by Shawn | Apr 8, 2021 | Podcast
How do you rest?
In the midst of all that you’re dealing with, all that’s on your plate, all the responsibility, conflict, stresses, deadlines and frustrations… how do you recharge and renew?
Or, maybe a better question is “do you?”
Is it a priority for you?
If it’s not, maybe it needs to become one before you burn out.
No doubt, you probably ask a lot of yourself and you’re usually able to just push through, make things happen and not worry about resting.
I know I’ve been there. And I also know that it almost always catches up to me.
Maybe in the form of foggier thinking or a quicker temper. Tougher time making a decision or loss of focus.
Bottom line is that we were created to need rest.
It’s a natural part of how our bodies work.
This could mean sleep itself or just unplugging, doing something you love, getting energized.
There are a lot of ways you can get recharged. But they don’t just happen by accident.
Are you willing to be intentional and carve out time in your day or week to rest and recharge?
You’ll see so many benefits, personally and in your role in your business.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode. You can shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com. Â Can’t wait to be back with you tomorrow. Â I’d love to connect: website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
by Shawn | Apr 7, 2021 | Podcast
“The Waiting is the hardest part”
Tom Petty was really on to something here when he wrote those words almost 30 years ago. Side note, wow, that makes me feel old. Other side note, Tom Petty was one of the first concerts I ever attended.
Anyway, back In episode 13, we introduced the concept of the 8 Wastes.
It’s used widely in the Lean Manufacturing arena but is something every business leader should become versed in. The idea is that one of our goals is the elimination of waste in our organization and that those wastes exist in various forms.
Today we’re going to be focusing on the waste of waiting.
When looking at the different types of waste, some are definitely more visible than others. While others lurk more quietly in the shadows.
Waiting is a shadow lurker.
In most businesses, waiting creeps quietly in the dark, while slowly sucking out all the efficiency and productivity.
The first problem with the waste of waiting is, honestly, being able to identify it and label it as waste.
It takes so many forms and is often just accepted as the norm.
Maybe it’s waiting for someone to respond to an email (that should have been a call or an in person conversation or a Slack message).
Maybe it’s waiting to get an answer to a question that could have been answered but the authority to make that call hadn’t been granted to the person doing the waiting.
Maybe it’s waiting on one team member to complete a 2 minute task so that the next team member can complete their 30 second task, when the tasks could have been split up more evenly.
Maybe it’s waiting to read through 500 word essay of an email that could have been summed up in a few lines or not sent out to as many people.
Maybe it’s waiting to hear back from a customer because communication and expectations weren’t nailed down clearly in the beginning or there could have been an easier way to stay in touch with the customer.
There is so much more to dig into with waiting, and I’m sure we will on later episodes.
But how can you start to look deeper at the waste of waiting in your organization today?
The first step is to be able to write down all the steps in a particular process, along with a ballpark for how long they take. Don’t skip a step. Catch everything… including the waiting.
Waiting doesn’t like to be named. It likes to stay anonymous.
The more you can identify waiting in your day-to-day, the more you can begin to question if there is a better way.
So start there today. Pick one workflow or process and map it out… including the time estimates.
When you see waiting time, circle it in red. Pin it down. And begin to reduce or eliminate it, one step at a time.
And then channel your inner Tom Petty, look waiting straight in the eye, and tell it “Don’t do me like that!”
Thanks for listening to today’s episode. You can shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com. Â Can’t wait to be back with you tomorrow. Â I’d love to connect: website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
by Shawn | Apr 6, 2021 | Podcast
Everyone can remember those famous words, uttered across the grids and lines of our countryside: “Ask not what you can do for Excel… ask what Excel can do for you!”
OK, so maybe today was the first day those words were uttered, but there is truth there nonetheless.
You, my friend, need to do more asking of Excel.
Now, maybe you aren’t an Excel user. Maybe you use Google Sheets, or Numbers or you sketch everything out on graph paper.
Even with those applications (not sure about the graph paper) there are still ways that your software can help you that you might not be familiar with.
But today is about Excel.
Why?
Because Excel rocks. And I know there is a ton that it can do that you maybe never imagined.
You’ve just got to ask.
“Can Excel do calculations?” Yep
“Can Excel give me dashboards to look at my data?” You bet
“Can Excel go out into your folders, find a specific file you’re searching for, open it up, pull in some data, manipulate that data, close the file, move the file somewhere else and then order you a venti caramel macchiato from Starbucks while simultaneously shooting a text to your mom telling her that you’ll be there on Sunday?”
OK, short answer is most of that but Excel already texted your mom about the get together.
Bottom line is this, actually.
Your time is limited.
I know I’m like this. Sometimes I have time (and the desire) to actually learn a short cut or the extents of what an app can do for me. Other times, I just want to be able to ask someone who knows and then maybe just have them do it.
We do this all the time. You might be willing to watch a youtube video on how to cook a new meal, but when it comes to that clunking sound in your car?… well, you might just leave that to the automotive experts.
When it comes to Excel, I’d love to help you either side of the fence you fall on?
If you want to learn new skills, I’ve got 30 great free videos that can build a good foundation. You can find those at www.shawnwashburn.com/excel
But if you just have some frustrations in your processes or questions about what Excel is capable of, I’d love to help answer those for you as well. Shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com or head to the Contact page of my site.
Almost everyone that I’ve taught or created tools for has had the same reaction: I didn’t know it could do that.
So, don’t think any question is bad here. Just ask away.
But if you want a Starbucks… you might want to just stick with the app there 🙂
Thanks for listening to today’s episode. You can shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com. Â Can’t wait to be back with you tomorrow. Â I’d love to connect: website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
by Shawn | Apr 5, 2021 | Podcast
Last week we talked about how asking more questions and getting outsider perspectives can help you find communication issues in your processes or workflows.
Today, we’re going to talk about another tip that is equally helpful.
Mistake proofing.
Whereas last week was about communication gaps or opportunities for instructions to be misinterpreted, today is about putting features in place to make it impossible (or seemingly impossible… people ARE creative after all) to do a step wrong.
In the Lean Manufacturing world there is a term for this: Poka Yoke.
Like with a lot of Lean Manufacturing terms (kanban, kaizen, gemba), it is a Japanese term born out of manufacturing techniques they developed years ago.
Even so, I like it because it’s fun to say. In fact, I’m going to say it again. Poka Yoke.
OK, so what does it mean exactly.
To Poka Yoke or mistake proof something is to basically look at any way that it could be done wrong.
Per our conversation last week, sometimes that can happen because the instructions aren’t defined clearly enough.
But if there is a physical step that must take place, Poka Yoke can look like adding something in to make sure that an item is oriented correctly.
In my realm in manufacturing, we see this all the time. If there is a part being put into a die (which is basically blocks of metal that will cut or form the part), if the part is symmetrical or there is otherwise a chance for it to be misoriented, we will try to add something to the die, the part or both to make sure that it can’t be put in wrong.
Another benefit of Poka Yoke, honestly, is efficiency.
Poka Yoke can allow you to take some mental work out of the equation and streamline your processes.
Imagine picking up a block and placing into a slot. It might be simple, but what if the block has to be oriented a certain way each time?
If, every time you pick up a new one and place it in, you have to look at it closely and orient it, you might be adding a ton of time over the course of a shift.
But what if you could add a feature to the block or the slot that would make it both impossible to put in wrong and also easier to identify when you picked it up. Then, you could grab it, know which way it goes without even looking and place it through.
As you look at your own business, I’m sure you already have a ton of Poka Yoke items in place, but you’ve maybe just never thought of them in this way.
But as you find errors happening or mistakes popping up, that’s a great first place to invest some time and see if you can add some mistake proofing into the mix.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode. I’d love to know what you find out about your mistake proofing. You can shoot me an email at shawn@shawnwashburn.com. Â Can’t wait to be back with you tomorrow. Â I’d love to connect: website / LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
by Shawn | Apr 2, 2021 | Podcast
I’ll keep this one short and sweet today.
Someone on your team or in your organization needs something from you today.
They need your belief in them.
They need a champion in their corner, spurring them on, building them up, believing in them and their idea or work.
They need a spark.
You may not see it on their face, but just underneath the surface, underneath the mask (literally) is doubt.
Doubt in themselves. Doubt, maybe, that they have what it takes. Doubt that they are going to be able to make it through a tough project or finish a difficult task.
And then there are the outside influences as well. Stress at home. Strained relationships. Fears. Worries. Financial issues. The weight that they carry in with them each day, invisible to the rest of the world.
We’ve talked about it before, but your words and your message are powerful.
Choose to believe today. Even choose to give the benefit of the doubt.
Pick one person. Affirm them. Be in their corner today.
Believe in them.
If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, I’d love it if you’d leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts at shawnwashburn.com/apple  Thanks for listening to today’s episode.
