Product Development Archives

Product Development Page 17

I personally have a problem with the term “problem solving”. Let me explain it to you. First problem — whenever we deliver problem solving training for organizations people have a very difficult time organizing their thoughts into a problem. If you take a problem and look at it as current situation, future or better situation, and the gap between the two, then you have defined your problem in a way that will allow you to improve the situation.

The other problem I have with problem solving is the word “solving.” Solving implies a total solution – a “fix it once and for all” mindset. In Lean we look not to solve or attain a perfect state. Instead we look to make measurable and cost effective progress towards an ideal state. We look for intermediary desirable states and balance out the costs of getting there against the gains in the situation that this better state will provide.

Even though I have issues with the term “problem solving”, and much prefer the term “continuous improvement”, problem solving is so well known and so accepted in organizations that we will accept the term. But please understand, when we use the term problem solving we really mean continuous improvement and making progress towards a better state.

Contact us to learn more about how Systems Thinking and the application of our Product Development Operating System can help your organization become more efficient, productive, innovative, and competitive.

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The Pareto Principle comes to us from quality guru Joseph Juran. He named it the Pareto Principle in honor of Vilfredo Pareto who was an Italian economist. Pareto himself first developed the concept by recognizing that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the people. This was reinforced when he realized that 80% of the harvest of peas in his garden came from 20% of the pods. This has been generalized in business into the Pareto Principle that states “80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers. And that 80% of your problems come from 20% of your issues.”

In it’s most general sense Pareto says that 80% of gain comes from 20% of the effort. And the last 20% of the potential gain requires 80% of the effort…four times the effort required to reach 80%.

The Pareto principle argues for the lean concept — which is the concept of the interrupted journey. The cost benefit ratio favors limiting your aspirations to 80% or less of your way to the ideal state. When you execute an improvement effort in Lean — when you apply PDCA or the Deming Cycle — you make this targeted state explicit. You look for the balance between your opportunities and your constraints. You get done what is available to get done at manageable expense. This is all done in the effort, not of a complete and total trip to the ideal state, but a trip to a better state and improved situation.

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If you’re familiar with the world of Lean, then you’ve probably heard the expression “it’s a journey.” This expression has become a little trivial or trite. It’s become a little hollowed out, sort of like the term empowerment or win-win. I have a colleague who hates the expression win-win. He hates it because it is always used as a mask when he finds himself in a win-lose situation. But Lean really is a journey and I want to articulate the elements of that journey for you today.

First, you need to define your starting point, like a journey. Then you define a destination or where you want to go. Finally you have a rate of progress towards your destination. So, if you’re traveling from New York to California, you have your starting point in NY and your destination in CA. You have your rate of progress that includes intermediate states. You might stop in PA and visit some friends. You might only have enough money to get to IN. If that’s the case then you’ll need to stop and make some money for a little while before you pack up and continue west as far as you can go. California represents the ideal state and you have some intermediary states along the way.

In the world of Lean you define the current state, you consider your ideal state, you understand your limits, you identify targeted improvement states — way stations along the way, you go there and reach a steady state, then you prepare the next move on your continuous journey when the time is right. And that’s how Lean is represented as a journey.

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I want to offer a challenge to people involved in product development. When we begin a Lean initiative we consider current situation and define an ideal state. The distance between the current and ideal situation is the space where you should focus improvement efforts.

When the Toyota production system was studied and converted into Lean Manufacturing they could clearly define the ideal state. The ideal state in Lean Manufacturing/The Toyota Production System is defined by the following:

Can produce defect free
Able to produce a batch of one
Can produce on demand
Can be delivered immediately
Can operate in a process with no waste
Can operate in an environment safe for the people involved physically, psychologically, and professionally

These all have been generalized into the Lean Manufacturing concepts:

Zero defects
Single piece flow
Pull
Lead time
Value added processes
Human factors

I’m challenging you to consider your product development system. Can you define your ideal state? If you can’t define the ideal state then what is the direction of your continuous improvement efforts? So please, seriously, give thought to and consider this – what is the ideal state of your product development system?

