Never Settle

I had a guy in class a couple of weeks ago that used the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" line in response to talking about change and kaizen events. My answer was that if you don't improve, you are settling for what you have.

Everyone in your company knows of changes that are needed to improve. Better build times, better delivery, better prices, etc., are continually pushed for by customers. Just because something "ain't broke" doesn't mean you don't have to fix it anyway in a competitive, global market. If you don't fix it, you are settling.

Listen for the Non-verbals

When you are facilitating an event, whether it's a Lean Kaizen event or a Six Sigma project meeting, listen for the non-verbal feedback. Huh? Listen for non-verbal?

Be in tune with what your team or group is telling you when they aren't saying anything. For the same reason you want to keep your face to the audience, you want to look for cues that tell you more than words. Rolling eyes, shrugs, grins, sighs, leans, and far away gazes. All these hints tell you as a facilitator who is actively engaged and who has checked out.

How deep is your Pareto?

Does your organization have a culture that solves problems at the root causation level or just at the surface? Pareto charts are a great tool to use for digging down to the root, but one level just won't cut it.

To be two to three levels deep in a Pareto chart requires data. You will have to work to get beyond one level, but often the solution is two or three levels deep.

Don't accept opinions to solve problems in your organization. Tell them you can't hear them unless they are at least two Paretos deep with data.

Negative Poll

We work with teams that are made up of characters. For some reason, the people who know the most about our projects always seem to have strong personalities. And everyone knows what happens when you put 5 or 6 or 8 people with strong personalities in a room... a fight.

So how do you move your Six Sigma team or Lean event team forward when it feels like a draw in the 7th round of a heavyweight bout?

• Unanimous consensus is great, but remember, this is a room full of characters so unanimous agreement is very unlikely


• Majority voting works too, but someone always loses (maybe necessary sometimes, but not team building)


• Negative polling - "Does anyone have a problem if we try this?"


• Faster by far than consensus when you are in a hurry
• No one loses
• Keeps the team together and moving forward, even if it is just agreement to try something
  

NBTA

When you are training your team on lean or six sigma tools, presenting results to the project sponsor, or just about any other time you are presenting anything to anyone in your organization put this in the back of your mind - NBTA - "No Booty to Audience."

If you are not facing the audience when you are presenting, you can't manage the crowd. You'll miss when a team member rolls their eyes - maybe that team member needs a "sidebar" moment. You'll miss when your boss has a big frown on his face - maybe due to a comment that just needs a little more explanation. You might even miss some encouraging non-verbal feedback that let's you know your team is 100% with you.

If your booty is toward the audience rather than your eyes toward the audience, you may being missing something.