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News, articles, books, podcasts, and videos about how to make the workplace better.
Companies mentioned in this post include:
- Google: Uses classic optimization techniques to solve container ship network problems.
- Chipotle: Subject of a study by Wells Fargo analysts on portion size variations.
- Boeing: Implemented countermeasures to improve quality at its Renton plant, with a noted lack of management and leadership training.
- Netflix: Updated its cultural memo to add new guardrails to its ethos of freedom and responsibility.
Operational Excellence, Improvement, and Innovation
Heuristics on the High Sea
Some complain that supply chains are over-optimized, but Google's Operations Research team shares how they are using classic optimization techniques to solve for container ship network optimization problems.
But even the best models can't foresee certain variables that disrupt even the most optimized supply chains, for example, rebel armies firing on ships in key waterways.
Hungry enough to measure the cost of poor quality
There's been a lot of chatter on social media on whether beloved food retailer Chipotle has been skimping on its portion sizes of late. Rather than simply wonder, some Wells Fargo analysts took action and measured the weights of 75 identical burrito bowls from different locations across New York City. Their study found that the weight varied significantly between locations, ensuring an uneven customer experience and cost.
Countermeasures at Boeing – but what about leaders?
USA Today reports on the countermeasures observed at a tour of the Renton Boeing plant aimed at improving quality. Conspicuously missing: management and leadership training.
Case: Reducing the Non Value-Added steps in a Claims Process
Here's a case study for using RPA to reduce the time and effort required for process steps in a claims process. I like seeing examples of real-world problem solving using lean tools, but this example does seem to suffer from using lean tools for its own sake.
Creating a Culture of Improvement
Strategic choices tend to be top-down – the bailiwick of the Board and C-suite. Leaving employees out of the process means ignoring a valuable source of input and potentially hurting adoption efforts. What would it take to include employees in strategic planning? A lot of humility, authenticity, and planning.
Freedom Has Its Limits: How Netflix's Culture Has Evolved
Netflix was born in the golden era of Silicon Valley startups where every entrepreneur was striving to “make the world a better place”. Credos of freedom, creativity, flat organizations, and the rule is having no rules abounded. But what happens as the organizations become publicly-traded behemoths? Can Netflix maintain its ethos of freedom and responsibility – trusting employees to do the right things? Netflix has released its latest cultural memo which puts some new guardrails on its vaunted culture that recognizes that some behaviours don't scale well.
Coaching – Developing Self & Others
The Power of Repetition. Repetition. Yes, repetition.
When I coach leaders on how to coach their teams on continuous improvement, they almost always recoil at the idea of dedicating 10 to 15 minutes each day to this activity. “We don't have time”, they all say, but they will agree to make time for an hour or two a month to have a meeting instead. If you're serious about getting good at something, getting your reps in is critical. Michael Bungay-Stanier reminds us that the only way to really get better is through repetition.
Avoiding the trap questions
Some questions are designed simply to shut things down. Avoid the trap questions.
A History of Self-Improvement Albums and the Cult of Individual Productivity in America
Self-improvement albums took off in the Cold War era in the US and Canada, in an appeal to get every individual focused on becoming their best in efforts to defeat the global rise of communism. A lot of the themes still resonate and can be found in contemporary self-improvement and productivity media today. What the history of self-improvement LPs teaches us about the culture of productivity and optimization.
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