Lean For Everyone

Lean Book Review - The Smart Swarm by Peter Miller

"How understanding flocks, schools and colonies can make us better at communicating, decision making and getting things done."

Having studied entomology in college and loving the movie Aliens made me wonder what Peter Miller saw in our animal kingdom.

He shows with studies and tests that we have much to learn from fish, birds and insects by how seamlessly and honestly they communicate with each other.

 

"Young ants entering the work force don't have to sit through an orientation meeting or memorize a mission statement..."

So how do they know how to build a maze of living chambers, find food and sustain the colony? 

It’s called self-organization and has three basic mechanisms: decentralized control, distributed problem-solving and multiple interactions.  If you're a lean guy like me you just started salivating!

The book contains several experiments and examples that explain of how we can use the problem solving techniques of insects to come to better answers.

These same techniques are now used by anti-terrorism teams, Boeing aircraft engineers and supply and demand systems for gas and oil.

 

Honeybees  "seek a diversity of knowledge, encourage friendly competition of ideas and use an effective mechanism to narrow choices" just like people in Vermont town hall meetings.

What looks like “bee chaos” is actually a town hall meeting where different scout bees interact to come to a consensus about the new location for a hive.

These same techniques are seen in the town halls of Vermont where they still vote on matters of state.  The book even gives us some insight as to why Vermont was the 4^th state to legalize gay marriage.  Hint: people communicated openly.

 

The wisdom of crowds = diversity of knowledge

A group as small as 3 people can have as much impact as a single genius.  The book gives several examples of  groups solving problems with greater efficiency and accuracy than individuals.

The diversity of individuals within the group will increase the group’s effectiveness by utilizing everyone’s variety of knowledge.  See my post on divergent thinking.

 

There is also the downside of swarms and crowds:

The trampling of people at a soccer match, the tech bubble bursting and crashes in the real estate and stock market are all examples of swarm mentality.  Many of these were caused by people acting on bad information or no information due to lack of communication.

These exact same issues can cause the decline/death of an ant colony or cause locus to go on a feeding frenzy across miles of grasslands.

 

Experiments, data analysis and real world examples:

The experiments he cites in this book are very elegant and accurate.  Some of them took 3-4 years to generate and analyze.

The information about ants has been used to design supply and demand systems for companies. 

The computer animated Orcs attacking in The Lord of the Rings "The Two Towers" were based on the same interactions that birds have.

"Just like a flock of starlings, in other words, the monstrous Orcs in The Lord of the Rings coordinated their movements as a maurading army by following simple rules of interaction:

• Stay close to other Orcs
• Don't bump into other Orcs
• Head in the same direction as the Orc throng
• If you run into any humans - cut them in half with your sword"

 

Have you ever given a standing ovation because you didn’t want to be the one sitting down?

A standing ovation is a reaction based not on ones own personal feelings but on the actions and reactions of others. It’s called contagion behavior.

This really made me wonder how many business decisions are made on contagion behavior as opposed to good solid Honeybee and Ant thinking!

 

When I was done reading I had used 78 post-its to tag interesting facts and notes.  I couldn't put them all in here so I suggest you read Smart Swarm yourself.  I now envision honey bees buzzing less and waggle dancing  more.

   

Google Book Preview of The Smart Swarm

Notes and Quotes:

 "Maybe the smart way to face the unpredictable....is to look for that balance between strategic goals and random experimentation.”

Firefighters and Chieftans developed in human organizations because we rewarded those people. 

Many production systems are composed of informal tribal networks of trusted "goto" people.

 

 

Lean for Home: Using a dry-erase marker to identify your drinking glass

We went from a house of 2 adults to 7 adults and kept running out of drinking glasses.  This solved the problem.

We were running the dishwasher daily but still kept running out of glasses.

We have house guests for the next few months while they are in the midst of a move so everything in the house needed to scale by 3.5 x and quickly.

We didn't have any issues with plates or bowls but we kept running short on drinking glasses.

The containment measure we implemented was using plastic disposable cups while we came up with a root cause and a solution.

 

Root cause:  If you didn't know which glass was yours you just grabbed another one.

My wife K. and I have specific areas of the house we spend most of our individual time (Ex: my office, her craft area) and overlap in the common areas (Ex: dining room, kitchen etc).

When there were only 2 of us it was simple to track our respective glasses.

When the common areas started including 5 other people, if I set my glass down turned around and came back there might be two identical glasses sitting there.

With the flu season in full swing the default option was to get a new glass if you weren't 100% sure which was yours.

 

We wanted to implement a short term solution with minimal cognitive investment.

We used KISS principles in deciding the best way to label the glass.  At first we tried a sharpie marker but were concerned with the premenance of it and opted for the dry-erase one instead. 

It can rub off over the course of a day however:   it doesn't stain, it comes off in the dishwasher and it can be re-applied at any point.

