Create instant change, now.
January 23, 2009 by david.evanson
One of the questions that comes up on some forums is: “Why is the implementation of Lean/OEE activity so slow?”….or “What can we do to speed up our Lean implemenation?”.
I believe that I know a way that you can create huge, unstoppable change almost instantly.
Firstly, I would say that any improvement initiative will be very slow to implement if there’s no driving need to change. In fact i believe that if there is a big enough need to act differently, i.e. enough desire to improve or enough need to stop hurting, then change will be not just fast, it will be instantaneous. I also believe this is to be a universal human truth for all behaviour, not just manufacturing improvement.
The principles of NLP state that there are 2 key motivational factors to enable change:
- A need to move away from a current source of discomfort or pain. We call this “away” motivation.
- PLUS a desire to move towards a source of pleasure or enjoyment. We call this “towards” motivation.
**read more about motivation types at the excellent Pegasus NLP Blog**
In order to achieve change all individuals, and therefore organisations, need to have an appropriate balance of these 2 factors. Therefore, the ability of an organisation to change is directly proportional to the need for that change to be implemented, and this need is generated by combining the need to avoid particular results whilst simultaneously achieving better performance.
When the right level of “towards” and “away” motivations exist in an organisation we say that the team have ‘a burning platform’ to change. With a burning platform in place change happens. Fast. Unstoppably.
I wrote a blog about “the burning platform” a very short while ago: http://oeejourney.optimumfx.com/2008/12/17/burning-platforms-for-change/
EXAMPLES:
- I’ve worked in bottling sites that are so profitable (especially in the spirits industry) that implementing minor changes has taken >36 months.
- I’ve also worked in soft drinks sites where OEE has jumped from the low 50’s to the high 70’s in 12months.
- Most radically in a powder packaging factory where OEE jumped from 23% (and about to massively short on customer orders) to 68% in only 8 weeks.
The contributing factor in each environment is the level of pain that’s felt by the management and operator teams. In the powder packaging example they were in such deep trouble it was almost literally “change or die”. In this environment change is fast, radical, and all-consuming - infact the challenge is to slow it down and make sure the changes are sustained.
So here’s a really great question for you to ask yourself:
“How can we create the right level of need to change in our business to achieve our business and personal goals?
Protected: Realising Leadership Potential (RLP)
December 17, 2008 by samirshah
“The end of the world is nigh (again)”
December 2, 2008 by david.evanson
I’ve just finished reading this awesome blog post by Reg Connolly about the power of perception and think you will also find it interesting.
NLP is an integral part of the OptimumFX business with 1/2 the team trained, and the other half gaining exposure all the time. I wrote a short article on this on our main website in February 2007.
For us our experiences to date with NLP have helped us to set really powerful internal goals that we have the capability to communicate to each other in meaningful ways.This article is a great example of how different people experience events in different ways - the example of the journalists on the train. To a lesser extent whenever we set business or project goals the potential for the same misunderstanding always remains and NLP processes can help us to maximise the effectiveness of our communication.
We also frequently refer to specific NLP processes when talking to sites about OEE improvement and the ways of helping people to understand what the improvement means to them. Most specifically when we’re working with a management team to create a plan for change we have found that our NLP training can help us to ask even better questions to facilitate the process.
There are 2 points that really resonated for me in Reg’s blog:
1. The power of frames - how the way in which we tune our mind to pick up information on the world…and more specifically, how these frames can be set by the press to help them sell more papers. For us I wonder how we can tune people into finding and delivering change?
2. Creating change. The “shock-sadden-scare” approach that Reg outlines is effective, and i wonder how else can we support people to create results through empowering them to change, rather than driving them to change.
When we talk to you about change and about using data (be it manual collection, XL800, or LineView) to drive that change what we are attempting to do is support your requirement to improve OEE (sell more papers) through the use of factual data that provides transparent comparison for robust decision making.
READ REG’s GREAT BLOG ENTITLED “THE END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH (AGAIN)” BY CLICKING HERE
