I see two problems with continuous improvement. First, if you’re always looking to be better there is a real risk you end up being perpetually dissatisfied or disappointed. Knowing you’ll never reach perfection means your improvement journey just goes on and on and...
Ian Crocombe
Error Proofing – Stop doing that!
What do all the following have in common? Dave Grohl - Foo FightersThe Edge - U2Tre Cool - Green DayBryan Adams Matthew Bellamy - Muse Well, the answer is they’ve all taken a serious tumble off the stage they were performing on. Whenever that happens, I always...
Error Proofing – Why you need to think about the bad stuff
Wouldn’t it be great if we had a crystal ball to see into the future and avoid all the bad things that might happen? Well, this post doesn’t quite do that but what about if we had a neat way of at least thinking about the potential bad things that might happen,...
Error Proofing – If it wasn’t for those people things would run so much better!
‘I’m only human … born to make mistakes’. So said The Human League back in the ’80s (our younger readers might need to Google that one). The thing is, The Human League were spot on. Whenever you get people interacting with your online user interfaces or participating...
Don’t let jargon get in the way of improvement.
If you’re running a small or medium-sized business, some of the language you see or hear about how to improve might leave you a bit bemused. You could legitimately be thinking ‘what on earth does Lean, 6 Sigma, Poka Yoke, Gemba or Hoshin Kanri have to do with my...
Operations by design – the four V’s
Operations can be costly, hence the ongoing drive for productivity and efficiency. There are four aspects of your business that will drive the way your operations are designed and their associated cost profile. First, think McDonald's and you’ll understand the impact...
Why you should get emotional about your service processes
Everybody has a story to tell about their awful service experiences and social media helps make those stories freely available to all. Sometimes things seem to go wrong even when the ‘process design’ seems fine on paper and the systems are working as they should. Why...
Three reasons why processes really matter
Everything is a process - from making a cup of tea, going on holiday (remember that?) to running an organisation of any size - everything we do relies on that most basic of building blocks - process. A series of connected or aligned tasks taking you from a start to an...
Just what does Operations mean?
I’ve spoken to enough people to realise that defining operations is a bit like agreeing on the best formation and players for the England football team – there are as many opinions as people you ask. Part of the challenge is that ‘operations’ is both a function (the...