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Soft on the People,
Hard on the Process
What is the easiest thing to do when a project is not done on time? What is the first response when performance is not up to our standard? What do we think and do when things are just not happening fast enough or good enough? Maybe your team is working hard, but they never seem to make strides at being truly exceptional or aggressively finding ways to set your company apart from all of the competition. Unless you have developed and exercise the habits that come with the discipline of Working Smarter, chances are the answer to all of these questions is to step back and blame someone. It's pretty easy to say, "If we only had the right person; if they would just"... if, if, if ... blame, blame, blame. There is one big positive "if" that too many people and companies are not aware of, however. We have found working with hundreds of companies through the years that most employees want to do a good job and will help the company to improve if given the right opportunities, along with the respect and recognition they deserve.
The frustrations of inefficiency and average performance described above cause us to want to blame and criticize where actually they should be the red warning flag that says a process is either missing or ineffective, and the person performing the task knows no differently. It isn't until we understand that most problems and waste in a company occur when a process is not clearly defined and communicated that we can then begin to do the things that allow people to WORK SMARTER. When we can develop a culture that questions the process first before critiquing the person doing the work, then we can objectively make improvements that make everyone happier.
HARD ON THE PROCESS - Learning to be hard on the process is consistently made up of a few key disciplines. The first is found in using LEAN tools to dissect and analyze the process until you find the point where waste is identified and actions can be taken to eliminate it. Another key point is to not accept the first right answer to any question, but to dig deeper into the root cause of the waste and fix that. It isn't until we have asked ourselves "why" something is done a certain way at least five times that we can satisfactorily accept that we might be at the base of the issue so we can correct it. Having the discipline to be hard on the process leaves no room for complacency but takes a willingness to continually improve that process over and over and over again. Finally, being hard on the process also means you do not accept anything other than strictly following the process until it is again improved. A company that is Working Smarter is constantly driving toward perfection yet knows they will never achieve it because there is always something that can be improved upon.
SOFT ON THE PEOPLE - In the opening definition, I mentioned that most employees want to do a good job. STOP RIGHT THERE ... What is the self-talk going on in your head right now? Are you agreeing or disagreeing with that statement? If you think this is a stretch, then it may be time to consider the management style of your organization. People really do want to do their best and be appreciated for it. A great example that may influence a negative opinion or self-talk on employees happened for me several years ago as I toured the TOYOTA plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, and was amazed with the culture there. This plant has become one of the most successful and productive manufacturing facilities in the country by being soft on the people. How are they doing it? They are giving recognition for everything from perfect attendance to great solutions. They respect every opinion and give each employee the opportunity to stop the assembly line at any time if they think there is a better way of doing something. There is constant training taking place and anything that can be done to make the job easier for the employee, TOYOTA will do it. What have the employees given in return? They produce a car every 55 seconds, or up to 2000 a day! They have thousands of employees with perfect attendance each year and over a hundred that have not missed a day since the plant opened almost three decades ago. The employees also offer hundreds of suggestions and ideas for improvement and will work on their own time to implement them and continue to improve the quality and processes at TOYOTA.
What are you doing to allow your team to do a good job? What are you and I doing to recognize the efforts of our people, not just the end result? Unfortunately, too many companies may have the mindset exactly backwards as they are trying to perform at their best while being "HARD ON THE PEOPLE AND SOFT ON THE PROCESS." Get it straight, get it right, and you will find your entire organization WORKING SMARTER. Remember, PEOPLE are your greatest asset, and they can only perform as well as the processes they know to do each day. As I have said for years, every great thing that has ever been accomplished or will be accomplished has and will happen through people. Now is the time to make sure those people you surround yourself with are equipped and prepared to perform at their very best with the processes you have come together to create. And who better to help you continually improve and perfect those processes than the people doing them supported by your great leadership!
