Solving small problems is easier than solving big ones, Duh. Yet solving the 'big' problems tends to get more kudos. But in these tough times businesses have to improve the efficiencies of their systems to stay afloat.
One of my favorite restaurant chains, PF Changs, was the topic of an article in last week's Newsweek 'Try the beef and brocolli'. While I don't know if they use 8D, they have been seeking out issues that don't effect the food and making it more efficient. PHRED lives here. When companies solve many small problems, communication of the problem and solution becomes problematic. You can't just verbally tell folks. You need a consistent format and amethod to retain the learnings. Paper based system die after more than 5 people are involved (or there is flooding)
Blatant sales point --- PHRED provides the format and a database, so everything is worked on used a structured method and can be searched by anyone with access to it.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday, December 19, 2008
Ho Ho Ho
My favorite TV Show Christmas line was / still is, "Ho, Ho, Homicide" (if you remember Homicide from the early 1990's), so this year when folks say "Merry Christmas" I answer back with "Ho, Ho, Ho" to reflect the cutbacks in Christmas shopping that everyone is doing this year. Personally, I always thought anyone who buried themselves in debt for their Christmas blowouts were a little wacko.
So what does this have to do with PHRED or 8D? Nothing. Just felt like sharing.
I'll share with you my favorite screen capture tool. Its called Snag It. For $49.95 you can capture regions and drop in arrows and text to explain what you are doing. http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp
Anyway, 2008 was a very good year for PHRED. We are all exhausted, but happy with what we accomplished this year.
Rufus Update
Rufus spends much of his business day, sitting in this chair so he can see out the window. He is a Portugese Water Dog and is quite famous in town because of his dreadlocks. Nick calls him a 'Rasta Dog' I prefer to think of him as Whoopi Goldberg with 4 legs.
Monday, December 1, 2008
8D and Food
Next week I will be out training at food company. Although I can't tell you who it is, I will say you can find their products in your grocer's freezer.
The cool thing is 8D works everywhere, even when its tweaked to fit the local culture. I dig learning about the unique problems of client's industries. Last month it involved steel; next week pepperoni. Both are equally interesting to me, the latter just tastes better. Its too cold here for me to lick steel.
Totally Unrelated
We finally got a big dumper. (Dude-speak for 1.5 feet of snow) Next weekend, gravity based sports!!!
The cool thing is 8D works everywhere, even when its tweaked to fit the local culture. I dig learning about the unique problems of client's industries. Last month it involved steel; next week pepperoni. Both are equally interesting to me, the latter just tastes better. Its too cold here for me to lick steel.
Totally Unrelated
We finally got a big dumper. (Dude-speak for 1.5 feet of snow) Next weekend, gravity based sports!!!
Monday, November 17, 2008
No economic slow down here
Business’ have finally discovered that problem solving is a business process; same as accounting and production. For ages folks have treated problem solving as an art form, to be practiced only by a gifted / talented few which, while providing the experts with job security, could only address a small number of problems at any one time.
This is a waste of everyone else in a given company. Now people have their regular job to do, but every job can be improved. Personally, every job I have even done has something that bugs me about it. Usually it is an inefficiency built into a process that seems stupid ((to me at least). Given a problem solving structure to investigate a process, anyone can present their perspective of a problem and improve their job.
The trick is to address it in a structured way, not going off into fantasyland (although Disney’s Fantasyland does have some fun rides). It’s all about focus and methodically investigating the what, where and when of a problem and once you have stated the problem fully, investigating possible / probable causes until a root cause can be addressed which prevents recurrence of the problem.
Notice I didn’t say implement a solution or countermeasure. Most folks are dying to change the system, but that’s a waste of effort unless it addresses the root cause. The problem will come back or morph into another form if you don’t hit the root cause. Slow down and figure out the ‘why its happening’ (root cause) before doing anything!!!
This is not easy. Americans love this ready, shoot, aim approach. Experts are rewarded for ‘saving the day’. This is really just taking a guess as to what will fix the problem at hand. Sometimes guesses work. Most of the time, when the guess doesn’t solve it, they move on to another guess. Well 42 guesses later, the problem usually still exists.
Its hard really defining the problem when someone comes to you breathlessly saying, “We have a problem.” Exhaling then gathering a full problem description will yield a much better solution, than saying (equally breathless), “Try this.”
Rufus Update
Rufus, PHRED Solutions official Office Dog, is digging that winter is back. He’s got a thick coat of dreadlocks and he’s finally cool. He was stylishly cool before, but thermometer-wise he was hot, hot, hot.