When you get a glass in the morning you just take the dry-erase marker off the refrigerator and write your name on it.  It's now yours for the day and I now know it's not mine.

 

It's a simple process with a low barrier to entry and the only thing you need to remember is your name.  As long as your not drinking a lot of alcohol in your glass, this should work just fine for anyone over the age of 6.

 

 

Lean for the Home: Simplify and Declutter

By taking a 2nd look at my system I was able to remove some equipment and create a cleaner looking area.

 

I don't like to exercise so I decided to make the most of it by taking the spare electronic items I have in my house and creating an area where I can watch TV/Movies from my computer while on the treadmill.

 

 

After setting up the area I felt I had done a great job. 

I had my laptop connected to a spare LCD monitor for great viewing and a wireless headset so I could hear the audio over that annoying treadmill whine. (see image above)

 

Being a lean person I know there is always room for improvement so I examined my setup and took a 2nd look.

My goal was to walk on the treadmill and be able to watch my shows.  Ques: What is the minimum configuration I needed to accomplish this?  The laptop!!

I was using the LCD monitor because the smaller laptop screen was difficult to see from treadmill. Realization: I can move the treadmill closer and eliminate the LCD.

I was only using the wireless headset because the cord for my earbuds wasn't long enough.  Realization:  I don't need a wireless headset anymore because the treadmill is closer.

In the end I was able to:

- free up: 1 LCD Monitor, 1 Wireless Headset,  1 Table and 1 Powerstrip.

- decrease: electrical consumption,  the weight bearing load on the shelf and the setup time to exercise.

- eliminate:  charging the wireless headset and connecting the laptop to the LCD monitor.

 

   

Take a crtical look around your home and try to simplify where you can.  I've simplified doing the dishes, and the laundry at my house and it has freed up a huge chunk of time. 

Most importantly, that time is 100% yours to do anything you want.  I'm going to use mine to go on the treadmill.

 

Lean Book Review - Cognitive Surplus - Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirky

A mashup of how we think, how we share and what drives us to do it.

This book puts into perspective how much information and creativity goes to waste in our world every day. 

How "we" let these wastes happen, and the changes that are currently taking place to transform this surplus into a benefit for everyone.

 

 "Americans watch roughly two hundred billion hours of TV every year.  That represents about 2000 Wikipedias' projects' worth of time annually".

Wikipedia exists because people chose to share their knowledge with others, for free and for the purpose of being part of something bigger.

 

Did you know that anyone can edit Wikipedia. 

No login or account needed, you just click edit and then edit the information.

"This low threshold to participation invites the accumulation of the smallest units of value.  If you fix a typo and never do anything on Wikipedia again, that still has more value than if you hadn't fixed it."

 

Some industries rely on you to be spiteful to your friends

"The decision not to make someone else's life better when it would cost you little or nothing has a name: spite.  The music industry, in order to preserve its revenues, wanted (and still wants) all of us to be spiteful to our friends."

Napster did not grow in popularity because the new generation of teens were criminals or had loose morals trying to cause the downfall of socitey.  They were sharing and caring individuals who chose to share with their friends and strangers accross the world.  They chose NOT to be spiteful to others.

 

Items talked about in this book that I don't want to forget:

• The Ultimatum game in 1982 (unwillingness to accept injustice)
• The Soma puzzle experiment by Edward Deci in 1970 (Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation)
• People who are part of a group where they become better at something tend to stay.
• If you default your system to encourage sharing your users will move in that direction.

 

My wife asked me once why I blog, and post reviews about restaurants and books.  I now have an excellent reference book that explains it all.

If only all restocking was this efficient.

Great commercial by Florida's Natural Orange juice.

 

I should have had a better customer experience at Pep Boys, but that didn't happen.

Manny, Moe and Jack would not have been pleased at the customer experience I received at Pep Boys this week.  I'm no longer a loyal customer because of it.

My steering wheel was vibrating so I took it to my local Pep Boys in Farmington Hills.  They quickly filled out a brief amount of paperwork and for $19.99 they would diagnose the problem.  I waited for 95 minutes and watched their operation the entire time.

Note:  This was not the first time I've experienced their operations at this location.  I've brought my cars here several times in the past.

 

What I saw during my "forced gemba" made me cringe.

While I sat there I observed someone calling to ask about the status of their car.  The pepguy was very nervous with the customer on the phone and got word from the mechanic that the belt wasn't in yet so he couldn't work on it. 

I'm not certain what he told the customer in the end but he then rushed around to find an open bay to pull the car into.  Ques:  Why are you pulling the car into the bay when you can't work on it?

 

They lost me as a customer when after waiting for 80 min the first words they  said "You have 2 burnt out lights that illuminate your license plate." 

I watched them pull my car in, pop the hood and 4 different people looked inside.  About 15 min. later they called me up to the desk.  It was obvious to them I had been waiting for a long time.