- Jim Paluch
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Getting Results You Want
Think of the age-old frustration mothers have nagged about from the time their children were old enough to clean up after themselves ... "Clean up your room!" It is fascinating that this simple task can become an all-day event while we step back and scratch our heads and wonder, "Why can't she just put her things away?" This basic responsibility becomes everything from a test of wills, to a dangerous battleground, to stage for performing arts. With a little thought, it can in fact become a perfect way to identify the personality style of the performer. Whether the driver digs in her heels and says, "I think it looks just fine in here," or the analytical gives up on deciding where things belong and shoves the entire mess under the bed, or the amiable gives in and cleans it all up just to make you happy, or the expressive personality turns the whole room cleaning affair into a theatrical production with tears and fury or dance and song. Regardless of who the players are in this scenario, it's clear, the battle of wills may actually come back to simply not having a process to follow. What does "clean up your room" really mean? Make it look the way I want to see it or you want to see it? Shuffle and straighten or do clothes and shoes and books and toys all have a defined place to reside while not in use? Does "clean" mean out of sight, out of mind or does it mean everything in its place? It really is no different than the office administrator expecting everyone to file documents in the right places on the computer or the server to setting up a banquet in the "right" amount of time or the landscape technician putting the right oil and gas mix in equipment. We won't do it right if we don't clearly know what "right" is. Without a standard or written, clearly understood process, "right" is left up to chance and interpretation, which leaves far too much room for error, misunderstanding and frustration for everyone involved. When the child knows exactly where her things belong when they are "picked up" or the lawnmower is clearly labeled with the proper formula for the oil mix so anyone that maintains it will know exactly what to put into the machine, then we get the results we want. Define and perfect the process and celebrate the execution of the task with the people that make things happen.
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Communicate for Success
In the Working Smarter program, "Right" is not left to chance. Communication creates awareness and clear expectations, and, I'm sure you'll agree, in today's market, there is no room for misconception of what a "right job" is.
I have used the following video for a long time in my presentations to make this point clear. Our friends at HighGrove Partners created the learning experience, and this young man in the video is, in my opinion, a folk hero. He knew his performance was being observed by supervisors and he was clearly doing what he thought was a great job. What he didn't know was a great job would have been to complete the task in a fraction of the time and move on to the next.
Working Smarter is all about communication and standards and feeling good about what we do because we know we are doing it in the least waste way. Watch the video and then ask your team the following question:
CAN YOU WORK SMARTER? The time is NOW to GET SOFT ON THE PEOPLE AND HARD ON THE PROCESS. There is no better strategy!
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Quotes
"Every great thing that has ever been accomplished or will be accomplished has and will happen through people."
- Jim Paluch
"Everything can be improved."
- Clarence W. Barron
"A bad system will beat a good person every time."
- W. Edwards Deming
"We shall neither fail nor falter; we shall not weaken or tire...give us the tools and we will finish the job."
- Winston Churchill
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The Meaningful Work
of the
Outdoor Living Profession
Sharing business ideas with great leaders on how companies can grow their sales, attract and retain people and make a positive impact on the communities they serve is always time well spent. Join Jim Paluch as he facilitates a discussion with landscape business owners who are making a difference in their companies and communities by creating Come Alive Outside success stories. The first owner event takes place next week on Thursday, June 9, in Fort Edward, New York. If you are a landscape business owner in the Northeastern states, you are invited to come as a guest of Cub Cadet and Emerich Sales & Service. Other events are being planned around the country. Click on the link below to learn more, and please RSVP to reserve your seat at this business building event!
Your RSVP here will enter you in the raffle drawing for great Cub Cadet gifts and a chance to win full-year participation in the Working Smarter Training Challenge.
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More than a facility tour
More than networking
JP Horizons and the Smart Companies have come together to provide you an exceptional and unique learning experience. In 2016, we will host four Face-2-Face events offered at different regions at premiere landscape facilities including:
September 20
Enviroscapes
Louisville, Ohio
Timberline Landscaping
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Level Green Landscaping
Washington, D.C.
Curti Landscaping
Nanuet, New York
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Face-to-Face Events are sponsored by the Smart Companies
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Come Alive Outside
Tip of the Day
Many yoga instructors, personal trainers and dance fitness instructors host free or low-cost workshops outdoors during the summer. Yoga in the park or on the beach, dance classes outdoors or even a boot camp personal training session are great ways to change up your routine.
Tip from "8 Frugal Ways to Enjoy the Great Outdoors This Summer"
Click here for a list of past tips. |
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Reprint Permission
Feel free to reprint these articles as long as you give proper credit to the author. Please include all of the information that follows in your credit line: If you want to learn more about the power of PEOPLE SOLUTIONS THAT DRIVE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE, contact: JP Horizons Inc.
7245 Mildon Drive
Painesville, OH 44077
Phone: (440) 352-8211
Fax: (440) 352-8225
e-mail: jim@jphorizons.com
web site: www.jphorizons.com |
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