“Small Ball” Performance Improvement

Basic Business Cents

Small Ball is a term used by baseball teams who compensate for lack of power hitters by focusing on the fundamentals of the game and using team speed to win games.

Some years ago, Billy Martin, a major league player and manager with six different teams including the Minnesota Twins and five different stints with the New York Yankees used the same concept which was called Billy Ball .  He was a fiery competitor who won several championships with his relentless focus on speed and fundamentals.

Does this attention to the basics apply to business? Dr. W. Edwards Deming developed the following chain reaction theory based on the work of Walter Shewhart and various Japanese engineers:

1.     Improve the quality of work processes. Results have shown that productivity does indeed improve as variation is reduced.

2.     Quality Increases and Costs Decrease. With variation reduced in the individual work processes, less waste is produced, time is saved by less rework, and a more consistent product is produced.

3.     Higher Customer Satisfaction. With higher quality products, more timely delivery, and lower cost the customer will by better satisfied.

4.     Increased Revenue and Profit. With higher productivity and lower costs, financial rewards will be realized.

5.     Business Prospers. With higher customer satisfaction, better product, better productivity, and more profit, the company excels.

Putting this plan into action requires a focus on the fundamentals, an application of “small ball”. A plan without action is useless so we want to get all employees involved in improving their own work processes. It is not rocket science. Every employee, including managers, should write down all steps in each of their key activities and then study their list to examine for a better and simpler way. If they do something because it is the way it has always been done, it is probably wrong. They should look for reducing variation in how it is done from time to time, distance either the material or the worker moves, time involved in each step including wait time, rework, redundancy, and wasted time and material. It is surprising how much is learned by looking at the steps on the paper staring back. Discuss surprises, ideas to improve, and recommendations to supervisors and fellow employees to get approval to change. Document the new way to prevent slipping back into the old way.

It is amazing how much improvement can be made in the organization with these simple steps. As time goes on, training can be obtained to enable the workers to make even further improvements to improve the work and therefore the business. The key is to get everyone involved and focus on the fundamentals of the work processes.

Lorne Ames, the President of INCO (International Nickel Corporation) Manitoba once said he now realized that what is important in performance improvement is not giant strides but baby steps—little by little, better and better.

Dynamic Apathy

Basic Business Cents

One of my fellow employees once said, “The trouble with our company is we have too much dynamic apathy.” He was speaking of the comfortable feeling shared in the company about where we were and how we were doing. It was preventing us from getting better. A popular saying in Japan is, “The good is the enemy of the better.” We need to constantly strive to improve. 

There never was a company that could not improve. There never was a process that was perfect. We need to overcome the culture of good enough. If someone tells you the reason they are doing something in a certain way because that is the way it has always been done, you know it is wrong. It could be better. The reason for status quo is sometimes fear of failure, fear of criticism for deviating from old ways, or fear to try new methods. Sometimes employees do not understand the aim of the organization or the culture of the organization is not aligned with the top-level aim. Possibly the pay is low, working conditions are terrible, good work is not appreciated, or higher level people take credit for successes or place blame for failures. Those types of conditions will lead to a shrug of the shoulders and a who cares attitude.

Gripers, complainers, self-proclaimed prophets, and armchair quarterbacks abound. People who rise above this and think positively and take action are rare and to be treasured. It is easy to analyze, scrutinize, and talk but is more important to improve the performance of each individual work process. We need people who will not just discuss a situation but do something about it. We tend to get what we expect from people; we frequently underestimate people. One woman was asked how to improve her work and she came up with some great ideas.  When asked why she didn’t come forth earlier, she said, “No one ever asked me before.”

Another time, a division vice president was explaining a dilemma to Dr. W. Edwards Deming about how a corporate decision had negatively impacted her division.  She said, “It came down from corporate, what can I do?”  Deming responded, “You have more power than you think you have, you only need to exercise it.”

Care must be taken to ensure the culture of the organization allows and encourages employees to present ideas to improve the performance of the organization. This not only improves the odds of success of the organization but also provides more job satisfaction for the employees.

Statistical methods for process improvement are useful where data can be collected. The seven management tools developed in Japan can be used where data cannot be collected. Workers and managers alike can read about them in books and technical papers, or take training.

Higher-level managers can use similar approaches to systems, but probably more important is to address the culture of the organization. People should not have a fear of failure if they are working to improve. Communication must be open, and free up down, and across the organization so improvement attempts, successes, and failures are shared in mutual learning. The overall aim and strategy must be shared, understood, and committed by all. 

No organization can stand still for long; it must constantly, forever improve. When in doubt, do something!

Job Description for Vise President of Culture

Basic Business Cents
Job Description for Vice President of Culture

• A.K.A. Director of Human Resources for large organizations
  
• A.K.A. Personnel Manager for medium organizations
  
• A.K.A. Owner for small organizations
  The typical job description for the office of personnel management reads something like, Maintains the organizations human resources by planning and evaluating employee performance systems. Not very exciting so far but it goes on,
  

• Maintains the work structure by developing job descriptions
  
• Counseling managers on candidate selection
  
• Maintains employee benefits
  
• Ensures legal compliance
  
• Manages the system of employee reviews.
  People work to get a feeling of satisfaction of performing worthwhile activities and the above descriptions do not appear very rewarding. Perhaps the most satisfying feelings of accomplishments typically come from short term projects handed down from the CEO.
  Employee annual reviews tend to be a downer in most organizations. Employees are filled with apprehension as the review can impact their chances of salary increase or promotion. Managers detest it more; it is not enjoyable to point out people’s shortcomings. It normally takes ten positive comments to balance one negative one. What should have been done is to provide feedback in real time so both parties know why and how to improve.
  That’s the old school description; now let’s look at the role of the future.
  A client once said, “Culture eats strategy for lunch every day.” Every organization has it’s own unique culture. If it is aligned with leadership, the aim of the organization and the strategy to reach it, the organization can move mountains. On the other hand, if culture is not in sync with the aim, not much will happen. So, developing, nurturing, and expanding this positive culture is one of the most important roles in the organization. The new job description has three major components.
  

1. Coordinate Staffing. Working with the managers, determine needs for new or replacement talent. As work processes are improved, the amount and kind of talent changes. If someone no longer fits in the position, termination is the last straw. The organization placed them in that position, has an investment in them, and has an obligation to find them a position that fits their shills, either within or without of the organization. Hiring and finding a new

© Louis E. Schultz

position should always be a win-win scenario. Encourage two-way feedback between the manager and employee in real time in a spirit of improving the work. Assure legal compliance with federal and state requirements.

2. Achieve Alignment of All Employees with the Aim of the Organization. True unity cannot be forced. People need to understand the reason for achieving the aim, what it means for them, the customers, the organization, and the community. Communication has two equal halves, sending and receiving. People need to understand why and true dialogue must take place in communication.
   
3. Responsible for the Pride and Work Satisfaction of the Workforce. People need to have a sense of accomplishment with their work. They need to achieve happiness in what they are doing, know that their work is important, that they are performing well, and are a part of a proud, dynamic team. The Marines call it esprit de corps, a feeling of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty shared by members of a particular group.
   

The leader of culture may be the second most important position in the organization. Culture and leadership are the two most important drivers of the success. CEOs of American corporations have tended to come from the finance department; in Japan from engineering. Could it be that the path to the top in the future is through culture management?

© Louis E. Schultz