I recently adopted a dog from our local humane shelter. It goes without saying that I now have a new personal trainer.
Now, twice a day every day, we take a walk through the community. Along with the extra exercise, a bonus has been a new awareness of my subdivision. Instead of just driving quickly past my neighbor’s homes, I’m able to see many details of my neighborhood that I had never noted before.
Mark Twain (Samuel Clements) is credited with saying “Golf is a good walk spoiled.”While that might be a good description of golf, it certainly is not a good depiction of taking a walk around the office or factory floor. A stroll through the workplace can be time very well spent.
One of the primary activities of a good continuous improvement (CI) program is to actually see what is happening in the workplace. It is important for managers of all levels to explore their office or factory areas to personally observe any obstacles that may be facing their employees.
The Japanese term for this is gemba, which can be translated “the real place.” By going to the gemba, one can directly observe issues rather than hear about them second-hand.
First-hand observation is the best way to truly understand if a problem is actually a concern that needs to be addressed by the CI team, or just an issue that is being blown out of proportion. This can help you prioritize CI activities and eliminate unnecessary CI projects.
Try taking a walk this week to improve your workplace. Drop me a note and let me know how it goes!
If your business processes need a “check-up,” please email me at michael@leadingchangeforgood.com! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive workplace!
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