April 2008 COMMUNICATOR

On the first of April President and COO Dr. Don Plante retired from WINOC. Chairman Dr. Hira Fotedar will serve as Acting President/COO while the search for Don's replacement continues.

Don originally began working with WINOC in 2001 on the ODOT Baldrige Project as an Advisor, was retained as a part-time COO and joined WINOC as President and COO in January of 2002 after a long career in Aerospace with General Electric and in Medical Electronics with (what is now) Philips Medical Systems.

While serving as President/COO, Don built up an Education and Government Advisory Services business for WINOC during the period of Manufacturing downturn, generating over $700K of revenues. Some of Don's clients were County of Summit Board of MR/DD, Akron City Schools, Lakewood City Schools, Wooster City Schools, Lake Local Schools, Ohio Department of Education, Warren City Schools, South Euclid-Lyndhurst Schools and Youngstown City Schools.

Don also served as WINOC's webmaster and as writer/editor/publisher of WINOC's quarterly COMMUNICATOR newsletter.

Don will continue to be available to WINOC as an Advisor.

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GCP 2008-2011 Strategic Plan

The Greater Cleveland Partnership has released its 2008-2011 Strategic Plan... Cleveland Plus: Turning the Corner. A number of factors pointed to the need to update GCP's initial 2004 Plan (Cleveland on the Edge). These factors include the economic slowdown, the political sea change, the intersection of energy and environmental issues, Cleveland's physical development momentum, new dividends from regional economic development efforts and the changing roles for philanthropy.

The 2008-2011 Plan calls for carrying forward four major objectives from the initial Plan ( advocate with one voice, advance small businesses success, accelerate economic inclusion and build a high-impact and sustainable economic development system) and adds three additional turn-the-corner objectives (change the face of Cleveland, strengthen global connections and initiate a demand-driven talent system).

The approach to achieving these objectives is to recognize that place matters, to leverage our assets and to form new partnerships.

You can read the full plan here.

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Training Within Industry (TWI)

Training Within Industry (TWI) is a model for development of supervisory skills that dates back to 1940. The TWI service was created by the United States Department of War, running from 1940 to 1945 within the War Manpower Commission. The purpose was to provide consulting services to war-related industries whose personnel were being conscripted into the Army at the same time that the War Department was increasing its demand for war-related goods. It was apparent that the shortage of trained and skilled personnel at precisely the time they were needed most would impose a hardship on those industries, and that only improved methods of job training would address the shortfall. By the end of WWII over 1.6 million workers in over 16,500 plants had received a certification.

Fast forward to today's crucial need for manpower development in order to spur economic development and one can see why TWI is resurging as a valuable training approach. [Continued below.]

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Meet Jim Gray

Jim Gray has worked on a number of projects for WINOC over the last five years, including a major productivity improvement project at Accuride Wheels in Cuyahoga Falls. Jim is principal of JPG Advisors, LLC, a management consulting group out of Painesville, Ohio.

Jim Gray provides strategic planning and consulting for established businesses as well as start-up ventures. He specializes in turnaround situation, advising the key stake-holders, assisting with the turnaround process and if need be becoming an interim managers. [Continued below]

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Learn to Flop!

Below are three high jumping techniques: a) the Scissors, b) the Roll and c) the Fosbury Flop. With which method can a high jumper jump the highest?

In the Summer Olympics of 1968, while most high-jumpers were rolling over the bar, Dick Fosbury decided to do things differently. He "flopped"!

This champion of change did two things. He innovated to win the gold. He also changed the standard by which others could latter set even higher performance records. To compete organizations need to learn both lessons... innovate and copy from the best. [Continued below.]

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The Six Sigma Leader

In prior issues we wrote about Situational Leadership (see the January 2008 COMMUNICATOR here), about Servant Leadership (see the April 2007 COMMUNICATOR here) and about the eight main classifications of leadership theories (see October 2007 COMMUNICATOR here).:

What kind of leader is needed to successfully implement Six Sigma within an organization? A transformational leader, a technical leader and a process leader. [Continued below.]

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Take a message to Garcia

A Message to Garcia is an inspirational essay by Elbert Hubbard published in 1899 in the Philistine magazine as a filler article. It was reprinted as a pamphlet and a 28-page book and was made into two movies (a 1916 silent film and a 1936 talkie). It is an essay based on the story of a fellow named Rowan who was given the assignment of taking a message to General Garcia, who was somewhere in Cuba at the time during the Spanish-American War.

