Continuous Improvement Process

Posted on January 17, 2010 by David


Speaking of Disney, our visit to Textile Services as part of Disney’s Approach to Leadership Excellence included a 30-minute Q & A session with a supervisor who went over their Continuous Improvement Process (CIP). The emphasis was on continuous. This wasn’t a one time process to fix a problem. This is an ongoing effort to not be satisfied with the status quo.

They narrowed their process down to 6 points:

1. Listen and Learn
2. Measure
3. Act
4. Re-Measure
5. Recognize and Celebrate
6. Share insights

1. Listen and Learn – This implies that you have to be communicating with your team. You may know the jobs your fellow team members complete because you do some of the same things. But do you know how they go about their day? Do they do something better than anybody else? Is there a process that is hindering the success of their job? Listen to what your co-workers are saying and learn from their experience.

2. Measure – Track what you’ve learned from a quantitative and qualitative perspective. Most employees are capable of finding solutions and determining what works best for them. When written down, you can communicate what you’ve measured in a more efficient way.

3. Act – Put in motion some of the proposed solutions. It’s the last part of Walt’s Dream, Believe, Dare, DO credo. You’ll never know how something works if you don’t act.

4. Re-measure – Did the new process in this process work? Did it fail? Did it bring a new insight?

5. Recognize and Celebrate – When it works, recognize it. Celebrate it! Do you have a wall of fame in your organization? If you have kids you probably have one at home. Why not bring that into your workplace? It doesn’t have to be out front so customers can see it. But put it where employees can see it every day and you may find a way to motivate your team members.

6. Share Insights – How often do you get together as a team? And your team can be defined by those that work in your store/organization, management team or senior leadership.

Do you have a process in place for improvement? Is it within you or do you depend on someone else for improvement?

What happens if you don’t improve? Do you hear that? That sound you hear is footsteps. If you don’t improve you can be guaranteed that your competition will be.

Posted in CIP, Continuous, Disney, Improvement, Leadership | Comments Off on Continuous Improvement Process

How do you want to be recognized?

Posted on January 15, 2010 by David

As part of their continuous improvement process, Disney’s Textile Services (a.k.a. Laundry) recently polled their employees as to how they wished to be recognized. The top three things were 3) Movie tickets; 2) Feed me; 1) Recognition.

3) Movie tickets – Pretty simple reward huh? It’s more than just someone covering the cost of theater admission. It might be a great time for the family to take in a movie together. The time together as a family in today’s dollar is still priceless.

2) Feed me – A celebratory lunch, restaurant gift card or a potluck dinner didn’t matter. Employees wanted their recognition in the form of food. This can be done as a group to celebrate accomplishments or as simple as buying lunch for your star employee.

1) Recognition – Everyone likes to be recognized and validated for the work they have done. Whether it be a pat on the back, a special award like employee of the month, or a personal letter from the CEO, we all enjoy our job more if there is a practice of being rewarded for doing an outstanding job.

How do you want to be recognized? What motivates you to do your best? Is it the reward that pushes you or is it your own will and determination?

So, to get some feedback on this, tell me how you want to be recognized.

Posted in Celebrate, Disney, Recognition, Reward, Textile Services | 1 Comment

I just want one . . . Is that too much to ask?

Posted on January 10, 2010 by David


A customer came in recently looking for a specific supplement in a specific form. He has been trying to find this item for almost a full year. Each time he came in, I asked him for information on the product since I was unable to find any information about it. He had read some obscure article from some obscure publication about some obscure product and he thought it would help his situation. Out of all the customers we had in 2009 he was the only one that asked for this product. But for this customer, this was the only product he wanted.

How many times do we look at requests such as this and 1) roll our eyes, 2) laugh at the absurdity of the request or 3) take time to understand what is behind the request? This may be the only product this customer wants from us. They may not know that alternatives exist. They may be extremely susceptible to slick marketing.

What is our role in this situation? Listen, Educate and Inform.

1. Listen to what the customer wants. Is the customer misinformed? Does the customer have some new information that we don’t have? Listen and learn so that you can point the customer in the right direction.

2. Educate – This can either be on our part or on the customer’s part. Either way we have a responsibility to familiarize ourselves about the latest product studies, dosage amounts, or whatever product information is relevant to the customer’s needs.

3. Inform – How we deliver what we’ve learned is key to the whole process. There should be no secrets, no holding back, no misinformation. The slick marketing that most manufacturers pay millions for can sometimes be worthless compared to the personal approach we can offer. Having the right body language and adopting a tone or delivery that is comfortable for the guest can go a long way toward changing the guest’s perspective.

To us, it’s a unique request. To that customer, it is the only thing they want and they are looking to us to fulfill that request.

How will you react?

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

How prepared are you? Vision

Posted on January 5, 2010 by David


It has been said that what you do everyday prepares you for turbulent times. How prepared are you? Since the end of the third quarter of 2008, most businesses across the country have experienced turbulent times. Some of it could have been avoided. Some not so much. Either way, were you prepared?

Did you know that you can create your own turbulence? For example, how many businesses out there say, “We don’t have to focus on the loyal customers. They are going to come back month after month anyway.”

* NOT if we discontinue their products.
* NOT if our prices are too high.
* NOT if they don’t feel valued.

Business owners may never say those actual words. But their actions, their structure, and their processes communicate this type of attitude very well.

Does this type of attitude fit with your vision? Does your organization make the connection between the leader’s vision and the organizational structure? It seems that most of the time it’s all about WIIFM – what’s in it for me. If the vision of the organization incorporates every level of the organization (structure, processes, commitment) and if the vision is true (true being defined as something that is honest, honorable and upright) then everything that is done to support that vision will reveal your level of preparedness.

Does your vision prepare you? How well does your vision do the following:

1) Create a shared and meaningful purpose.

2) Inspire passion and interest.

3) Guide decision making and strategy.

4) Convey values.

Based on these statements and your own experience how will you communicate your vision? Will your level of preparedness be frantic or constant in turbulent times?

“In this volatile business of ours, we can ill afford to rest on our laurels, even to pause in retrospect. Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future.” Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966)

Posted in Leadership, Preparedness, Purpose, Vision, WIIFM | 1 Comment

2010 – Exceeding the Average

Posted on January 3, 2010 by David


Tonight we had a kickoff dinner and meeting for 2010. Everyone was there and I think we all enjoyed the time together. Food was good too. Yes, it was late on a Sunday night. There probably wasn’t a better time where we could get everyone on the same page at the same time so that the same message was communicated properly. So thanks for sacrificing your night to be there.

Now what? We’ve been told what our key initiatives will be for 2010. We’ve been told what the vision is. We’ve been given our goals for each store. But if we as individuals and as a team do nothing with this information tonight then we are nothing but another blue in a sea of blues.

Instead, we want to be the yellow. It’s easy to count the yellows in the picture above. Being just another blue is being just like everybody else. There are plenty of blues out there. Everywhere you go you run into blues.

What are you going to do to be a yellow? Do you need help getting to yellow? Maybe you think you can only make it to green . . . (yellow + blue = green). Is there another member of your team that is already a yellow? What can you learn from them so that everyone on your team is now a yellow? Is someone holding you back from being a yellow?

Blues = Average
Yellow = Exceeding the Average

I’m gonna be a yellow.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments