blog.
Why Lean?
In some respects, saying businesses must adapt to constant change and evolving market dynamics sounds like a broken record. When haven’t businesses had to adapt to change to remain competitive? Change is inevitable.
However, the saying seems more relevant today because technological change seems unprecedented. Regardless of how you approach the saying, one thing is certain: businesses that don’t continuously adapt will not thrive. Thus, I am a big proponent of lean methodology because it makes sense.
Efficiency and Productivity - Why They Matter
My previous blog dealt with productivity, a vital concept in achieving goals and, ultimately, leading to a fulfilling life. However, it may surprise you that efficiency is also a paramount concept permeating nearly every aspect of our lives. From how we manage our time to how businesses operate and even how nations develop—it all hinges on efficiency. It represents the ability to accomplish tasks, processes, or objectives with minimal waste of resources, be it time, energy, or materials.
Learning at Work
How is your work day going? What have you learned from your job, from your peers? If you aren’t learning at work, how rewarding is your job, really? In addition to working to maintain a satisfactory standard of living, informal learning at work adds to an individual’s work satisfaction.
The Dark Side of Electronic Communication
Individuals and organizations alike still rely on electronic mail (e-mail) as a primary communication tool to conduct business. A 2003 study, still relevant by today’s standards, by associate professors Raymond Friedman and Steven Currall, caution about using e-mail to resolve conflicts. While they do not specifically mention it, using other media for the same purpose should also give one pause.
Drugs and Workplace Productivity
Productivity doesn’t just happen. It takes focus and sustained effort to accomplish work tasks. However, the amount of focus and effort varies, depending on the difficulty of the task.
The opposite is also true. That is, non-productivity does “just happen.” It is so easy to be non-productive – that’s why many of us can slide into a weekend of rest and relaxation without any effort!
But while at work, it is important to do our best to be as productive as possible. And in order to do that, it is equally important to respect our bodies and not use substances that can inhibit our work performance. Ever.
Before You Buy That New iGadget
Recent promos for the latest new technology gave me pause. And it should give you pause, too.
There is no doubt that we are a society of “must-have-the-latest-new-toy,” but have you thought about what happens to your old technology – those smartphones, laptops, printers, and other energy-emitting devices that you no longer wish to use? What is your old technology doing to Mother Earth?
The Competitive Edge
What’s your competitive edge? What makes you or your business the “one” to beat?
If you’re like most businesses, you probably say that you’re good at what you do or that you’re better than anyone else in your craft. That’s all well and good, but why should clients care?
Off Target
When Target came to Canada in 2011, not only were consumers surprised that the retailer opened up over one hundred stores across the country, but so was the business community. To do such a “big bang” approach, you either know what you’re doing or you’re taking a major risk. Unfortunately for Target, its major risk did not pay off.
Service - Now!
When you’re in line waiting for service, how long is too long?
Studies show that on average, waiting more than three minutes is too long. And customers that wait more than three minutes? There is a strong likelihood that they are dealing with the only available service provider. If customers have choices, they will leave.
This is not good news for providers of service.
Six Steps for Achieving Quality
We all intuitively understand quality. It’s that “something” that makes us appreciates a product or service; but describing that “something” can be difficult.
From a customer’s perspective, quality is what the customer is willing to pay for. From the organization’s perspective, quality relates to a product’s or service’s conformance to specifications. And these specifications are not only according to what the organization prescribes, but they also relate to the customer’s expectations.
Types of Clients
Let’s face it. There are clients and then there are clients. The great clients (or customers) are those that are ready, willing, and able to work with experts to achieve organizational efficiencies.
And then there are clients who fall short on anything from initial meeting to following through with an expert’s recommendations – these latter clients are wasting not only the expert’s time, but their own, as well.
As experts in our various fields of work, we have all run into a variety of clients. Here are some of the more common types – if you’re a client, maybe you see yourself in one or more of these descriptions:…
Government Spending: A Cause of Inefficiency
We often hear that government is inefficient:They spend too much, they take too much time to provide services, they do not provide quality services, they have too many checkpoints, and so on. But who or what is government? Are employees not the heart of any organization?
Contrary to popular belief, employee performance is not the problem when it comes to efficiency. There are many very industrious and efficient employees in any industry, including government.
The root of inefficiency in government relates to money. More specifically, because governments do not spend their own money, inefficiency can be a serious problem.
Taming Insomnia to Improve Productivity
There are so many reasons to get a good night’s sleep: you feel better, you look better, you perform better, people like being around you … in short, sleep allows us to be our best self. And the benefits of quality sleep extend beyond feelings - ranging from reducing stress to improving productivity.
Most healthy adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. When we lose even one hour of sleep, we experience fatigue the next day and our ability to function may be as effective as an individual whose blood alcohol level is .08.
Rating Records Management Program Maturity
A records and information management (“RIM”) program that is effective and efficient allows you to do the following…
Improving Email Communications
The Radicati Group estimated that in 2010 the number of emails sent per day was around 294 billion. This means that more than 2.8 million emails were sent every second by about 1.9 billion email users (almost 30% of the world’s population).
Given this high number of users and email transmissions, one would think that writing, sending, and responding to emails would be a simple act. However, this is not so.
Presenting Less for More Conversation
“Death by PowerPoint” is still alive and well, unfortunately. I continue to attend presentations where the presenter insists on crowding onto slides everything that they feel needs to be said within their allotted schedule. The result is minimal conversation during the presentation and, perhaps a blessing, the audience forgets the presentation as soon as it’s over.
In God we Trust, for Everything Else There's Data
Statistics are all about data. But did you know that data can be manipulated to provide you with the results that you thought you should have had in the first place? Don’t get me wrong. I believe data is very important. Without it, we’d be hard pressed to provide evidence in specific situations. However, if data is not collected in a controlled manner, the data can be useless. Let me explain.
Good, Better, Best
Do you remember a time when you tried to do your very best on an exam or an assignment? What about preparing for a presentation at work? Or planning a meeting or delivering a seminar? What did it feel like? Do you remember how much effort you put in to do your very best? If you did your very best, there is a strong likelihood that you also got the best reward from your efforts. And you were happy with the results?
35 Ways to Kill Ideas
I do not know the author of this list, but I found it to be a concise expose on how leaders (or anyone) can stifle innovation. It bears heeding that all ideas are valid ideas and some, if percolated sufficiently, may even lead to ingenious breakthroughs.
Productivity or Greece?
Productivity is a very complex topic and even among experts it is difficult to exact a prescription to improve productivity. In its simplest form, productivity measures the efficiency of production. It is the ratio of production output to what is required (inputs) to produce the output. In terms of economic growth, governments look at productivity as the product of labour based on the average number of hours each employed person works and the proportion of the entire population that is employed. Labour productivity drives living standards. However, just because a person is employed does not mean that they are productive.