NC State of Business

These days Management Systems such as ISO 9001 and the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria required communication processes, why do these continual improvement systems emphasize in communication if it is such a basic principle? Communication has always being important, at home, school, work, between different nations, etc. Through the years, technology has provided us with a lot of tools to communicate, every day these tools make possible for messages to travel faster and further. But I wonder… are we using the technology effectively to communicate, or are we abusing the technology and still not communicating?

Let’s set the example of emails, every time we write an email we really believe we are communicating, however, how do we ensure that the message was transmitted correctly? How do we know that the receiver of our message understood everything we wanted to say? And this not only happens with emails, it also happens with newsletters, telephone and face-to-face conversations. Ensuring that the receiver of our message really understands what we want to say is an art.

Recently, I read an article from the University of Maine stating that “We send from 100 to 300 messages a day. These include the message we intend to send, the message we actually send, the message as the hearer interprets it; the response of the hearer based on what he or she heard, and our reaction to the exchange of words, meaning and interpretation.”*

“We hear only half of what is said to us, understand only half of that, believe only half of that, and remember only half of that”* Wow! This phrase is quite scary, but at the same time is a challenge to ensure that our messages are clear and concise whenever we want to communicate something.

All these being said, when we communicate is important to remember:
“We see things not as they are but as we are” – H.M. Tomlinson. This means that we have to ensure that the messages we want to transmit are designed for the receiver and not for ourselves.

Avoid sounding judgmental or pointing fingers, use “I” statements to share what you think or feel without sounding like you are attacking or blaming, focus on common goals, ensure to tell the hearer how your message will affect them, try to use positive statements so the communication channel is not blocked.

Remember to pay attention to your body language, we communicate as much or more through body language as we do with words, some things to be aware of are: eye contact, facial expressions, stance and movement of arms, hands and legs.

Keep in mind the goal of your communication:
• To inform – to provide information for use in decision making but not necessarily indicating a course of action
• To request for specific actions from the receiver
• To persuade – to reinforce or change a receiver’s belief about a topic, and possibly act on the belief
• To build relationships – simple goal of building good-will between you and the receiver

In order to be a good communicator, it is important to be a good listener as well, good leaders have this skill and it is one of many that make a good leader, but we will talk more about good leadership skills in another time. By recognizing the importance of active listening and making it a key part of your group’s culture, you will save time by getting more information without having to repeat the same, will help the speaker clarify what they are saying and makes them feel heard, and will reduce emotions that could block clear thinking. When practicing the art of listening, just relax and listen with all your senses.

Effective communication helps group members to build trust and respect, foster learning and accomplishing goals. Every group is made up by people who share common interest and commitment, and yet may see things from a variety of perspectives. By communicating effectively, this diverse group will be able to understand the issues and make decisions for effective change.

I just hope that this communication was effective, and gives you some ideas on how to enhance or improve your communication skills.

*Kathy Walker et. Al “Communication Basics” LEADS Curriculum Notebook Unit II, Module 2-1 (Kansas State University, 2002), 2.
Reference: Effective Communication, Getting things done in groups , Bulletin #6103, Group Works, The University of Maine Cooperative Extension

In my recent blog posts, I have outlined several reasons why manufacturing matters. My goal has been to highlight the tremendous importance of manufacturing while plenty of attention seems to be focused on its “decline”. Let me share another reason why manufacturing matters.

The global economy has changed the nature of competition. United States manufacturers can no longer focus solely on being a low-cost producer, rather need to focus on high-value products. Creativity and innovation unlock new customer benefits resulting in higher-value products. Consequently, innovation and creativity have been the center of economic development attention for some time. I recommend an excellent new blog on the topic: Change Papers: A shared effort to change North Carolina's climate for innovation

So, exactly how does creativity and innovation convert into economic value? Let me start with some definitions:

Creativity – the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations.

Innovation – introduction of new things or methods.

Manufacturing – the making or producing of anything especially on a large scale.

Given these definitions, creativity can be viewed as the input into innovations. Transcending traditional thinking and creating new approaches are building blocks to introducing new things to market. While creativity produces new ideas and approaches, innovation applies these ideas in some context. Once applied, if they are product innovations, they need to be produced and reproduced economically. Consequently, manufacturing converts product innovations into economic value. Therefore manufacturing is the key to unlocking the economic prosperity of creativity and innovation.

Creativity, innovation, and manufacturing matter! What are other ways that manufacturing matters? Let me hear your ideas.

This is a question that for most people never comes up in conversation. Sure, some of us grow a few tomatoes, plant a few peppers, or maybe tend a small bean patch. Do you know anyone who grows their entire daily menu? Think. Think some more. Anyone come to mind? It has certainly become rare in our society as grocery stores and restaurants have become the norm. Why not grow or raise your own food? Someone in your family tree probably did just that. Today, maybe it is harder? Maybe we like just more variety and options? Maybe it is too much work for our lifestyles? What if we had to go back to individually growing our own?

Why have we trusted others to furnish something that we absolutely cannot do without? Food is not like an 80 inch widescreen LCD television. We can do without the TV even though some sports enthusiast may disagree. Throughout human history, food has been one of the few defining items of each culture. If you stop and think about it, it is pretty scary to think just how little we know about the origins of the foods we consume, what chemicals are used, and a host of poor sanitation opportunities.

