Manufacturing Leadership Challenge - Do You Know the Art of Paying Respect?

It is a very simple rule. If you don't respect the people around you, they won't respect you. What has happened to common courtesy? If you cannot earn the respect of people by first being respectful yourself, everything that you try to do to reach a common goal will be an uphill battle. Take a look how you can master the art of paying respect.

Manufacturing Leadership Challenge ~ Is Happiness Expectation Management?

I think the vast majority of people search for happiness but very few are
truly content and live happily ever after. Enjoy your life because it's the
only one you have! Take a look at my video, filmed in Austria!

Toyota Manufacturing - That is Kaizen at its Best!

“We have to grasp not only the 'Know-How' but also 'Know Why', if we want to master the Toyota Production System.” 
~ Shigeo Shingo 

Last week Heidi and I finally found the time to tour the Toyota Manufacturing Facility in Cambridge, Ontario. What an amazing experience! 


Toyota offers tours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3 times a day. Their guides are retired school teachers who do a fabulous job representing Toyota. They certainly know what they are talking about and they make the plant tour a mix between inspiration, fascination, information and fun. It was exciting and my heart started to pound a little bit faster.


The tour takes about an hour long and along the way, the guided, motorized trams take you through the plant ensuring the highest possible safety standards. Electronic earphones ensure that you don't miss a word even when the environment gets a littler bit louder.


The positive energy I felt in this plant is very difficult to describe. Toyota firmly believes in manufacturing where the product is sold. People are working hard but they seem to have a lot of fun at the same time. They seem to have figured it out!


When did we ever start to think that work has to be serious and that there couldn't be any kind of fun? What a ridiculous thought when we want to see increased productivity.


Most of you have heard of or know Lean Manufacturing. Lean is a production practice and management philosophy derived mostly from the Toyota Production System, also called TPS.


TPS is Toyota's DNA and is built on 2 pillars - Kaizen, which is Japanese for continuous improvement and Respect for People.


The difference between Toyota and other companies when it comes to Kaizen is that it is Toyota's intent to implement as many ideas as possible. Their philosophy is that nobody knows better what to improve than the people who actually do the job. That's Kaizen at its very best!


Toyota doesn't just talk job security, they actually walk the talk. During the past recession they did not have any layoffs even though they were faced with the same challenges as everyone else. Their approach is different. Instead of laying off people, they used the downtime to send their people off to do some community work. How inspiring is that?


The way how this company is organized, and the self-displine, creativity, innovation and drive that Toyota employees live on a daily basis gives us hope for a better tomorrow. They certainly paint a picture of how it could be. 


The cafeteria at Toyota offers theme days, such as Sushi day, Pizza day, etc., and teamwork seems to be a priority wherever you look. As an example, to promote team spirit they have large displays on the wall to promote the "Catch of the Week". This initiative promotes continuous improvement and an awareness of doing things better by catching mistakes. If a team member catches a mistake, the whole team gets rewarded. 


You can easily detect who works in what department based on the colour of their hard hats. For example, people with orange hard hats work in the maintenance department.


Every single worker has the authority to stop the line by pulling a string. Depending on the area or a specific problem a different song starts to play. Toyota employees not only feel responsible, they are allowed to use their ability to respond.


To my question on how people are held accountable to the cleanliness in the plant, the guide just looked somehow surprised at me and said, "We have a 5 day orientation program and there is not other option. If you want to work for Toyota, that's how it is. If you can't live and follow certain standards, then this is not the place to work for you." 


Toyota employees don't accept the status quo. They have standards but they continuously look for better ways of doing things and improving these standards.


It is certainly a highly automated facility and it is fascinating and scary at the same time to watch various robots doing high precision work. This should really make us think. Every kind of work we do that can be replaced by a robot should demonstrate the necessity of continuous learning, self-development and adaptability. 

If you ever have the opportunity to take one of these tours, please do so and I assure you that you will feel the same excitement as we did, and your heart will start pounding a little bit faster as well. 

How Do You Manage Work Life Balance?

While visiting my home country Austria I started to think about work-life balance. If you need a short break during your stressful workday, take a look at my video and join me on my walk through Graz.

Manufacturing Excellence - Thought of the Day!

Some people are happy when they go to work but then they see the miserable faces and
 attitudes of their co-workers and think "Jeeez, I should be miserable as well" to fit in! Have you ever thought about this negative effect?

Manufacturing Leadership Challenge - Why is it that Different Departments Don't Interact Effectively?

Two out of every three employees believes that the flow of communication between departments within their organization is poor. Inevitably, this results in a reduction in the quality of the products and services provided by the organization. Take a look what I have to say!

Manufacturing Leadership Challenge? Why is it that People Are Not Properly Respected in the Workplace?

Respect can be compared to a boomerang in the sense that you must send it out before it will come back to you. Today, I want to talk about what respect means to me. Take a look!

Manufacturing Excellence - Inspire, Lead and Succeed with PERSONAL TOUCH!

"Our worst comes out when we behave like robots or professionals." ~ Fernando Flores

What has happened to our world? Seriously!

Is our fast paced Internet world turning us into cold, heartless and apathetic people?

When I call into organizations it is my experience that I either get to speak to a phone system, or when I actually do get a live person on the line, they are neither friendly not sincerely willing to assist. It seems as if I’ve rudely interrupted their day.

How can this be? Have we forgotten how important the initial contact with a company can be?

Does a receptionist understand that he or she is the Director of First Impressions?

Are we no longer aware that politeness and helpfulness can go a long way?

People are so bombarded and overwhelmed by the plethora of services and products that are presented to them on a daily basis that the only thing you can do to truly stand out is your personal touch. This applies at home, at work, and in your social life. 

Just 2 weeks ago the Maintenance Manager in one of my Communication Workshops asked me why it’s important in a professional work environment to show a personal interest in the interests, needs and concerns of his co-workers. He told me that he wants to keep everything on a professional level, and he really doesn't want to know what's going on with them.

I tried to explain to him the importance of connecting with his people and I’m happy to say that he was eager and willing to listen. It seemed as if he has never received any management training or read a book on leadership. Everything I told him was completely new to him.

Is he completely at fault? Can we blame him? Certainly not.

Why is it that we still set people up to fail?

Most new employees go through orientation sessions but in many instances managers are somehow exempt and do not receive proper training and mentoring. Isn’t that strange?

Anyone in a leadership position has to understand that actively demonstrating an interest in his people will not only translate into a better work environment but also in a willingness of his people to do their best for the company. If this isn’t crystal clear then this leader is costing the company big bucks in the long run. 

If you neglect that personal touch with your employees, then they may as well be all robots. People have emotions and feelings. They may go through a divorce or have marital problems. They may have aging parents. They may have a sick child at home. They may have health concerns themselves. Whatever it is, why would they care about their work if you don't care about them?

Can you show a little more empathy? Do your employees know and feel that you genuinely care for them? Never underestimate the power and difference this can make in your workforce.