My Flexible Pencil - Latest Comments

Re: Adversity: It’s Not Whether It Will Happen But How You React That Counts

Robert — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:22:59 -0000

This is the best article I have encounter regarding adversity. I work for the federal government as a mid level leadership manager official and this is right on the spot. Thank you for your insights on the situation.

Re: I don’t recommend lunch & learns

Boricua — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:10:01 -0000

I do absolutely agree. The lunch hour is unpaid time that belongs to the employee to do whatever it feels like doing throughout its duration. It is a shame that some employees, while trying to impress their bosses, do schedule that hour for a meeting. It is even more shameful that the employer allows it and encourages it. It does show lack of organizational skills, lack of respect for the employee, and, as you mention, it does become a mandatory (voluntary) affair. If you do not attend you are branded a non "team player". This is just another example of corporate slavery, ie: forcing you to work without compensation.

Re: Things I hate: “Too Busy to be Bored”

David M. Kasprzak — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 22:05:31 -0000

Thanks, Remjo. I think it falls right into the "respect for people" pillar. Some people just work without thinking about what the work means or how it is done. Others feel the need to investigate, and understand why or to have a sense of purpose in their work. Being of one kind but not understanding the other leads to a lot of conflicts, I think.

Re: Things I hate: “Too Busy to be Bored”

Remjo Gonzales — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 01:38:58 -0000

lol.. nice article..no one likes to be bore.. if we just appreciate all the things around us, especially the small ones, we can avoid boredom.. =)

Remjo Gonzales
www.projectmanager.com

Re: Presentation tip: Don’t rely on the presentation

Karen Martin — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:14:52 -0000

The one thing to keep in mind is that you'll never please everyone. I pay VERY close attention to participant feedback and use it to continuously improve. That said, I just had an experience where I spoke to a group of 250 or so and half of the feedback was beyond glowing and half was merely average. Many of the comments were directly opposite the others. In this case, I still reflect but I also realize that the crowd was too mixed in terms of maturity, company size, etc. to ever meet the vast majority's needs.

Re: Leadership, Culture and the Situation of Marissa Mayer

David M. Kasprzak — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 23:57:11 -0000

If yahoo has no talent left, Mayer has nothing to work with and leaving her there won't do anything different than throwing her out. Nonetheless, the point is this - if all we do is criticize from a distance, we take the easy route. Anyone can point a finger at a problem, real or perceived.

Re: Presentation tip: Don’t rely on the presentation

David M. Kasprzak — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:38:21 -0000

Thanks, Karen. Like anything else, you slowly find your groove through repetition(keep in mind, I am writing this while 5 feet from my son - who is practicing his piano!). Speaking to a group of 10 in a conference room, vs. 50 in a banquet room, vs. 250 in a ballroom is a very different experience each time. Not only is it harder to "work" a large room, but the expectations of the audience change, too. A small crowd expects you to talk with them. A larger group expects you to talk to them.

Re: Leadership, Culture and the Situation of Marissa Mayer

Pan — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:16:24 -0000

I think yahoo need to throw her out, She is useless. instead of looking into the core business improvement, she is trying to get ride of whatever if left. Do you really think that yahoo have any talent remaining after the so much of downward.

Re: Presentation tip: Don’t rely on the presentation

Karen Martin — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:14:26 -0000

Nice post, David. Happy to inspire. Good point about planning your talk first and relying only on PowerPoint when it adds to the talk. Welcome to the speaking stage. Sounds like you're on a path to great success!

Re: Why you can’t blame ROWE for Best Buy’s trouble

David M. Kasprzak — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 23:30:53 -0000

Hi, Tom,

Thanks for your comment. At the time that I wrote this post, I was enthralled with ROWE and felt a sincere attachment to its people-centered system.

As I continued to investigate it, however, and especially as I dove deeper into Lean as a either a complementary or competing approach, I began to see some fundamental flaws. My last post on the subject still rings true to my ears: http://myflexiblepencil.com/20...

Re: Why you can’t blame ROWE for Best Buy’s trouble

Tom Williams — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:51:32 -0000

Great post David. I have read and subscribe to ROWE whole heartedly. I think that you are correct... It's an easy target for poor mgmt decisions. The blame game is alive and well at the high ranks of Best Buy. ROWE puts up astonishing numbers and now they are going to undo even that... get ready for the mass - exodus of talent from Best Buy. Head Hunters - grab your phones.

