It's Been ONE YEAR

This is the team I am very proud to say I am a part of now.  It's been one year since I started this new journey at Ebsco and in a couple of words, "It's a BLAST!"  The Community Involvement Team paired Ebsco with a local event to support breast cancer research and this pic shows how everyone gets behind the team.

I wanted to look back and share some of the lessons and experiences I've had over the last year. It has been a unique opportunity.  Many of the things I had taught at my previous job for over 30 years were really put to the test at Ebsco.   I'm proud to say I have come along way since that first day I took the wrong turn in the warehouse and got stuck in a dead end and looked foolish, only to compound it by pretending to look at boxes on the shelf like I had a clue.  Oh I still do stupid things everyday but now the team has learned to expect it from me.

I have always preached that any team will look at leadership, decide if they are going to succeed or fail and then set forth making their decision a reality.  Their determination on the leaders fate is based on if the leader cares about them and has the entire teams best interest at heart.  I really do care about the pink mob pictured above and I think they all know it.  They have responded posting one of the best years ever at Ebsco and driven positive change to new levels.  They are making us a success.  It took a little time but when we develop a relationship on trust, they responded. When I asked for ideas on change at Ebsco they responded and responded and responded.  It wasn't necessary to sell change to them, my problem was keeping up with all of their ideas for change.

Another point I have always preached was that management was the same everywhere.  You do not need to be an expert on the industry, you need to be an expert on caring and leading a team.  Again they have proved this correct.  I knew I didn't know anything about spring making when I walked in and the only progress I've made is to realized I didn't even know how much I didn't know.  That might not be completely true.  I found that people like to talk about their jobs and love to teach the boss.  They have taught me a great deal about spring making and Ebsco.  Now I might know a tenth of what they do, but they keep trying.

I read several books before starting my new position on manufacturing, lean, TQM blah blah blah.  what I found was none of the books had any answers.  What they did have was the questions.  They providing me with the right questions for the real experts, the Team Members.  The knowledge I gained from reading didn't apply directly to Ebsco but it allowed me to ask the right questions and they provided the answers. Reading can spark the imagination or start the kernel of an idea.  This is just the starting point.  People hold the answers.

I discovered that being a catalyst is an important trait for a leader.  Being inquisitive and asking why or why not sparks the minds of team members.  Those sparks lead to the fires of invention and unlimited potential.  When you can take the combined knowledge and experience of the entire team and create a spark, the results will often knock you down.  Coming in from outside gave me a real advantage at this.  I had a complete different wealth of experiences and didn't have the "we have always done it that way mentality".  This made it easy for me to "spark".  Now, what keeps me up at night is that I am becoming an insider and may loose some of that spark.  I have committed myself to continue reading, visit customers and vendors to see and experience new things.  I don't want to loose the spark.

I have discovered new perspectives of leadership.  In my new position I have the opportunity to see the mile high view.  At that level the details are very fuzzy and that allows the total picture to be very clear.  This is a big portion of my job.  I may not understand all of the details but I have the opportunity to see how the entire process works and the relationship between groups.  I have been able to relieve the boss of some of her day to day activities and allow her to step back even further.  I think this has helped her with some big decisions that have really impacted Ebsco.  I can't take credit for the ideas but hopefully what I have done has contributed to her being able to take a new perspective on things.

Organizational skills have turned out to be essential.  I've adopted a saying "Baby Steps... One Million at a Time"  To keep those million steps in line takes organizational skills.  A little OCD isn't a bad thing when herding this many projects.  Outlook has become my best friend.  i have always utilized planners but in this job it's my life line.  Without it, most things would just fall through the cracks.

So to recap, what have I learned.  A great deal and nothing at all.  I've learned allot about manufacturing, springs, ISO, Job Boss and many other specifics.  Generally though, I've learned nothing new, just reinforced what I knew all along.  "It's People Stupid"  With all the technology and management theory it boils down to that one simple phrase.  PEOPLE.  I'm lucky I have the people at Ebsco on my team. 

Critical Mass

Critical Mass is the point when you have enough of the right materials, put together in the proper way to create a sustained nuclear reaction.  It's the point when it all comes together to make the BIG BANG.

Ebsco is reaching critical mass.  All the ingredients are coming together to create our Big Bang.

Ebsco listened and surveyed our customers to find out what was important to them.  What did Ebsco need to offer to create a Big Bang as there partner. This is what our customers told us were the right ingredients;

• The Best Quality Springs
• Competitive Pricing
• Short Lead Times
• Responsiveness to Needs

We then looked at what our competition was offering and set our goals to reach critical mass by exceeding what they had to offer. Ebsco fared well against the competition but nothing short of "World Class" was going to be good enough. We are going to reach critical mass.

The entire Ebsco team looked at every aspect of our company, searching for improvement. Communication and cooperation between every department reached new highs.  Employees took ownership and greeted the challenge with enthusiasm. Working together, with everyone's input we are finding new and creative solutions and I must add, having allot of fun along the way.

Every aspect of quality is constantly monitored, recorded and communicated.  Anything short of perfect is analyzed and corrected.  The Quality Control department is now Quality Assurance, as everyone has taken on the role of Quality Control. Specifications are checked and re-checked by several team members throughout the process.  When something doesn't meet our standards, everyone is involved in finding a solution.

Our team constantly evaluates every step of the process from the initial phone call to customer delivery. We look for more efficient ways to operate and reduce costs.  Beyond simply eliminating waste, we look for any opportunity to improve the process.  Our key to success is our team work.  Looking beyond ones specific job into the whole process is illuminating several new opportunities.  As we become more efficient we have been able to pass along savings to our customers in the form of better pricing.  Even with drastic material cost increases we have been able to hold many prices to our customers.

Our biggest successes from our team members has been shortened lead times.  Team members have followed work orders through every step of the process looking for wasted time.  Working together they have found new methods that have reduced lead times up to one half.  New technology has been implemented to focus these gains and continually monitor our efforts.

Customer responsiveness has always been a priority but like everything else you don't find opportunities unless you take a critical look.  We have looked and improved several areas.  From the first call from the customer (to a team member, no automated systems here) to our reply, a new sense of urgency exists.  We strive to respond to any customer request, "NO PROBLEM" and make that response quickly.

We are proud of the improvements the team has made at Ebsco and are closing in on the "World Class" status we have targeted.  We realize we haven't arrived yet but if you truly want to be World Class you will never arrive because it requires continual improvement. We are at a point that we can stand next to any competitor and say "We Are Your Best Choice" without hesitation.

We are extremely confidant in the abilities of our team to provide the BEST to our customers and now need to spread that word.  We have recently added a marketing department to support our sales department.  In addition to spreading the word about Ebsco, they will work with our production and process teams to produce and distribute valuable tools to our current and future customers.  These tools will assist them in cutting costs in design and engineering. 

Ebsco has reached critical mass and is about to make a BIG BANG in the spring industry.

Change Doesn't Just Happen

When you think of leaders, several traits come to mind;

• Dynamic
• Compassionate
• Intelligent
• Risk Taker
• Decisive
• Communicator

and several others. One that you don't hear often is a catalyst.  Dictionary.com offers the following definitions for catalyst

1. a person or thing that precipitates an event or change
2. a person whose talk, enthusiasm or energy causes others to be more friendly, enthusiastic or energetic

Many organizations, like Ebsco are moving responsibility and accountability to the entire team.  The team members are moving into new territory.  In the past team members waited for someone to tell them what and how and then executed.  In the new organization the team members are moving into the role of determining the whats and whys.  They have the knowledge and want to participate but this is a new roll for them.  Effective leaders in this new organization must become catalyst.

Team members will be apprehensive in this new role.  I can assure you that they have a great deal to say but will be apprehensive to talk in this new situation.  The effective leader must be a catalyst, creating enthusiasm within the group and reassure them of managements support. 

The leader will need to address three situations within the group;

• Create enthusiasm in all members to participate and assure them of management support
• Offer the group specific topics and examples to start the dialog
• Push the group beyond ideas into implementation

Individuals will need to be encouraged to participate.  This is a new role for them.  Leaders will need to assure them that their input will be utilized.  Team members need to feel confident they can speak freely.  Management must create excitement within team members that they now have a say in the organization. Beyond simply being engaged, team members must be excited and have passion for the opportunities in their new role.

After you have assembled a group of passionate team members they may need help starting.  This is a new role for them.  Management should offer examples of what they want from the team and give them examples of how they would tackle the situation.  Management must be cautious in providing too much guidance.  The examples provided should just give the team a spark on where and how to start.  Any more will be kill the individuals enthusiasm.

One of the biggest issues in any organization is taking a concept to reality.  The new group, when sparked will have several ideas and solutions.  In most cases they will have no idea on how to bring the concept into practice.  The leader will need to stress to the group they are responsible from idea to implementation.  The group may need some guidance on where to go to next,  The leader must be available to them and provide the resources they need to succeed.

 In participatory organizations leaders must shift their roles away from directing and become catalyst for action.  As the team begins accepting responsibility for the organization, leaders must focus on creating the environment for the team to succeed.  An effective leader will become the spark to ignite the talent and passion of the team.

 

LEADERSHIP How Do You Know When You Get There

Leaders always set goals.  People need to know when they have arrived. Goals tell us when we arrive.  Good leaders always paint a picture of what it looks like when we succeed. Most leaders are good at this. BUT  How many leaders can paint a picture of success in their role?  What is the picture when they have succeeded as a leader?  Ask ten leaders and you may get ten answers and I will differ with all of them.  I would like to propose my picture of what it looks like to succeed as a leader.

To paint the picture I think we first must look at common definitions that do not work.

A successful leader beats the competition.
Beats the competition at what?  What is the companies vision?  Is it to be the biggest?  Is it to have the best customer service?  Is the victory achieved by short term strategies and can't be maintained?  Beating the competition does not necessarily measure a successful leader.

A successful leaders meets or exceeds all goals.
Who set the goals, the leader?  Were the goals a stretch?  Do the goals align with the long term goals of the company?  Are the methods used to meet the goals sustainable or were they short term tactics?  Simply meeting goals, usually established by the leader spell true success as a leader.

A successful leaders achieves record sales for the company.
If the company has performed poorly in the past is record sales really a success?  If you cut costs and profits to obtain sales is that successful?  Sales only are not a measure of success.

A successful leaders achieves record profits.
You can slash payroll and capital investment for a year and achieve record profits, ONE TIME, is that a success?  If you raise prices and lower quality you can see a one time record profit but is that a success when all of your customers leave the following years?

A successful leader achieves record customer service scores.
If you throw payroll at the company you can increase customer service scores, but what about profit?  Even with satisfied customers, you can't sustain losses.

Looking at these common definitions it's clear that all of the above are factors to success but no single one measures success.  To say a good balance of all of the above spells success may be accurate but is very difficult to define.  The leader must establish the right combination of each will take the company to the intended destination. 

So how do we paint a picture of a successful leader?  How do we measure when we have achieved success?

To say one has achieved success as a leader.... the operation will continue and achieve the same results in the leaders absence as it would if they were there.

That's it, my definition for success as a leader. A successful leaders is the least needed person in the organization when it comes to day to day operations.  A successful leader effectively communicates his vision and culture to the entire team. Everyone knows where the company is going.  They train individuals to do their jobs. everyone knows how to do it.  They push things down through delegation.  Everyone shares the responsibility.  They instill ownership. Everyone takes responsibility. They encourage risk taking and individual thinking. No one is afraid to make decisions.  They create a motivating environment.  everyone is excited about the journey. they create team work so everyone shares in the process.
When a leader accomplishes this, the team takes off toward the vision usually leaving the leader in the dust.  What an exciting organization.  This allows the leader to sit back and observe the environment, looking for opportunities and hazards.  They can refine their vision and prepare for tomorrow.

A leader that has built his organization to be self sufficient without his input is the definition of a success.  Their team will be engaged taking ownership of the organization.  The leader will then have time to chart the next step for the organization. 

Funny to think that when you're needed the least, you have achieved success.

Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning is a time to open up the closets and garage and take accounting.  Put away the things from completed projects and new projects never begun.  Look at the half finished projects and determine if you want to make the effort to finish them.  Look at the future projects and see if they still have meaning.  Throw out things that have no meaning and discover things that spark new ambition.  It's time to put your life in order and focus your efforts for the future.

I've recently been ill and forced to take time off from the job.  Not something I find easy to do.  As I ease my way back into the office, I find myself somewhat overwhelmed with the missed deadlines and unfinished work awaiting me.  It has forced me to step back and evaluate everything.  It has forced me to do a Spring Cleaning of my time.

I began with my "daily duties" I imposed on myself.  I looked at the reports I create and review on a regular basis.  I evaluated all of the incomplete tasks still in my planner and finally the projects, many scheduled months prior.  What I discovered is that I'm working too hard, or maybe not working smart enough.  When stepping back and evaluating the true importance of many of these items I found I was waisting time.