In the essay, the author laments that there are not more workers like Rowan who can 'take a message to Garcia'... "No man, who has endeavored to carry out an enterprise where many hands were needed, but has been well nigh appalled at times by the imbecility of the average man- the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it. Slip-shod assistance, foolish inattention, dowdy indifference, & half-hearted work seem the rule; and no man succeeds, unless by hook or crook, or threat, he forces or bribes other men to assist him; or mayhap, God in His goodness performs a miracle, & sends him an Angel of Light for an assistant."

For the complete original essay click here. For its relevance to completed staff work and efficiency continue below.

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Manufacturing Forum and Tour at Deluxe

Deluxe Corporation

10030 Philipp Parkway

Streetsboro, OH 44241

Thursday, May 22, 2008

(7:30 - 10:00 AM)

At its 115,000 square foot Streetsboro location, 300 Deluxe employees manufacturer small business checks and forms.

Deluxe Streetsboro will share its Lean journey, which began in 2000 and was re-energized and streamlined in 2006.

Attendance will be limited, so contact us early to register.

For more details about Deluxe's Lean journey and directions please go here.

Cosponsored by WIRE-Net and partially subsidized through a grant from the Ohio Labor Management Cooperation Program (OLMCP).

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For other programs and events of potential interest to WINOC COMMUNICATOR Subscribers, such as those sponsored by WINOC Partners, go to our Partner News and Events page.

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For further information on Programs and Events contact us at

Progrms@winoc,org

WINOC

445 West Liberty Street, Suite 225

Medina, Ohio 44256

Tel. 330.725.4885

Fax. 330.721.2933

www.winoc.org

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Training Within Industry [Continued from above]

In addition to governmental economic development priorities for workforce development programs, additional trends favoring the resurgence of TWI are the desire for programs accompanied with certification and the continuing spread of Lean practices.

The Lean connection is particularly interesting. Although the TWI program ended here after the war, TWI methods spread to war torn Europe and Asia and especially Japan where they formed the basis of the kaizen culture TWI directly impacted the kaizen and Standard Work aspects of the Toyota Production System. TWI training focuses on the people element of Lean, without which Lean Projects have a far less chance of being successful.

TWI training techniques address the five needs for good supervision: knowledge of work, knowledge of responsibilities, skill in instructing, skill in improving methods and skill in leading. Such supervision is the key to assuring that production goes smoothly, that quality products are made, that costs are under control and that people are always working safely.

There is a wealth of material about TWI available on the internet. See for example the TWI Institute here and www.12manage.com here.

WINOC has Advisors/Partners who are certified to deliver TWI training. For more information please contact us.

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Meet Jim Gray [Continued from above]

Jim also provides operational improvement assistance to WINOC clients to develop and implement more productive ways of doing business. These solutions include Lean practices and effective Quality Systems.

Jim Gray is a degreed Industrial Engineer and MBA graduate of The Weatherhead School of Management at Case.

Jim's experience includes project management at a large aerospace manufacturer, General Manager at a machine tool builder, COO at an equipment manufacturer, and Director, Management Consulting with a national firm. He has led many
diversified improvements from Lean initiatives to Quality System implementation to operational restructuring to financing.

His professional affiliations include the Turnaround Management Association (Past Treasurer), American Society for Quality (Certified Quality Auditor) and the Institute of Industrial Engineers (Past President). He is an Adjunct Professor at Lake Erie and Lakeland Community Colleges.

Jim has authored articles on business, quality, process and operational improvements. [See for example "Manufacturing Will Survive" in WINOC's April 2006 COMMUNICATOR.] He has been a judge for The Greater Cleveland Partnership's Business Plan Challenge.

WINOC is very appreciative of the work Jim has done for WINOC clients, big and small. Thank you, Jim!

.For more information about how WINOC can help your organization get better using service providers like Jim Gray please contact us.

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Learning to Flop! [Continued from above]

There is a notion that the application of quality principles, such as Lean or Six Sigma, works against innovation and that the innovation process itself is immune to process improvement methods. If you want to innovate, why would you standardize work? How can you systematize creativity?