If have ideas and you’d like to turn this into a dialogue please email them to us or put your thoughts in the comments below and we’ll be happy to dialogue with you about defining the ideal state of your product development.

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In the 9 years that I’ve been in some type of a sales or sales support role at EAC I’ve noticed some common themes across the companies that I’ve been exposed to. One of which that continues to intrigue me is a correlation — companies with open minds that are willing to meet with a sales person seem to be doing better than those that don’t.

You may call me out on this but I’ve had exposure to several hundred executive level individuals and those that seem to do well are willing to let a sales person give their pitch. Part of being a sales professional is dealing with rejection. It happens daily and is tough, but you learn from it and get better. My experience has been that companies who reject a 20-minute meeting are those that are struggling to meet goals, have stagnant growth, are over worked, and generally have bad employee morale.

One positive example is an individual that is a VP of a billion dollar company. From our very first call he showed a level of interest and respect for me. It was refreshing to have him demonstrate genuine interest in what I had to offer. It all started with a 20-minute meeting and now EAC is significantly impacting how they bring their products to market. In the 8 months that I’ve worked with him he’s been promoted twice.

Another example that comes to mind is a VP of a 50 million dollar company that will take a call from me even when he is in a meeting. He is excited to hear what I have to say and values my input. What a way to make a sales person feel appreciated and important, and that naturally makes me go out of my way to help him out when he’s in a bind. He is a true pleasure to work with and guess what; his company is growing like crazy!

Now for the counterpoint…there is a company I’ve tried to work with for years. They offer a specialized commodity that is very sensitive to any type of economic decline. During the great recession they let go over 80% of their employees. Surprisingly they are still in business, but are struggling to provide enough work to support their overhead. While a VP was willing to take an initial meeting with me, he is very close minded to any type of change and has no interest in finding new ways to get better. “I’m too busy to make any changes.” And guess what, he’s pretty grumpy.

I often think of the cartoon where a polished sales guy shows up to a meeting with a soldier. He’s carrying a machine gun in his bag but the soldier carrying a sword responds with “No, I don’t have time to see a crazy salesman — I’ve got a battle to fight!”

Our world is changing rapidly, especially as we continue with the economic recovery. Our customers are constantly facing stricter deadlines, increased competition, and more complex requirements that are always changing. “We have to hit the deadline or we risk losing the customer.” Too often I see companies throwing money and resources at fixing a problem because that’s the way they’ve always done it. And then they wonder why they struggle with growth, profitability, and product performance issues. Well I have some good news…there is a better way. And the next sales person to contact you may have a solution to the problem that is keeping you up at night. Give them a chance.

We were having fun the other day. We were talking about the LAMDA process. For those of you that maybe haven’t heard of it, the LAMDA process (Look, Ask, Model, Discuss, Act) is an action based instructive form of PDCA devised by Allen Ward, a University of Michigan researcher. Ward developed LAMDA while looking for an action-based way of describing the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) process.

The closed loop feedback step in PDCA informs improvement ambitions and initiatives. It turns our product development into a closed loop system. Having fun we asked “what is the alternative in the current default Taylor based management system?”

First we looked at what happens when Taylorism is applied in product development. The first thing you get is a learning disability and a belief that “The problem is out there. Others impose their problems upon me.” This also leads to a blaming culture. The idea that “That organization is causing problems for me and my organization.” It also leads to positioning and assumptive leaps as well as a sense of helplessness in the face of problems.

When Taylorism is applied in product development it leads to a culture that embraces the idea that “The problem is out there.” A blaming culture that embodies the famous cross armed move that leads to assumptive leaps and helplessness.

So in counter point to LAMDA we came up with the LLAMA model. It stands for Look, Look, Assume, Maybe Act. And that’s the counterpoint between Deming and Taylor. Deming gives us an opportunity and methodology for solving our problems and continuously improving. The Taylor system puts us in a position where we blame others and find our selves helpless when facing the problems of our workplace.

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