Care-is-Cure

Beware Of Political-Presentations

Sunday 16 March 2014

Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !

"Green tax of Rs 20 crore in kitty, but pollution in Thane remains high!"

This news that I read while sipping tea after a long drive of over 100 kilometers across Mumbai and Thane, reinforced writing this blogpost and its title.

Actually I had already begun to write this blogpost on studying various signals over a few days. Only some of them had 5...4...3...2...1... 'Second-tickers' that indicate time in 'seconds' the next signal would show up.

More than half of almost a hundred signals that I studied didn't have 'ticking countdown timers' nor were they visible except to the first row of vehicles.

Purpose of the 'ticking' is to provide transparency so that speeding vehicles could predict when to halt and stationary vehicles could 'start' their engines just-in-time. Former would prevent accidents. And both, the former and the latter, would save fuel as well as pollution by preventing idle running of engines.

So it's not necessarily the old vehicles that cause pollution. Attitude of drivers in spite of the infrastructure such as above (or the lack of it) also contribute their might. Even new vehicles holding 'pollution-in-control' certificate 'vomit pollution'.

Causes may be many that need to be treated at root cause level. It's actually easy and less expensive to do so.

Lack of proper maintenance, for instance.

Attitude of 'managing' to seek pollution certificate.

Fitting 'timers' at all signals or fitting them at visible level.

Marking an area at busy signals (as yellow box-1, 2, 3, say) that indicates those many vehicles within a maked box could pass through a given 'timer-setting' of the signal. So only one batch of vehicles within the yellow box-1 would pass within the fall of one signal.

Vehicles within yellow box-2 need not race-to-chase since the timer-setting of signal-1 won't be adequate to get them cleared. See the idea in sketch.

The denomination of the boxes can be standardized in steps equivalent to the units of signal-time so that signal time can be adjusted as per demand. This is equivalent to a 'pitch' in 'just-in-time' or 'lean' operations that bring in visibility. Thereby it will reduce costs such as fuel consumption and pollution in case of traffic.

Installing proper signboards and indicators. In absence of that, many a time a driver ends up getting stuck on signals while he could have easily taken a couple of flyovers to reach his destination without any waiting time.

This is analogous to a 50-story building employing say four high-technology lifts: one each reserved for going upto 10th floor, upto 20th floor, upto 30th floor, and upto 40th floor respectively; but not having a few pennies worth signboards. A first time visitor might end up landing into a wrong lift and shuttling among lifts and floors. Murphy's law usually takes over in such cases!

Tackling habits of people pressing switches of all the lifts at a time without reading signboards if at all they are readable, is another story of course!

Shear waste of energy! Many a time road-signs are hidden behind political hoardings full of birthday wishes.

In short, root cause of pollution is the wasteful human-activity that adds costs rather than value.

Unless there is a reward mechanism to recognise all those stakeholders who involve themselves in finding out non-value-activities, merely punishing at symptomatic level is not going to be of much help.

Authorities must listen to their voice on their real time difficulties. Leaders need to go to corresponding workplace (Gemba) in real time (Genjitsu) in order to do so so that they can see the difficulties themselves. They must treat those difficulties at root cause levels rather than merely giving first-aids to symptoms.

In absence of doing so, many more 'crores' might get collected as 'pollution tax' in kitty, but abnormality levels will remain high in multiples of hundreds!'

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Saturday 15 March 2014

An Experience of Heart-and-Soul

Bapu's smile!

Courteously asking for 'tea or coffee'!

Issue of token for work within a minute of entry at security gate!

Prabhakar's speedy response to take car for quick touch-up!

Warm get-up of the cool waiting room!

Job done in a couple of hours although (the paint touch-up was) with a little less of finesse. Generally a dealer would take a work-shift including a bit of waiting due to Sunday rush. Of course it was a planned visit so scheduling the job was easy for them.

Being a Kaizen student, I expressed desire to take a study tour. It was quickly acceded to.