An organization needs to find the best way of doing things and then standardize that way of doing things while, separately, continuing to find even better ways of doing things (improvements to be implemented and standardized in the future).

The good news is that we do not have to be creative to innovate, though of course it helps... we can find innovations by others (through Benchmarking methods for example) and be fast followers. And we can find our own innovations through the disciplined application of Lean, Six Sigma, and other improvement methods. The application of sound problem solving techniques has led to many innovative solutions for many organizations.

Innovation comes from thinking outside the box. It is surprising how many times the best, most innovative, breakthrough solutions are found need the ridiculous limits. Some of the better problem solving techniques encourage out-of-the box thinking.

Techniques like Quality Function Deployment (QFD) help us find the conflicts (the roof of the 'house of quality') whose solutions often yield breakthrough innovations. Theory of Constraints is another methodology that often facilitates innovation. Given the conflict or constraint, a complementary method is TRIZ, the theory of invention. TRIZ is a fascinating method developed by a soviet engineer starting in 1946 (to learn more, including training opportunities, search on TRIZ at ASQ's website www.asq.org).

Yes, you can learn to flop!

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Six Sigma Leadership [Continued from above]

The Six Sigma leader is a transformational leader S/he has to inspire the organization with her/his vision because implementing Six Sigma or Lean is, or causes, a culture change. A Six Sigma implementation is an enormous undertaken requiring clear direction, well communicated priorities and shared behavioral norms (values and beliefs). The leader has to personally model the vision and values by never, or rarely, being caught behaving in ways that contradict the vision and values of the organization.

The Six Sigma leader has to be a technical leader. The Six Sigma organization is uniquely structured. Within the organization's vertical organization is the Six Sigma organization such as shown to the right. Though the leader probably did not rise through the technical career ladder within the organization, the Six Sigma organization may be dominated by those who are on the technical career ladder, such as the Master Black Belts, the Experts and the Black Belts. The Six Sigma leader has to ensure the effectiveness of the Six Sigma organization through staffing, role reinforcement (especially with the Champions), progress inspection and personal role modeling (the Six Sigma leader must herself/himself at least be a Green Belt).

The Six Sigma leader must also be a process leader. Much of Six Sigma, and Lean, has to do with managing the so-called horizontal organization... how value is delivered across the organization to customers. Personal role modeling is also a key to effective process leadership. Can you say that you would be happy if processes throughout your organization were as efficient and effective as your own annual budgeting, operational planning and strategic planning processes? Would you be happy if everyone in the organization ran their meetings as efficiently and effectively as you run your meetings? Process leaders need to work on the processes that they own.

For more information consider the following resources:

The Six Sigma Leader: How Top Executives Will Prevail in the 21st Century by Peter S. Pande.

Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space in the Organization Chart (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series) by Geary A. Rummler and Alan P. Brache.

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Take a Message to Garcia [Continued from above]

"Tale a message to Garcia" became a management metaphor for completed staff work in the mid and late twentieth century. Completed staff work means that if I give you a task to do you go do it and you do it so well and so completely that I do not have to expend any future effort managing you until you get it right. Just like Rowan did when he took the message to General Garcia.

In sympathy with the essay's author, incomplete staff work is an efficiency drain for most organizations. Workers often get it wrong, they don't do the whole job, they don't anticipate potential problems, they can be lazy, they don't get their work done on time, etc. These issues are at the heart of worker competency, or incompetence, and can be addressed in part by training and in part by effective performance management.

But the metaphor has its limits. The simple instruction to 'take a message to Garcia' is not a particularly good example of how managers and supervisors should instruct their employees. A common cause of incomplete staff work is incomplete supervisor instruction.

Whenever we give an employee a task to do it should be accompanied with all the information we have that might help the employee complete the task successfully. Who is s/he doing the work for (customer)? What are known requirements to be met in performing the task; e.g., deadline?

If as a manager or supervisor you find yourself needing manage the proper completion of assigned tasks, ask yourself if better instruction by yourself could of avoided the extra energy expended by you and by your employee?

That is, can you take a message to Garcia?

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WINOC activities are partially subsidized through a grant from the Ohio Labor Management Cooperation Program (OLMCP) of the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) to operate the Northeast Ohio Center for Labor Management Cooperation (NEOCLMC).