Let’s keep the same thought process and switch the topic to your individual business. What are you not doing that is essential to your existence? Are you letting others grow your food? Let me ask another way, do they provide the “value-added” portions of your products or services? Your customers expect more today than ever. Should you be doing more or less? In this time of vast economic hardships facing so many different industries and businesses, many organizations are looking at “growing their own food” again. I am not talking about going “vertical” or building “mega” companies that do it all, simply suggesting that organizations need to take an in-depth look at what their customers feel is valuable and turn their focus and resources into providing that value. I believe that this practice should be done all the time; but, certainly when cash is so tight and business is down. Can you really afford to be spending efforts and resources on waste? If we were really forced to grow our own food, what would you grow? You would certainly put significant thought and research into determining your answer. Now, ask that same question of your organization. What do you need to be focusing on right this minute to be producing food for your business? Please think about it and send me your thoughts.

"It does not happen all at once. There is no instant pudding." – Dr. W. Edwards Deming.

Lately, I’ve had the opportunity to be in a number of conversations with managers and continuous improvement specialists about “lean transformation”. I’ve also been reacquainting myself with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points for Management. This experience has reinforced my belief that Lean implementation is one of the more misunderstood and underestimated activities a leader can undertake, and probably will only be successful if managers follow the spirit and intent of Deming’s 14 Points.

We need to be very honest with ourselves and face the facts that many don’t want to believe. Yes, organizations need to learn and implement Lean tools, but in order to sustain any gains over the long haul, they must also implement Lean thinking.

You cannot develop a Lean culture overnight. As Dr. Deming said, “there is no instant pudding”. It will take a long time and a lot of hard work. It’s a bit like gardening. You till the land, fertilize, and seed. But you can’t sit back and expect your vegetables to grow on their own. You must water, weed, and be vigilant to potential pests and assorted critters (yes, you squirrels – at least in my yard) looking to wreak havoc. It takes involvement (“going to gemba”) and hands-on leadership.

If your organization is considering embarking on a lean journey, or is somewhere along the path already, you need to do an honest assessment of leadership attitudes and actions. It is not enough for management to provide resources, time, and consultants, and then feel as they have made their contribution to the CI or Lean efforts. They must realize that this is not like a technical project to be managed and implemented by a small group of employees. This will take hard work and hands-on involvement by everybody on the corporate ship, including the captain and senior officers. If management is not committed to a long-term cultural shift with heavy involvement on their part, or if leadership is in a state of flux, then the idea of full-blown lean implementation should be very carefully reconsidered and quite possibly postponed until there is organizational stability and the appropriate mindset. Otherwise, Lean will soon be relegated to the list of previous “programs of the year”, most of which started with a roaring fire, then fizzled out and became another unsustained effort.

What do you think? What has been your experience? Please share!

In my last blog post, I highlighted the strength of manufacturing output and exports. These statistics may appear contradictory to the prominent attention given to manufacturing job loss. Yet, did you know that the decline in manufacturing employment has been taking place since an employment peak in 1979?

Let me suggest the contradiction in strong manufacturing output and job loss is related to several factors. Indeed, these factors help explain the paradox between the strength of manufacturing output in the face of manufacturing employment decline. It is important to understand these factors and recognize the important role we have to keep manufacturing strong. I will focus on two factors.

First, competitiveness in any industry relies partially on being productive. Simply stated, this means producing more outputs with less inputs. Therefore manufacturing outputs can remain strong while fewer inputs, such as labor, are needed. As technology has been integrated into manufacturing processes less labor, particularly low skill/ low wage jobs, are needed. While manufacturing output remains the greatest contributor to North Carolina’s Gross State Product, the number of people needed to produce these outputs has declined. This is good for us as consumers as we watch product costs decline and as citizens while we witness an increase in high skill/high wage jobs. Furthermore, increased outputs can be exported bringing new money into the local economy.

Second, the outsourcing trend has gained tremendous momentum in recent decades. Manufacturers have focused on outsourcing “non-core” processes in order to devote resources to enhancing productivity and performance of their core processes. In other words, logistics and transportation, attorneys, and many other professions that were once on a manufacturer’s payroll are no longer. Consequently, positions that used to be counted in manufacturing employment numbers are now counted in other occupational categories even though their primary customers may be manufacturers.

These two factors, productivity and outsourcing, should offer you optimism that we can affect more than we may realize with respect to the success of North Carolina’s manufacturing. This optimism should be a call for action to support this vital economic sector. Here are a few of my ideas for supporting manufacturing success in our state:

1) Advocate and educate about manufacturing’s role as a vital economic engine.

2) Market manufacturing as a viable career choice. Over twenty manufacturing occupations are expected to have “average” to “much faster than average” growth nationally. Yet, this message does not appear to be getting out.

3) Align education and skills development with the growing high technology jobs needed for manufacturing productivity.

4) Support manufacturers in their development of innovation. For innovation, I mean both new approaches and products for customers as well as continuous improvement of processes within the organization.

These are just a few ideas….....what are yours?