Ever been in a 60 minute meeting that ended up lasting longer than a Robert Byrd fillibuster? Don't despair; there's hope for keeping meetings short enough to get out in time for lunch.
When you’re dealing with knowledge workers in an office, critical process inefficiencies aren’t as visible as they are in a factory. Value stream mapping is only part of the answer. You also need to see and eliminate the waste inherent in how people work. Here’s a guide to some of the questions you should be asking.
Imagine running a production line without knowing each day what to make and in what quantities. The lack of that critical information guarantees uneven production, overburdened workers, and waste -- a disaster in the world of Lean. Yet this is precisely the situation for most knowledge workers, even those in lean organizations.
If you're a neat freak like me, you want to toss all your old papers. Immediately. If you're a pack rat, you've got so much stuff piled up in your office that you're now using tax returns from last decade as a coffee table. So how long should you keep that stuff?
If the first thing you do upon sitting down at your desk is read email, don't! You'll be a whole lot more productive if you do the most unpleasant task of the day first. Get yourself a cup of coffee and read on....
An organization that only creates a lean business process without creating lean work habits is like a sprinter with a track spike on one foot and an army boot on the other -- and that's a sure way to lose the race to satisfy the customer.
Put down your Blackberries and pay attention -- really pay attention -- when you read this: multi-tasking doesn't work.
This article deals with paper management. And if your office isn't snowed under by a blizzard of paper, that's okay, too. You can apply the same rules to your electronic files.
Radically improving individual and group performance.
TimeBack Management is a consulting firm led by Daniel Markovitz. The firm helps companies radically improve individual and team performance.
Clients generally come to us when they need to:
- Improve business execution
- Enhance internal communication and coordination
- Adjust to a new organization with fewer staff
- Increase the amount of time people have for critical, value-added work
TimeBack Management’s approach is deeply informed by Lean principles. We avoid quick-fix “Band-Aid” solutions, striving instead for the identification and elimination of root cause impediments to performance. Once we know how to solve the problem, we get in there with you and guide you through the implementation to ensure success.