Re: Leadership, Culture and the Situation of Marissa Mayer

David M. Kasprzak — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:10:42 -0000

You are reading my mind a little bit. I would like to see, rather than this grand experiment (we can easily call it a gamble), a more controlled experiment trying to determine if remote work is, indeed, prohibiting the type of culture yahoo desires from developing. I will give Kudos, however, for placing culture and the need to develop that culture at the forefront. We will see if this move was a necessary shove in the right direction or just heavy handed cluelessness

Re: Leadership, Culture and the Situation of Marissa Mayer

curiouscat_com — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:06:21 -0000

i haven't looked into it much so my impression may well be wrong but the thing I find annoying is what seems like a lack of respect for people and evidence.

I understand there may be good reason for physical workplaces. I find the decision to dramatically change so quickly everywhere questionable.

Has this gone through PDSA to show that yes this is the way Yahoo should be? Could it be that it costs Yahoo too much talent? Could it be that we can have some people effectively contribute remotely? Such a drastic change I think is very risky. I am skeptical it is necessary to take such risks instead of experimenting more to gain evidence that a universal policy against remote work is really best.

Even if the policy change is good in every other way, it has to make someone considering working for Yahoo question if Yahoo is going to dramatically shift the employment agreement with seemingly little concern for people.

Re: Netflix culture and the Core of Operational Excellence

David M. Kasprzak — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:40:43 -0000

Hi, Jamie.

Thanks for your comments. I applaud Netflix for placing culture and what feels like a genuine Constancy of Purpose at the forefront of their operations. What strikes me as both amusing and sad, is how much companies that issue manifestos such as this one are applauded for being revolutionary or progressive, when all they've done is stumble upon the operational excellence principles that have already been well developed elsewhere. To my mind, this is an opportunity to educate audiences outside of the traditional manufacturing base on the benefits of understanding the core concepts of Lean, rather than celebrating the reinvention of the wheel.

Regarding the need to make integrity a noteworthy attribute, I think there's a strong element of PR at play. These presentations make their way to Slide Share and YouTube, and company Execs give interviews on them. I agree with your point and I'm willing to believe that, at least internally, integrity is the expected norm. Externally, however, such declarations have more to do with cultivating an image of the company than with defining operating norms. Come to think of it, if internal behaviors are entirely unethical, that would likely only increase the desire to make the external appearance more honest anyway.

Re: Netflix culture and the Core of Operational Excellence

Jamie Flinchbaugh — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:54:14 -0000

No, nothing new here. But I think it's important to recognize that paying attention to operational behaviors, the how-to of a business, is not just for old-school manufacturing firms. Technology firms like to think they just "do" and don't need an operational process, culture, or skill. But the best have exactly that. They all aren't "lean" and some probably fly in the face of lean, but at least they are focused on how to execute their strategy.

On another note, I hate it when companies use Honesty or Integrity as a principle. Does that mean that you were hiring employees that needed this direction? Does that mean that alternative decisions were being made? To me, integrity is the unstated, must-have, non-negotiable. I don't believe there is something called "business ethics". There is just ethics.

Jamie Flinchbaugh
www.JamieFlinchbaugh.com

Re: Beware the surge

curiouscat_com — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:39:26 -0000

Agreed. There are not easy formulas to what should be done I don't think. But there are principles: experimenting and measuring results
are good. But you can't always measure what you really want to know so you have to use judgement. When you measure results you have to understand variation. You have to show respect for people and drive out fear or risk tainted data that then leads you astray.

Sometimes leaders need to use judgement to push a new idea. Sometimes doing that is very counterproductive. Having decisions made at the closest point to where the work is being done is good. If that is being done in a haphazard way (without standardized work processes, without using things like A3 or PDSA, without system thinking, without value stream understanding...) that is most likely going to be bad.

Basically, I think you need to have an overall system of management (I like Deming, lean works too) that provides a framework for a good management system. Then you can take action to adapt the ideas to your organization. Trying to talk about applying tools, practices and concepts without the management system framework can be done but has much less effectiveness and much greater risk of problems. I talk about these ideas in my book http://curious-cat-media.com/m...