I understand that I'm getting a comprehensive check up but after 95 minutes of waiting and wondering what's wrong with my car you're going to start with my license plate lights.  Next they told me "you need 2 new tires and a front wheel alignment".

I said that I've never known 2 wheels to go at the same time causing a problem so what's the bare minimum to get me out the door.  He said "2 new tires and a front wheel alignment".  The total was somwhere in the $400 range.

I thanked him and politely asked him to pull my car out, I decided that I wasn't going to have them repair it.  A look of utter shock crossed his face.

 

The service manager came over.

He was polite and asked what the problem was.  I said that I had been waiting for 95 minutes and I wasn't happy.  I can just as easily goto Costco or Belle Tire and get new tires.

He apoligized for the wait and as the service manager he took responsibiltiy for my waiting.  He wanted to make me happy as a customer so to make up for it he was going to give me a "sweetheart of a deal".

He brought the total down to $317 saying that there was no profit for them at this point but he wanted to keep my business.  I give him kudos for that however my feeling is that good customer service starts at the beginning of a transaction and you can't make up for bad customer service with monetary compensation.

I left and went to Belle Tire where I paid $539 for 4 tires with warranties and had everything installed and was out of there in under an hour.  They are going to get their own post about good customer service later this week.

 

What would have kept me as a customer would have been this conversation:

I'd like to start by apoligizing for the long wait.  We've gone over your vehicle and the problem is that the tread is coming off your right tire. 

You'll need to get two replacement tires because your car requires 2 wheels of approximately equal diameter otherwise your traction control system could have problems. The right has to be replaced so you would have to do the left as well. 

We highly recommend getting a front wheel alignment because the vibrations you've been experienciing.  We also noted the lights were burnt out on your license plate during our comprehensive check but otherwise your car is in great shape. 

The total cost is $400 and for another $12 we can have those lights taken care of for you.

 

BTW: It was Belle Tire who explained to me about my traction control system and all wheel drive system and they recommended I get 4 tires.  Pep Boys never had that conversation with me.

Goto ALDI’s supermarket, bring a quarter and see innovation in action

You use a quarter to get a shopping cart but you get your quarter back when you return it.  The innovative part is how they do it.

I went to a supermarket called ALDI's and was impressed by this small but important innovation.

ALDI's uses a small system created by Systec called a duraloc.

The mechanism is simple.  All shopping carts are daisy chained together using these small duraloc devices. (see image below)

To release a shopping cart for usage you need only put a quarter in the device and it releases the cart via a simple latch system like a seatbelt.

 

When you return the cart you clip it back onto the chain of carts and it releases your quarter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire system:

• Puts the carts back into circulation immediately when they are done being used.
• Reduces the inventory of carts needed by the market
• Engages the consumer in keeping costs low
• Keeps the parking lot free of carts thereby increasing available parking spots
  
• Removes the need for a "cart corral" in the parking lot
  
• Removes the need for employees to collect carts

 

I felt that I was doing my part to help keep the lot clutter free while keeping costs low for myself.  It was engaged on an emotional level and satisfied on a WIIFM level as well.  Good job ALDI!

(Image of daisy chained carts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lean Book Review - UnMarketing - Stop Marketing, Start Engaging by Scott Stratten

It's about building relationships with your clients and not annoying them.  Also the footnotes kept me laughing as well.

What's in the book?

Scott talks first hand about his use of social media (mostly twitter), viral marketing, trade shows and why old school networking events are evil.

 

His insights into engaging people have also changed my social media habits.

While I was reading his book he listed his twitter account and said to contact him anytime.  He's a self proclaimed "twitterholic". 

I tweeted him @UnMarketing saying I was enjoying his book and I was at the part where he talked about how Cirque du Soleil engages their audience from the minute you walk in the door.

 

He and I tweeted a little about Cirque and then I went back to reading.

I engaged him, he engaged me and now I'm writing accolades about his book.  That's how UnMarketing works...need more examples....READ THE BOOK.

Here's a link to the first chapter for free and many other highlights noted by other readers.

 

Be a boyscout, be prepared, learn from Scott's mistakes.

Scott is an expert at UnMarketing and is a sought after consultant for his expertise however everyone makes a few mistakes in the beginning and Scott talks about his. 

"The Time Movie" was Scott's first to go viral and the story he tells about how he wasn't prepared for it's success is a Lean parable unto itself.

 

2 Key take homes for me were: 

"You need to know if your customers are happy, and if they aren't you need to know why and how you can change it.  You need to know where you stand in the eyes of the customer."

Stop Start Continue - email to customers - what should we stop doing?  What should we start doing?  What do you think we should continue doing to ensure we meet and exceed your expectations.

 

This was an excellent read and one that I will not soon forget.  I recommend it for everyone in the business world. 

If you want to talk to me first hand about the book you can tweet me @Jon_Wetzel or comment below.  I want to engage with you, if you're reading this, you are my customer.