My management style is exception based management, which I spoke of in a previous Blog.  I focus my efforts on a few under performing areas and as they improve replace them with new areas.  The problem is that many of the reports and daily duties I initiated in these focused areas was never stopped when my focus changed.  As each new focus emerged, I added tasks without removing old tasks.  Things that required daily attention before might only need monthly scrutiny now, but I never adjusted to the situation.  I have been piling task upon task that didn't reflect my current priorities.  With Spring Cleaning, out with the old and in with the new.  I feel better already.

Another realization is how everything is interrelated.  As we continue to move forward and improve, each improvement impacts the entire process, not just the specific area of focus.  Many projects and tasks that had importance at the time were now irrelevant due to other changes.  Fixing one thing often has a cascade effect and changes several things in their coarse. I found planned tasks and projects that were no longer necessary.  

Increased knowledge and capabilities also influenced my Spring Cleaning.  As we have developed our technology and I have better learned to utilize it, I have found more comprehensive and simpler ways of obtaining information and monitoring processes.  This has made me better at my job.  What I haven't done a good job with is alleviating some of the old methods as I develop new ones.  It's time to weed out the data and focus on the what gets the biggest bang for my buck.

Reviewing some tasks and projects simply left me confused.  I could see no benefit in if their potential results.  The reason for this is obvious. I was wrong in my original evaluation of the situation.  The purpose of the task or project was based on bad conclusions.  As time passed and more information gathered, the source of many opportunities became clearer and my original conclusions were wrong.  Time to accept that and not waist time on these.

I have always taught, preached and I thought practiced pushing things down.  Delegation is vital to the organization.  Delegation frees time to work on other priorities and prepares those being delegated to for taking on additional responsibility.  I discovered I am not as good at it as I thought.  Some things can't be delegated.  Whether based on specific skills, knowledge, access to information or availability of staff, some things must be done by ones self and can't be pushed down. I discovered many things I am currently doing should be pushed down.  At the time I took ownership of these responsibilities there may have not been someone qualified to accept them.  Some were the result of specific emphasis at the time that has changed.  The problems was that I did not constantly evaluate and continued doing the tasks after situations and resources changed.  Team members received additional training and moved into new positions that made them available to assume new roles.  I have began pushing things down, team members are exited about new opportunities (and will do a better job at them with their enthusiasm) and I now have additional time.

So as I have opened up the garage and the closets to do Spring Cleaning I have learned a great deal.  Things constantly change in a vital organization and require reevaluation. I am so committed to my Spring Cleaning I have asked my team to individually do the same thing.  They need to open there closets and garage and evaluate how they spend their time.  I have learned so much I plan to do Spring Cleaning twice a year from now on.  Maybe I will actually do one of them in the Spring.

The Pinball Effect

Have you ever played pinball?  The shiny ball moves forward smoothly on a predictable path until it strikes a bumper.  Then chaos erupts.  The ball jumps from one bumper to another. There is no predicting its path as it spins wildly out of control (It's the springs that cause the reaction). The chaos of the pinball effect is very common in business.
Think about a calm day at work.  You have a plan for the day and you are consistently making progress in your efforts.  Then.... you receive a call from an associate,  Customer BIG TIME Inc hasn't received their order and is upset.  You fire off emails to two other associates asking why. They each shoot emails to two of their team members asking for information on the order.  Those four each ask two of their team to find documentation on the order.  A VP from sales calls one of the associates looking into the order on a different matter. They are  told that will need to wait because of the lost Big Time Inc order crisis.  The sales VP runs back to their office and emails their associates to make contact with the customer and assure them all is fine and your company is working on the problem. This VP copies senior management on their email and the Production VP, seeing that email contacts their associates to pull the production schedule to make arrangements to start production on a replacement order. These team members go on the production floor to give prepare technicians they may need to switch runs.  The technician informs them that scheduling called an hour ago saying they had an expedite on another order and need to know which is the priority.  An email is sent back through the chain asking about the priorities.  Everyone now is making calls and sending emails concerning the expedited order.  Big Time Inc calls and informs you that the actually have the missing order, it was delivered to the wrong dock and the crisis is over.  Not for you.  Everyone is now chasing the mysterious expedited order you just found out about. And the pinball moves on to the next bumper.

This only happens in GOOD companies.  It is rooted in, a sense of urgency, a desire to communicate and the drive to deliver great service to your customers. The very things that make companies successful, can disrupt production and create confusion.  While several people are acting on the "crisis" production is interrupted and other crisis maybe developing due to inattention.  Everyone is acting with the highest intentions, the problem is EVERYONE is acting.

The key to any "crisis" is establishing an event manager. Event Manager is not an individual or position on the organization chart.  It is simply a member of the team that takes ownership of the event.   

The event manager can be anyone in the organization. It is most effective when it is an individual with the authority to make decisions and whose responsibilities most closely correlate to the event. The event manager becomes communication central and directs the actions.  Others may provide suggest from their area of expertise but no action is taken without the direction of the event manager.  This allows most team members to stay focused on their responsibilities while the event manager only utilizes select people to focus on the event. The event manager will cut through the clutter, duplication of effort and conflicting directions to provide a smooth seamless conclusion to the situation and allow others to focus on current business at hand.

If you are pinball fan, I suggest you go to the arcade.  Use an event manager at work to coordinate your efforts and allow your team to focus on their jobs.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Aretha Franklin made the word famous.  Respect. 

"Respect your elders."   "Respect authority"     "Respect the flag"    "Respect others rights"    "Respect the deceased"   Respect the environment"   "Respect other's property"   "Respect yourself" 

Respect is one of those words we throw around a great deal.  According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary:

a : high or special regard : esteem b : the quality or state of being esteemed c plural : expressions of high or special regard or deference <paid our respects>

For our purposes I want to discuss respect in relation to the workplace, showing respect and earning respect for leaders. 

In the work place you should show your associates respect.  It is an appropriate behavior. In some instances, showing respect to another might be seen as dishonest.  It is proper to show one respect even without actually knowing the individual.  To a greater extreme it is still appropriate to show a coworker respect,  feeling in some way they have not earned it. 

This form of respect is simply good manners.  It is a set of manners and communications techniques used at work.  In treating the individual with respect, you are actually showing respect to the organization and the other associates.  You are respecting the teams contributions, 

At Ebsco this is essential.  Each new employee, on their first day are communicated the importance of respectful behavior to all their coworkers.  True respect is earned but respectful behavior is always expected from the start. Each individual, in their own way and at their own level contributes to the success of Ebsco.  The Wolf Pack.  We are stronger for each of their efforts.  This contribution earns the respect of all other associates.  It is as basic as the motto, Together we stand, Divide we fall.

Earning respect goes well beyond simple good behavior.  Earning the teams respect is fundamental to a leaders success.  The team often shows respectful behavior to a leader due to the position.  Only when the leader has proven they deserve this do they become effective in their position.  Employees will do only what they must for a boss, simply due to his/her position.  Employees will do everything they can for a boss they respect. Their success depends on the respect the team has for them.  I would like to look at a few traits that the team will use to evaluate their respect for the leader:

1. Caring No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. Employees must be treated as your most valuable resource, not a commodity.
2. The Golden Rule Treat the team as you wished to be treated.  Just because you have a position of authority, you are no better than anyone else.  Act that way
3. Magic Words  Thank You,  Please,  Your Welcome,  You learned them in school.  They still apply
4. WHY  It's never enough to ask them to do something.  Tell them WHY.   Beyond building respect, they learn much more and become more valuable to the organization
5. Listen  You were not mystically endowed with all the answers when you became a leader.  The fact is those doing the job everyday probably know allot more about it then you do.  They have something to say. Listen
6. Be an Example  Just because you are a boss means you are being watched.  There are no double standards.  If it is good enough for your team, it's good enough for you.
7. Celebrate their Victories  Recognize and celebrate your teams success.  They need to know you are watching, you give them credit and you are happy for them.
8. Involvement  Involve them in the decision process.  You will be surprised at the great ideas they have.
9. Follow Through  When you say you are going to do it  Do it. 
10. Lead  Don't be afraid to make a decision.  They count on you to lead. 

Pretty simple.  Most of these were taught to us at a young age.  Most are no more than doing the right thing.  Taken individually none of them are difficult.  Some take a little extra time and all take vigilance to constantly follow.  Without them you will have a team achieving little more than the minimum requirements.  With them you will earn your teams respect and have the privilege to lead a highly engaged, world class group,  and ... you might have a little fun while you are at it.