Customer does expect such activities to be performed of course with 'aesthetic-smile' that competition has 'forced' upon suppliers in auto sector in particular.

He 'pays' for the 'standards' alongwith for the Technology, Tools, Materials, etc. anyway that all paraphernalia management does employ from 'outside' i. e. from the material world. They even don't forget to put a 'smiley' foot-mat that says 'thank you'.

But what one can't forcibly employ is the evidence of heart-and-soul, the 'inside', while performing above kind of trivial looking but relevant activities as duty (that predominantly need human interventions).

If one passionately enjoys it as a play it gives pleasure to self and hence for others. Inevitably it adds value to self that no one can snatch away from. The 'player' looks beautiful then.

For that 'beauty' to happen the leaders at workplace must enjoy the work themselves. They must enjoy their own work of - leadership by demonstration, - pouring heart-and-soul in playing their own role, - recognizing those colleagues and subordinates who do so, - employing 'telling' tactics if 'selling' fails to those who don't do so so that they don't spoil others who do.

Hope such Heart-and-Soulful experience doesn't fall back to Heat (the customer First) and then Cool her!

With that consistency then not only will the 'player' look beautiful but also s/he will make the workplace look beautiful!!

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Experienced A Delightful Payment !

Take your career in fast lane!

Succession-Plans In Fast Lane!

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture

Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?

Some Moron ! Some Great !!!

That's How Morons Work

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-1)

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-2)

A Ride To Hell

Will It Work Here?

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass

Prevention: The Best Cure! ... Is it really so?

In-big-problem? Wear-hats-to-solve-it!

Discrimination Cremated! But How Long?

Can you see the traffic-jam in 'Before' picture.

The change seen in 'After' picture is captured on next day. It so far has lasted for a day at least until writing of this post. Authorities took a couple of vigilance rounds after twilight also. 'Being vigilant on what one wants' was one of the success factors.

Although it might be too early to rejoice this it didn't happen overnight.

It took more than seven years to see such a desired picture. Public had been struggling to get a solution since then. Authorities with all their might were unable to control a few heavy vehicles parked there illegally, causing trouble to traffic as well as to the community. One may read more details in my blogposts titled "Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-1) and (Part-2) that prompted title of this post.

But how long will this last?

Just about I was penning this down see what the other picture that I took at the other end of the road about 30-yards away says.

I tweeted the abnormality as "Corporate-Social-IrResponsibility@HajuriRoad Thane. India Shines! Effluent disposal on road. Road blocked."

Sanjivani (my better half) dials Police-Control-Room #100. Alerts our society's security guards. A few alert citizens don't allow 'them' to take it for granted. The 'irresponsibles' RETREAT. INDIA WINS!!!

All within just about half an hour.

Yes.. ss.. ss! Social media does work sometimes!

The point is how and why everyone just takes-it-for-granted.

So with such an attitude of various stakeholders it's foolish to conclude that changes for the better such as in first picture will sustain on their own.

What's the learning?

Change can happen overnight if people-in-power take up causes of common-interest seriously and with a sense-of-urgency at that.

'They' ('suppliers' of the trouble as well as service-providers) do and will test patience of people-NOT-in-power. So people-NOT-in-power must persevere and "keep-knocking" their-doors even by guerrilla tactics if required.

It's unfortunate but true that citizens in high-mistrust, inefficient and in-effective societies have to spend more than half their waking hours in non-value activities such as visiting and revisiting government authorities' and supplier's workplaces for reworks and follow-ups.

Be vigilant otherwise "But-How-Long?" will keep you haunting.

Use technology as a powerful enabler. That's one way to speed up the snails.

Faster you rejoice faster you will repent. Let equanimity prevail.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow

Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-1)

Discrimination-is-Cremation of Law-&-Order (Part-2)

Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?

A Ride To Hell

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

Taken-For-Granted? You deserve it!

Will It Work Here?

Technology in-place, security dis-placed

India-shining

Do you know a Best-Career-Plan

Some Moron ! Some Great !!!