He loves when visitors come by. Immediately, he needs to lean against new people and twist his head up at you as if to say, ‘love me, scratch my neck please.’ Schedule an appointment for a Rufus lean today.
This is a waste of everyone else in a given company. Now people have their regular job to do, but every job can be improved. Personally, every job I have even done has something that bugs me about it. Usually it is an inefficiency built into a process that seems stupid ((to me at least). Given a problem solving structure to investigate a process, anyone can present their perspective of a problem and improve their job.
The trick is to address it in a structured way, not going off into fantasyland (although Disney’s Fantasyland does have some fun rides). It’s all about focus and methodically investigating the what, where and when of a problem and once you have stated the problem fully, investigating possible / probable causes until a root cause can be addressed which prevents recurrence of the problem.
Notice I didn’t say implement a solution or countermeasure. Most folks are dying to change the system, but that’s a waste of effort unless it addresses the root cause. The problem will come back or morph into another form if you don’t hit the root cause. Slow down and figure out the ‘why its happening’ (root cause) before doing anything!!!
This is not easy. Americans love this ready, shoot, aim approach. Experts are rewarded for ‘saving the day’. This is really just taking a guess as to what will fix the problem at hand. Sometimes guesses work. Most of the time, when the guess doesn’t solve it, they move on to another guess. Well 42 guesses later, the problem usually still exists.
Its hard really defining the problem when someone comes to you breathlessly saying, “We have a problem.” Exhaling then gathering a full problem description will yield a much better solution, than saying (equally breathless), “Try this.”
Rufus Update
Rufus, PHRED Solutions official Office Dog, is digging that winter is back. He’s got a thick coat of dreadlocks and he’s finally cool. He was stylishly cool before, but thermometer-wise he was hot, hot, hot.
He loves when visitors come by. Immediately, he needs to lean against new people and twist his head up at you as if to say, ‘love me, scratch my neck please.’ Schedule an appointment for a Rufus lean today.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Articles
Nick Rennie, the inhabitant of the next desk over, had an article published on Capturing the Outsourcing Advantage.
It is in BONEZone® - Strategic Sourcing for the Orthopaedic Industry, VOL 7 NUM 3: FALL 2008. It applies to all industries, not just the Orthopaedic Industry, since almost anything can be outsourced including parts for artifical hips.
Problem Solving in outsourcing situations can become even more difficult, so it is important to have a business process that is up to the challenges.
It is in BONEZone® - Strategic Sourcing for the Orthopaedic Industry, VOL 7 NUM 3: FALL 2008. It applies to all industries, not just the Orthopaedic Industry, since almost anything can be outsourced including parts for artifical hips.
Problem Solving in outsourcing situations can become even more difficult, so it is important to have a business process that is up to the challenges.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Not Traveling!!
I have been home the entire month of July. Hoooooray
Summer time in Colorado is excellent. More folks come here for the winter season, but I think summer is better. I get to hike, bike and row without the possibility of freezing to death while I am doing it. Getting frostbite can totally ruin your day -- I hate the blast of pain when your semi frozen skin wakes up. I'd rather sweat.
In the evenings I have been working on our 1889 double gig. I am the queen of varnish at the moment. The boat is made of mahogany 29 feet long and about 3 feet wide. The entire outside and the first 3 board from the keel on the inside need sanding then 5 (count'em five) coats of varnish. Major Groan. I'm about halfway done; it looks beautiful so far, but I hate hate hate the varnish when I drip it on myself. I scrub it until it looks gone and then an hour later it collects more freaking dirt. I don't want to dip my arms and legs in turpetine, but I am considering it.
Back at the orifice (that's the office to normal people) things are good. No economic slow down here. Manufacturing companies are waking up to the fact that Problem Solving should be a business process, not some haphazardly applied art.
8D Problem Solving ROCKS as a business process. It handles just about any problem with efficiency. It is not always easy but it is the fastest way I have seen for teams and companies to understand the problem, figure out its root cause and apply permanent countermeasures.
PHRED Solutions has been around for quite a while now and finally seems to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right offerings. We are all busy / happy campers.
Summer time in Colorado is excellent. More folks come here for the winter season, but I think summer is better. I get to hike, bike and row without the possibility of freezing to death while I am doing it. Getting frostbite can totally ruin your day -- I hate the blast of pain when your semi frozen skin wakes up. I'd rather sweat.
In the evenings I have been working on our 1889 double gig. I am the queen of varnish at the moment. The boat is made of mahogany 29 feet long and about 3 feet wide. The entire outside and the first 3 board from the keel on the inside need sanding then 5 (count'em five) coats of varnish. Major Groan. I'm about halfway done; it looks beautiful so far, but I hate hate hate the varnish when I drip it on myself. I scrub it until it looks gone and then an hour later it collects more freaking dirt. I don't want to dip my arms and legs in turpetine, but I am considering it.
Back at the orifice (that's the office to normal people) things are good. No economic slow down here. Manufacturing companies are waking up to the fact that Problem Solving should be a business process, not some haphazardly applied art.
8D Problem Solving ROCKS as a business process. It handles just about any problem with efficiency. It is not always easy but it is the fastest way I have seen for teams and companies to understand the problem, figure out its root cause and apply permanent countermeasures.
PHRED Solutions has been around for quite a while now and finally seems to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right offerings. We are all busy / happy campers.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Traveling
The last few months I have been a traveling fiend. Travel seems to lump together. Isn't that always the way?
In December I went to Malaysia and Singapore then I had a bit of a break. It all started up again in April and is still going. If you say this list really fast, it will give you an idea what it felt like. There is, "St John USVI, Portland Oregon, Brownsville Texas, Frankfurt Germany, Rome Italy, Romania, Salt Lake City and then the ever fabulous Detroit Michigan." Arg, I need a vacation! Actually the first stop on the list was a camping vacation, so I shouldn't complain.
It is great that all of these locations are implementing PHRED. Every location (even in the same company) does things a little differently but it all works. It keeps me listening very carefully to the usage plans and intent, so I can tailor the class to deliver to exactly what they want/need.
One of my training tricks is to use the 'Easy' button. You know, the one from the Staples Campaign that says "That was easy" when you press it. I LOVE this button. It anchors the fact that solving problems to root cause is easy if you stay focused and just answer the questions in order with enough detail. Sites with any sense of fun just dig hitting the button after presentations. People with no sense of humor that are very, very important want to believe that Problem Solving is so hard that only they can do it, are very reluctant to hit the button.
One class that so didn't want to press the button was a group of German Engineers. These were all really smart guys (only 1 lady in a class of 25) and every single one of them was really important. I still don't know if it was the German Culture, the Engineering Culture, or just me presenting in a non-German manner that held them back. My favorite theory (as of today anyway) is that admitting something is easy is just not a culturally acceptible thing to do in that context.
My worldview is that everything is easier if you think it is easy. Things that you think will be difficult become more difficult if you think they will be difficult. Its all in your head.
I think the most helpful thing I learned in college is that I can figure out almost anything. It is a matter of believing you can and committing to whatever it is. But then I have always been a jump in head first kind of girl when it comes to challenges, so maybe it is just me.
In December I went to Malaysia and Singapore then I had a bit of a break. It all started up again in April and is still going. If you say this list really fast, it will give you an idea what it felt like. There is, "St John USVI, Portland Oregon, Brownsville Texas, Frankfurt Germany, Rome Italy, Romania, Salt Lake City and then the ever fabulous Detroit Michigan." Arg, I need a vacation! Actually the first stop on the list was a camping vacation, so I shouldn't complain.
It is great that all of these locations are implementing PHRED. Every location (even in the same company) does things a little differently but it all works. It keeps me listening very carefully to the usage plans and intent, so I can tailor the class to deliver to exactly what they want/need.
One of my training tricks is to use the 'Easy' button. You know, the one from the Staples Campaign that says "That was easy" when you press it. I LOVE this button. It anchors the fact that solving problems to root cause is easy if you stay focused and just answer the questions in order with enough detail. Sites with any sense of fun just dig hitting the button after presentations. People with no sense of humor that are very, very important want to believe that Problem Solving is so hard that only they can do it, are very reluctant to hit the button.
One class that so didn't want to press the button was a group of German Engineers. These were all really smart guys (only 1 lady in a class of 25) and every single one of them was really important. I still don't know if it was the German Culture, the Engineering Culture, or just me presenting in a non-German manner that held them back. My favorite theory (as of today anyway) is that admitting something is easy is just not a culturally acceptible thing to do in that context.
My worldview is that everything is easier if you think it is easy. Things that you think will be difficult become more difficult if you think they will be difficult. Its all in your head.
I think the most helpful thing I learned in college is that I can figure out almost anything. It is a matter of believing you can and committing to whatever it is. But then I have always been a jump in head first kind of girl when it comes to challenges, so maybe it is just me.
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