improve"
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| Is Quality Only For Operations | |
Contributor: Arun Hariharan
Philip Crosby said, "All work is a process." I found this true of most work or functions, and not merely in operations, in every organization that I've worked with. Anything that's a process can benefit from the quality touch. Essentially, quality brings a systematic approach where none existed before.(Read More)
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The Dangers of Operational Averageness
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Contributor: Becky Morgan
Every executive of a manufacturing business is bombarded daily with articles and books telling them how to create operational excellence. But every day those same executives, in both their personal and professional lives, interact with some very average companies. (Read More)
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Lessons in Reshoring: The Turnaround at GE's Appliance Park
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Contributor: Boris Ladwig
When Mike Mayes, a leader with the IUE-CWA, was tasked by General Electric leaders in 2006 with starting a lean manufacturing program at Louisville's Appliance Park, he reacted with skepticism. (Read More)
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| Developing Cross-Functional Accountability |
Contributor: Mark Rosenthal
It's a typical staff meeting. The function heads sit around the table with the boss. One of them describes a hiccup or problem he's encountering that's outside of his control because it originates in another department. An action item is assigned, and we move on to the next topic. Good to go, right? Isn't that the boss's job? To assign action items? (Read More)
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| Seven Mistake-Proofing Mistakes That Promote Cynicism | |
Contributors: Bruce Hamilton
Many organizations never even get out of the blocks with this technique because of an overtly insulting, blame-focused environment. Who wants to report a mistake when the reward is blame and ridicule? (Read More)
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Quantum Process Improvement TM (QPI)
Move your company into the "Profit Zone" with our quantum process improvement (QPI) model. QPI Integrates the three most powerful process improvement disciplines-Lean, Six Sigma and the Theory of Constraints to move your company into the area where sustainable, superior profit happens creating enormous value for you and your stakeholders.
Leading your company into the "Profit Zone" requires improving the performance of your critical operations and administrative processes. We use our QPI Assessment to focus on the process areas with the greatest potential for generating results within two to three quarters.
If the goal for your business is to create superior long-term profits-not average profit, not cyclically inflated profit, not short-term profit then contact us today to learn more about how our Quantum Process Improvement TM model can work for you.
We guarantee 100% customer satisfaction absolutely.
"Our groove is to help you improve."
Enjoy the Newsletter,
Willie Carter
President
Certified Lean Sensei
Certifed Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence
Certified ISO 9000 Lead Assessor
"All improvement happens project by project and in no other way." ~ Joseph Juran
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