That's How Morons Work

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Customer or Custo-Mer?

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass

Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam!

Success-or-failure! What-do-you-like?

Friday 14 March 2014

How Many Times Do You Wash Hands

Our regular cook was to stay absent for a few days. We asked for an alternative arrangement. Usually they won't make it. You have to ask for it.

The person who substituted her straight went to kitchen (shop)floor to fetch flour. She dug into the container without washing her hands. After a while she began beating the dough.

When I asked her 'why didn't she wash her hands' her response was that she had washed hands at home.

Funny!

One does encounter such behavior at automated high-technology workplaces as well. Other day I saw a bearer with a nice hair-cap worn to prevent hair falling in food. Although he had a glove worn over his right hand he was serving roti (Indian bread made on a touch-free automatic machine) by the bare left-hand. Funny isn't it!

Back home I had to tell the maid that her hands might have encountered so many undesired touch-points on way to my home, her workplace.

Typical Touch-Points

Fetch purse or bag while going to work
Wear shoes (one touch-point less for the good if socks aren't worn)
Hold handle of the door in order to open it
Hold handle of the bus to board it
Exchange cash for ticket
Hold the handle of the lift (at workplace)
Pick up dust bin left outside the owner's home overnight in order to bring it inside

Unbuckle her shoes

One may consider so many such kind of touch-points like combing hair, picking teeth, shaking hands with friends-and-foes on the way, and many more creative ones that people usually engage into.

After all such diversely possible touch-points, she had taken a deep dive into the flour merrily beating it's dough inside-out: All this without washing hands!

One might suffer a blackout at slightest of imagination of even a single touch-point:

On blowing their running noses, do you know how many people touch all those handles (of buses, of doors, of toilet doors, etc.) how many times in a day?

Do you know that the currency that you exchange might have landed in your hands after having passed hands of so many beggars?

A single search on internet can confirm that one of the most dirty touch-points housing most dangerous bacteria are the various knobs and handles that one handles at public places.

After so many such dangerous touch-points, how about eating food without washing hands because they were "already washed while leaving the workplace or leaving home for work"?

One may allow such funny practices if on a massive immunization programme or is on a mission to be a guinea-pig for all kind of germs on the planet. Some more germs might not make much of a difference having swallowed some inadvertently already.

But reality is different. Not only does one take a complete wash on entering home but also takes a well-rubbed hand-wash just before eating.

Then why tolerate double-standards like that of the maid, behaving exactly the reverse on leaving home for work?

Surely it's the result of lack of attitude that's reflected in unclean behavior. One reason might be lack of education. Prior to that it may be lack of adequate standards and procedures (SOP¹) on cleanliness: unique-standards or single-standards if you may like to call. Most important reason is the lack of commitment by decision makers to train and motivate and if required take tough and unpleasant decisions about the concerned.

Else corresponding consequences are well-deserved if one doesn't work towards it.

Some do appear unreasonable mavericks at times on self as well as on others to change such bad habits!

It's not out of place here to remember those few who refrain from shaking hands. Instead they greet by putting both hands together: The well-thought-out Indian practice of Namaskar!

Footnotes:

1. SOP: Standard Operating Procedures such as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) or Five-S practices in industry.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Some Moron ! Some Great !!!

That's How Morons Work

Am I 'Short-sighted' or 'Long-sighted'?
Beware Of Political-Presentations
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
Hoarders Of Filthy Hoardings
Are You Good If Others Are Bad?

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass

In-a-problem? No-problem! Dwell-a-while!

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture

Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice?

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!

Technology in-place, security dis-placed

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Don't Forget: Stir-Coffee-Well !

Sometimes we struggle through a tasteless coffee till its last sip. Then we find sugar lying at the bottom unused.

That's LIFE: (My Haiku on it...)

I fail, I fail !

Why blame others for the hell !!

It's sweet but not stirred well..!!!