Without that overall management system guidance it is very hard to discuss because in reality for each question there are say 20 important things to consider. It you keep having to say (and respect for people is important to make this work, as is making problems visible, as is continual improvement culture as is an understanding of data, as is systems thinking, as is standardize work instructions, as is leaders knowing the gemba... people lose interest). And the truth is you often need all those things and more. And you need to actually have much more detailed understanding of what respect of people really means...

Re: Beware the surge

David M. Kasprzak — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 07:42:00 -0000

I've no disagreement with the need to initiate and push change coming form the top. I do have to wonder, however, how does The Top know if their intended direction was the right one? Is it measurement or intuition and, if it's measured, how frequently? Is there any thought given to what options are available when it comes time to pivot, or is the need for pivot unheard of? Meaning, leadership drives change no matter what, hits some short-term target, and then disappears to the next endeavor. Clamoring can be dangerous - it can be as much about truly seeing something good in a new approach as it is about displaying a false sense of engagement just to curry the favor of the Top. So, the real challenge is, how do we tell the difference?

Re: Beware the surge

curiouscat_com — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:19:46 -0000

There is a need at times for leadership to push change. But I like, to the extent possible, to offer services, help and support and let people request help. I like to see an organization begin to see new tools and practices as something to help them. Those doing the work are the ones asking for help using the new ideas.

To some extent, there is usually a need to get the ball rolling by pushing some projects to show this stuff works. Eventually, if the organization is going to be successful, people are clamoring to use the new ideas to improve their processes.

Re: The value of delayed decisions

David M. Kasprzak — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:40:14 -0000

Yes, and.....

That is the genius of Partnoy's work. Those athletes, business leaders, investors and what not aren't necessarily learning to make decisions faster - they are learning to delay making the decision longer. Talent, experience and practice combine to allow the person to observe and monitor the situation until a decision is absolutely necessary.

To me, this is an interesting take, as it places less emphasis on accumulating enough knowledge to always make the right decision as quickly as possible and stresses contemplation and learning, even if measured in milliseconds.

Re: The value of delayed decisions

Matt Wrye — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:56:42 -0000

I think the reason continuous improvement looks to speed up decision making isn't just to do it faster but because the reaction time to make a decision is becoming less in today's business environment.

Like an athlete that continues to move up the ranks. Yes. The decision may only take milliseconds but it is best to wait to get all the information to before making the decision. A basketball player in high school has a few more milliseconds to make a decision because players aren't as quick or aren't making decisions as quick. If the player moves on to play in college or the pros, the first thing you here athletes talk about is adjusting to the speed of the game. The athlete is continuously improving in order to make the decisions faster so they aren't left behind and can't survive at that level.

I see the same being true in business. The reason to get better and make decisions faster is so we aren't left behind.

Re: Follow up: Why Lunch & Learn is not for everyone

David M. Kasprzak — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:41:56 -0000

Thanks, Karen. Rather than packing as much work as possible into the day by "allowing" (as if adults should need permission) people to eat while attending a seminar seems like a misguided focus. Large portions of the work day are filled with value-less activities, as we know. Better to eliminate some of those and replace them with valuable learning activities than to ignore those wastes and add on just another meeting over lunch.

Re: Follow up: Why Lunch & Learn is not for everyone

Karen Martin — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:15:00 -0000

Bravo David! You're not offending this consultant. I refuse to participate in this practice with my clients. This is one case where the customer is NOT right.

What's even more offensive than lunch 'n learns are working lunches with people who are either learning a new skill or are working on an intense project. People need down time to reflect, absorb, etc. Jamming more info at them results in poor learning and retention. People need to back off, slow down and have respect for the customer -- that's whoever is the intended recipient/participant.

Re: Follow up: Why Lunch & Learn is not for everyone

David M. Kasprzak — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:07:14 -0000

You got it, Mike. I'll put it in the AWE forums on linked in and look for more comments!

Re: Follow up: Why Lunch & Learn is not for everyone

Mike Hackett — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:52:00 -0000

David, great to see you back writing again. As always a great topic! Could you post this update to AWE?

Re: I don’t recommend lunch & learns

David M. Kasprzak — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:57:15 -0000

Thanks, Matt. The practice seems to violate either a personal or professional barrier for many people, and it also does not take into account the needs of introverts, who are at their best when given a chance to recharge.

Look for a follow up post next week that will dive into those aspects a little bit deeper.