From Hunter nuttall ...
The Body’s Best Decision-Making Organ
Is it best to make rational decisions with your brain, or just go with your gut? Are people who insist on logic making the best use of all available information, or are they missing out on something far more powerful?
and his decision ...? here
This weeks free set of tips is ...
How to make the meetings you attend more effective and efficient.
Are you tired of meetings that spend hours of time and money but achieve no outcomes? Annoyed by lack of direction and beating around the bush?
As a participant, you have the power to turn meetings around, and get some effectiveness and efficiency..
If you would like to receive these tips, as always, just let me know...
[by Diane Chinn]
What happens when you hear the phrase process improvement? Do you groan or sigh? Do you think "this is going to be a lot of work and take a lot of time?" Typically, this is the natural response to the concept of process improvement. But, it does not have to be that way. Here are five (5) simple steps that you can take to improve the productivity of you business
There are certain basic tasks that must be done to make a business successful. Sometimes it is useful to take a fresh look at these basics to see that the organization is still on track. If there are fundamental problems in the daily operations of your business, changes in other areas may not lead to improvements. Concepts like orderliness, cleanliness, discipline, and managing costs and prices are examples of fundamentals in any organization. Also, when employees' basic needs are not being met, we cannot expect to make meaningful improvements in other areas. Taking care of the basics can lead to improved productivity, safety, and employee satisfaction. Adopting the 5S philosophy of Kaizen (Japanese taken from the words kai, which means change, and zen, which means good) is one way to take care of the basics. This is a frequently used tool from the LEAN Six Sigma tool box.
The 5S model includes:
o Sort: Clear out unused or rarely used items from the work areas
o Straighten: Create a place for everything and everything in its place
o Shine: Keep things clean, no dirt or trash in the work place. Regularly look for and remove things that could interfere with quality, timely work.
o Standardize: Develop systems and procedures to maintain productivity and quality work.
o Sustain: Use regularly management audits to maintain a stabilized workplace
Example:
The number of claims by third part administrators because of errors was a serious problem for one hospital. Incorrect claims led to additional work for claims staff and delays in reimbursements for the hospital. A process improvement team was established to address the issue. They interviewed claims processors and others in the business office. They found that noise levels and constant interruptions made it difficult for claims processors to complete an entire claim transaction without disruption. Disruptions led to missed steps in the claims process Simple changes were made to correct the problem. Employees who liked to listen to music while they worked were asked to use headphone and each claims processor was given a block of "protected time" each week. During this protected time, they could forward their telephone calls to a co-worker and were not available for meetings. With these simple changes, the volume of returned claims decreased by 40%.
Kaizen is a good starting point for process improvement that is quick and easy and will result in measurable and sustainable productivity improvement.
"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation."
Pearl S. Buck
Ideas are always a creative response to a problem without a present-day solution. People dream them up as the wonder what they might do to solve their problems, and they draw on inspirations from their environments around them to do so. What people forget is that neither their problems, nor the inspirations from which they draw solutions, are exclusively theirs. Everyone else is likely to face almost the same challenges. And they'll certainly come up with similar solutions.
This, more than any other reason, is why you often see the same idea surfacing in two or more places at once, even when the creative people proposing the solution don't know each other at all.
It seems logical to conclude, given this, that if you want to increase the success of your innovation efforts, getting more ideas will probably not have the result you're looking for.
Many people argue that what is actually needed is a systematic process which allows creative people to generate a track record of big product hits. This follows from the fact that it isn't ideas which are important to the innovation process, but the execution which follows them. Clearly, there are limited resources available in any organisation, so focussing on big ideas must be a good idea.
This, of course, is the strategy that's been followed by Apple, and other companies of its ilk. First, it released iPod, a massive hit that redefined the way that music is sold. Then it sold iPhone, which makes the name of the game in telephony about Apps, rather than features. And recently, it's released iPad, which it hopes will redefine the way customer acquire and use the products of the liberal arts.
None of these products are especially innovative, and they certainly aren't category unique. It is hard to say they are, by themselves, innovative. But they are designed beautifully, and each has built its success on the last.
This, in the end, is the real sign that a company has a successful innovation effort under way.
Would you like to create a track record of hit products? The easiest way to do it is create an innovation program with laser-sharp focus on what works. James Gardner's free online innovation book will help you start.
"Successful people make decisions quickly and change them slowly if and when at all."
Napoleon Hill
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How to improve your memory in a snap? It’s never too late to use your memory capacity to its full potential. Learn the natural techniques and never forget an important event or a person’s name anymore.
"We are not what we know. We are what we are willing to learn."
-- Council on Ideas
"The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary."
Thomas Edison
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