That's the dilemma of a teacher or a coach or a guru: Students forget that they themselves are the sugar. Students forget that even 'the knowledge' is sugar. They forget to 'stir' it (as also to 'stir' themselves) well!

Above message received on social media reminded me of a student of Kaizen who bumped into me on a flight.

To my question, how was Kaizen journey-to-excellence going on in his company, his response was: "Well back to 'business as usual', 'full of fire-fighting, blaming-naming', 'no time to breath', etc."

Like most do typically on leaving school, he seemed to have forgotten 'teachings' of the Kaizen-school. That the Kaizen journey itself is to get rid of such ills so that it 'helps' to take 'full-breaths'. Kaizen journey is to get people aligned towards this thought.

It's human tendency to have divergent desires and get defocused by their changing thoughts and desires. They keep dragging themselves towards the undesired: typically in a corporate setting towards individual goals. However it's the role of the leadership team to help individuals to find leads for their 'desires' in the goals of the mutual interest, towards the very purpose of its existence. It's their prime role to keep them aligned towards achieving them.

It's a compulsion by market-forces. It's a compulsion to keep improving continuously to perform at higher levels marching towards excellence while serving the stakeholders; ultimately the society and the environment. In absence of this, the daily (unmeaningful) grind is sure to make you gasp for breath every moment and perish one day.

My friend, the leader himself, had forgotten the role of leadership taught in Kaizen-school: One, that of enabling all stakeholders to make improvements. Two, that of forcing 'crying' people in particular (the ones not having 'desire' to do so) to 'get off the way'.

His leadership team had also forgotten to keep itself updated on newer ways and means to do so in order to adopt to changing environment.

External coaches in Kaizen-school can show the what-why-how way and walk them by holding hands only a little far. Beyond that it is the role of internal leadership team to perform the corporate-parenting of passionately walking the shown way and taking their stakeholders along.

It was evident in his 'off the school' response that his company had forgotten it's responsibility of mastering the art and science of 'making the coffee'.

Their leadership team had forgotten it's role of being a learner, of keeping their knowledge warming. They had forgotten to keep their knowledge-of-sugar stirring.

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Will It Work Here?

In-a-problem? No-problem-dwell-a-while

Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !!

ABCD of India Shining

In-big-problem? Wear-hats-to-solve-it!

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

Sunday 9 March 2014

Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily

Lot of time and efforts get spent on strategy planning.

Strategy sessions usually get organised away from workplace (Gemba). They often get glorified with team events, water sports, outdoor games around campfire, treasure hunts and so on. They give stylish titles to it. "Off-site", some say proudly after attending it.

Thinking that the 'so-motivated' lot might willingly accept appraisals, they try to manage by objectives (MBO). HRD managers (read 'people' managers) incorporate numbers into periodic (most often 'annual') performance appraisal systems. Some slogans complimentary to the initiative get hung on wall.

Only after failing miserably they realize that execution of strategy is much more than quarter-on-quarter (qoq) or year-on-year (yoy) appraisals or reviews. It goes beyond dusting the displayed-slogans periodically.

It's about eating-drinking-breathing the strategy announcements and talks in terms of actions. It's not merely about dreaming the distant vision. It's about living the dreams daily.

Going beyond the "bird's-eye view" it's also about "worm's-eye view" at grass-root level (as Mohamaad Yunus creator of the Grameen Bank says about microfinance).

It's about management-OF-strategy, management-OF-objectives (MOO) or rather strategy deployment (Hoshin-Kanri) process.

If MBO is equivalent to throwing (goal) balls over blind-walls among layers (hierarchies) and functions then MOO is equivalent to coaching to manufacture the balls (i. e. evolve goals) as also helping to catch them daily at tactical levels.

MOO is like giving as much importance to single runs as much, say, a cricket match gives to a 'Six' on the first ball of the first over. It's about daily (Nichijo) management (Kanri) of strategy or of the policy (Hoshin-Kanri) with a sense of urgency.

It's about recognizing heroes for their improvement efforts to overcome daily hurdles while playing for mini-goals as a subset of the strategic goals. It's about the culture of looking for as well as creating such heroes daily across the customer-supplier chain.

Post such recognition, studying¹ of 'what went right' or 'what went wrong' as the case may be rather than mere review of the 'runs' taken for goal-making process itself is a daily affair. It's an on-going 'study' and enablement by corresponding on-going adjustments to the allocation of resources as per dynamic needs of business environment rather than doing it as 'qoq' or 'yoy' performance reviews.

If formulating strategy is important then formulating strategy-to-execute it is more important characteristic of the MOO approach.

Like winning a match; sales, other numbers, growth goals, etc. then get achieved as a bye-product resultant of leading and managing the above process intelligently!

¹ Called as hansei: a critical step in any process: the “check” phase of the famous “Plan-Do-Check-Act” cycle that Japanese business people use to govern any activity.

Also read a few relevant blog-posts hereunder:

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy
Comprehensive-Strategic-Audits
Will It Work Here?
Can-changing-thoughts-change-nation?
In-big-problem-wear-hats-to-solve-it
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important
Talent-Is-Latent: Enable It!
Judge If It's Paralysis-By-Analysis
Will It Work Here?
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy
Does recognition really matter
Who Comes First: Consumer Or Customer ?
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
ABCD of India Shining
Do You Ask Right Questions?
Am I 'Short-sighted' or 'Long-sighted'?

Friday 7 March 2014

Spare-A-Day On Sparrow-Day !

March 20th: The Sparrow-Day!

When I read about The Sparrow-Day a couple of weeks ago suddenly I realised that nests created for them in my house were missing for over a few months.

We had hung one each in each of the balcony of our bedrooms hosting them since over a decade. All of them were stripped during civil maintenance work of our buildings. I was wondering how come all of us at home forgot to put back their homes.

In the barrack kind of buildings (called as chawls in Mumbai) where I was brought up, almost every alternate week there used to be a wedding or a naming ceremony.

Common area between the two rows of the tenements (each being just about 10x10 feet in size) would get crowded with so many activities including children doing their homework to running tiny businesses such as assembling a safety-pin. Among them one would find a typical mother (self employed on assembly line) feeding it's crying child by her side.

"One bite for the Sparrow, one for the Crow", she would rhyme¹ expecting the child to get pacified. The child would eagerly look around trying to locate sparrows.

We could actually see the sparrows dancing around while crows playing their own mischief. In fact we used to maintain wooden nests for the sparrows to breed. So many sparrows would gather around and chirp making the mornings sound beautiful. Toddlers would love to go after them.

Apart from their entertainment value they would play their role in sustaining ecology.

Where have all of them gone?

Modern cities are actually on the verge of making them extinct. Concrete buildings make it difficult for then to make nests. Concretised and dirty surroundings don't allow them to find grains, nor allow them a dust-bath.

What's the solution?

The least we can do is to make up for our mistakes. I made it up by putting back their homes moment I realised my mistake a couple of weeks ago.

It's very simple. Hanging a plastic bag with some padding inside is enough. Sparrows would do the rest.

I also put back a couple of pots full of garden soil so that they could take dust-bath.

Within a couple of days, a couple each in each of the balcony had already finished survey of their prospective homes. To my luck, within another day they moved in lock-stock-and-barrel.

No Advance, No Deposit, No Rent for (their) homes in a city like Mumbai in exchange of an 'Unwritten-Agreement' by sparrows to entertain and help sustain ecology!!

That was a small beginning again, a small difference I had expected from myself by the day of the Sparrow-Day today. Now not only March 20th but for me and my family every-day is a: Happy-Sparrow-Morning wake-up call and a

Happy Sparrow-Day!!!

एक घास काऊचा, एक चिऊचा

मोठया घासाचा ध्यास, हाच मोठा विषय चिंतेचा

फरक पडेच 'पड़णा-यास' त्याचा

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: