In my last One Thingology Blog post, we talked about a couple different kinds of constraints. Physical Constraints and Policy Constraints. Now it's time to look at the implications of breaking a constraint.
Remember my original assertion that "One Thing Can Change Everything"? Well, let's talk about the implications of breaking my delivery policy constraint. The first implication, and most obvious one was we were able to produce, deliver and install more product because we no longer were constrained by the policy constraint that required all the cabinetry for a project to be ready before we delivered and installed any of the cabinetry (we stopped batching delivery and installation).
The first challenge was that we now had to be strategic on what cabinetry got produced when (it never mattered before, when we wouldn't deliver until all the cabinetry for a project was manufactured). It was not helpful to just have random cabinets for the project, we needed all the cabinetry for specific rooms so the installers could actually install cabinetry, not just deliver cabinetry.
Another challenge, and a little more difficult one since part of the solution was outside our control, was convincing our builder clients that it was to their benefit for us to bring cabinetry incrementally rather than all at once (we not only had to overcome our own inertia, we had to convince others to allow us to overcome their inertia).
It was amazing to see their reluctance melt into enthusiasm as we persuaded them (sometimes with money) to allow us to do one job this way and then decide if we could continue to do so. They not only liked getting all the secondary baths and laundry cabinetry first, then the master bath, wet bar, butlers pantry and built-ins, and then, last but not least, the kitchen, they loved it. This allowed them to schedule other subs earlier, and seemed to help with Subageddon (when all subcontractors are in the house AND all their vehicles are in the driveway at the same time).
When we began the process of breaking this policy constraint, we never envisioned the many benefits we would receive, the largest benefit being the impact on CASH-FLOW. As soon as we began multiple deliveries, we also began multiple billings, so instead of one large bill for the entire project, we might see a $45,000.00 project turn into three $15,000.00 invoices spread out over 3 to 12 weeks, depending on the project progression. I mean who doesn't like improved cash-flow? Anybody?
The discovery that unintended consequences are not always negative or bad was welcomed with open arms and eventually open minds. We were ecstatic that fixing ONE THING could not only solve a myriad of symptoms, but could also affect so many other things for the positive. Changing one thing can indeed affect everything.
To make sure you won't miss a crucial part of this discussion, enter your email address in the Follow by Email field on the right, and each time I add to this discussion, you will automatically be notified. Oh, and you won't hurt my feelings if, depending on where you are seeing this, you Share, Like, Plus or Re-tweet it (there are buttons somewhere on the page to help you with that).
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Monday, May 25, 2015
What is a Constraint?
In my last OneThingology blog post, I asked this question:
What if there was One Thing responsible for the majority of the bad things in your life and/or business? Would you see it? Would you recognize it even if it did not go boom, or have a flashing red light on top of it?
I then mentioned that we would talk about Identifying our Constraints, finding the One Thing That Can Affect Everything in my next blog post. Well, as with all aspects of life, things change, and as I was attempting to formulate that post, I realized we would be skipping a really important step in the process. So, I've changed my mind, I've decided to sandwich another topic and maybe two in between.
Before we can identify our constraint(s), we must first understand what a constraint is, and that there is more than one type of constraint. In Eli Goldratt's book, Theory of Constraints, he defines a constraint as anything that limits a system from achieving higher performance versus its goal.
I remember my first realization that there was a constraint in my cabinet manufacturing plant, and being excited at the possibilities of elevating or breaking that constraint. Once that constraint had been not only elevated, but broken, as with all constraint breaking processes, something else became the constraint, but this new constraint was very unlike the first constraint.
The first constraint identified in my cabinet manufacturing plant was the finish department, and with just the most rudimentary understanding of Theory of Constraints, that piles of inventory and/or work in process would be in front of the constraint, it was easy, easy, easy to identify. This second constraint, well it proved itself very elusive in the discovery process.
Sometimes we are so immersed in the physical world that we can't see anything past the physical realities around us (the proverbial not being able to see the forest because of the trees). But there are other things at work other than just physical machines, processes and people. So this post will be all about what that second category of constraint is.
If there is one absolute certainty in business (if you do very much business at all), it is that you and/or your people will make mistakes. There will be hick-ups, bumps in the road, mistakes a plenty, and those mistakes are almost always costly. With our keen understanding of the costs of mistakes, we attempt to prevent mistakes, and not always after considerable thought and planning, but many times as a knee jerk reaction to the mistake.
The form these corrections typically take is almost always a new and/or improved policy, a policy that is supposed to prevent that mistake from ever happening again. Now don't get me wrong, not all policies are the result of a mistake, many are simply our attempt to have a standard way of doing things, or an efficient way of doing things, but in any case, we all have policies.
Policies themselves can take several forms. Some policies are written policies or procedures, others are unspoken policies (although you are expected to know they exist). One of the biggest surprises to me when I started digging into Theory of Constraints, was that there was such a thing as a policy constraint. For me, that second constraint that was so elusive was just that, a policy constraint. It was not a policy put in place based on a reaction to some mistake, or a policy that was in place for any particular reason at all, other than my own preconceived ideas based on life experience and advice.
You see, my second constraint was based purely on my decision to never deliver less than the entire house of cabinetry (the classic policy constraint, based on nothing more than a decision). My cabinet manufacturing life experience had told me that you can't make money making multiple trips to the job-site. As a team, we had worked hard at reducing our batch sizes, we believed that single piece flow was the ultimate manufacturing system, but our beliefs did not translate into actions that aligned with those beliefs.
I had all the clues that delivery was the constraint (WIP in front of the delivery trailer), but could not see the forest for the trees again. It was not a matter of not enough delivery trailers, we only used ours once a week at the most. When we sat down as a team to analyse the situation, it simply did not add up. The WIP in front of the delivery trailer (the hardware area) said that delivery was the constraint, but that we only used our trailer once, and at most twice a week said differently. How can something that is underutilized be a physical constraint? A great question.
The answer did not come easily, but it did come through a series of meetings to discuss the problem. As with all simple problems, once we got it, we all had a hard time understanding why it took so long to see the forest in spite of the trees. The delivery trailer was not a physical constraint, the delivery process was a policy constraint. Whether the policy was based on batch mentality, or inertia from a time when we did much smaller projects really did not matter, what mattered is we needed to CHANGE THE POLICY.
The absolute beauty of a policy constraint is that it requires absolutely zero resources to elevate and/or break, it simply requires someone to change their mind. In this case, that someone was me. Next time we will look at the implications and the results of me changing my mind, and thus changing the policy that was our constraint. I promise I will get to identifying constraints, but the thought process that is required needs to be fertilized a little with these precursors to identification.
To make sure you won't miss a crucial part of this discussion, enter your email address in the Follow by Email field on the right, and each time I add to this discussion, you will automatically be notified. Oh, and you won't hurt my feelings if, depending on where you are seeing this, you Share, Like, Plus or Re-tweet it (there are buttons somewhere on the page to help you with that).
What if there was One Thing responsible for the majority of the bad things in your life and/or business? Would you see it? Would you recognize it even if it did not go boom, or have a flashing red light on top of it?
I then mentioned that we would talk about Identifying our Constraints, finding the One Thing That Can Affect Everything in my next blog post. Well, as with all aspects of life, things change, and as I was attempting to formulate that post, I realized we would be skipping a really important step in the process. So, I've changed my mind, I've decided to sandwich another topic and maybe two in between.
Before we can identify our constraint(s), we must first understand what a constraint is, and that there is more than one type of constraint. In Eli Goldratt's book, Theory of Constraints, he defines a constraint as anything that limits a system from achieving higher performance versus its goal.
I remember my first realization that there was a constraint in my cabinet manufacturing plant, and being excited at the possibilities of elevating or breaking that constraint. Once that constraint had been not only elevated, but broken, as with all constraint breaking processes, something else became the constraint, but this new constraint was very unlike the first constraint.
The first constraint identified in my cabinet manufacturing plant was the finish department, and with just the most rudimentary understanding of Theory of Constraints, that piles of inventory and/or work in process would be in front of the constraint, it was easy, easy, easy to identify. This second constraint, well it proved itself very elusive in the discovery process.
Sometimes we are so immersed in the physical world that we can't see anything past the physical realities around us (the proverbial not being able to see the forest because of the trees). But there are other things at work other than just physical machines, processes and people. So this post will be all about what that second category of constraint is.
If there is one absolute certainty in business (if you do very much business at all), it is that you and/or your people will make mistakes. There will be hick-ups, bumps in the road, mistakes a plenty, and those mistakes are almost always costly. With our keen understanding of the costs of mistakes, we attempt to prevent mistakes, and not always after considerable thought and planning, but many times as a knee jerk reaction to the mistake.
The form these corrections typically take is almost always a new and/or improved policy, a policy that is supposed to prevent that mistake from ever happening again. Now don't get me wrong, not all policies are the result of a mistake, many are simply our attempt to have a standard way of doing things, or an efficient way of doing things, but in any case, we all have policies.
Policies themselves can take several forms. Some policies are written policies or procedures, others are unspoken policies (although you are expected to know they exist). One of the biggest surprises to me when I started digging into Theory of Constraints, was that there was such a thing as a policy constraint. For me, that second constraint that was so elusive was just that, a policy constraint. It was not a policy put in place based on a reaction to some mistake, or a policy that was in place for any particular reason at all, other than my own preconceived ideas based on life experience and advice.
You see, my second constraint was based purely on my decision to never deliver less than the entire house of cabinetry (the classic policy constraint, based on nothing more than a decision). My cabinet manufacturing life experience had told me that you can't make money making multiple trips to the job-site. As a team, we had worked hard at reducing our batch sizes, we believed that single piece flow was the ultimate manufacturing system, but our beliefs did not translate into actions that aligned with those beliefs.
I had all the clues that delivery was the constraint (WIP in front of the delivery trailer), but could not see the forest for the trees again. It was not a matter of not enough delivery trailers, we only used ours once a week at the most. When we sat down as a team to analyse the situation, it simply did not add up. The WIP in front of the delivery trailer (the hardware area) said that delivery was the constraint, but that we only used our trailer once, and at most twice a week said differently. How can something that is underutilized be a physical constraint? A great question.
The answer did not come easily, but it did come through a series of meetings to discuss the problem. As with all simple problems, once we got it, we all had a hard time understanding why it took so long to see the forest in spite of the trees. The delivery trailer was not a physical constraint, the delivery process was a policy constraint. Whether the policy was based on batch mentality, or inertia from a time when we did much smaller projects really did not matter, what mattered is we needed to CHANGE THE POLICY.
The absolute beauty of a policy constraint is that it requires absolutely zero resources to elevate and/or break, it simply requires someone to change their mind. In this case, that someone was me. Next time we will look at the implications and the results of me changing my mind, and thus changing the policy that was our constraint. I promise I will get to identifying constraints, but the thought process that is required needs to be fertilized a little with these precursors to identification.
To make sure you won't miss a crucial part of this discussion, enter your email address in the Follow by Email field on the right, and each time I add to this discussion, you will automatically be notified. Oh, and you won't hurt my feelings if, depending on where you are seeing this, you Share, Like, Plus or Re-tweet it (there are buttons somewhere on the page to help you with that).
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Houston, we've had a problem here.
Houston, we've had a problem here. These now famous words echo in the minds of all of us old enough to have experienced the late 60's and early 70's, and now, even the younger and future generations will know the back story of these words because of the movie, Apollo 13.
Alcoholics Anonymous has made their now famous "Step One" known to everyone, even those that do not have a problem with alcohol, or even know someone with a problem with alcohol.
Step 1. Recognizing we have a problem is the first step in solving that problem.
OneThingology and Theory of Constraints share this philosophy, a philosophy that you must first admit you have a problem to be able to take steps to solve the problem. But, unlike the problem discovered by the crew of Apollo 13 (the exploding oxygen tank number 2 blowing up and taking oxygen tank number 1 with it), most of what we call problems are not problems at all, but symptoms of a problem.
Our real core problems don't always go bang. They don't yell out, here I am. They're like a disease, hiding in the background, with only the symptoms of the disease out in the open, yelling, look at me, treat me. For some of us, we would not recognize our core problem if it was tap dancing on the end of our nose.
So often, we find ourselves working our fingers to the bone, working ridiculously long hours, working, working, working, but seemingly getting nowhere. We ask ourselves, self, how is it that I can work so hard, but never get ahead? How is it possible, that a top notch team like this can never get ahead of our "problems"? Why does it feel like we are always fighting fires, but never actually extinguishing fires, much less preventing fire?
Let's use the most common example of this. The universal problem with businesses, small, large and every size in-between. Not charging enough for your products and services, which even in and of itself is almost always the symptom of a core problem that is hiding in the shadows (not knowing your costs). If you are not charging enough for your products and services because you don't know your costs, just raising your prices is a classic example of treating the symptom of a problem, not the core problem.
You see, if you don't know your costs, then you still don't know how much to raise your prices, or when to raise your prices. And if there is one thing in life I can pretty much guarantee you, it is that no one, and I mean no one will say, hey you, your not charging me enough for this product or service. And even this line of thought is assuming you actually know that you are not charging enough for your products and services.
Assuming you don't know your not charging enough, then what sorts of symptoms might you experience? Typically businesses move enough money around that poor cash flow is not always self evident either. You know something is not right, but you just can't put your finger on it. You sold a ton of stuff last month, but why is it so hard to get all the bills paid this month? It seems like you never have enough employees to get the work done, you never have enough money to hire new or better employees, you're always behind the eight ball on technology, and again, there never seems to be enough hours in a day to get everything done that needs to be done.
What if there was One Thing responsible for the majority of the bad things in your life and/or business? Would you see it? Would you recognize it, even if it did not go boom, or have a flashing red light on top of it? Next time we meet in this particular blogasphere, we will talk about Identifying our Constraints, finding the One Thing That Can Affect Everything.
To make sure you won't miss a crucial part of this discussion, enter your email address in the Follow by Email field on the right, and each time I add to this discussion, you will automatically be notified. Oh, and you won't hurt my feelings if, depending on where you are seeing this, you Share, Like, Plus or Re-tweet it (there are buttons somewhere on the page to help you with that).
Alcoholics Anonymous has made their now famous "Step One" known to everyone, even those that do not have a problem with alcohol, or even know someone with a problem with alcohol.
Step 1. Recognizing we have a problem is the first step in solving that problem.
OneThingology and Theory of Constraints share this philosophy, a philosophy that you must first admit you have a problem to be able to take steps to solve the problem. But, unlike the problem discovered by the crew of Apollo 13 (the exploding oxygen tank number 2 blowing up and taking oxygen tank number 1 with it), most of what we call problems are not problems at all, but symptoms of a problem.
Our real core problems don't always go bang. They don't yell out, here I am. They're like a disease, hiding in the background, with only the symptoms of the disease out in the open, yelling, look at me, treat me. For some of us, we would not recognize our core problem if it was tap dancing on the end of our nose.
So often, we find ourselves working our fingers to the bone, working ridiculously long hours, working, working, working, but seemingly getting nowhere. We ask ourselves, self, how is it that I can work so hard, but never get ahead? How is it possible, that a top notch team like this can never get ahead of our "problems"? Why does it feel like we are always fighting fires, but never actually extinguishing fires, much less preventing fire?
Let's use the most common example of this. The universal problem with businesses, small, large and every size in-between. Not charging enough for your products and services, which even in and of itself is almost always the symptom of a core problem that is hiding in the shadows (not knowing your costs). If you are not charging enough for your products and services because you don't know your costs, just raising your prices is a classic example of treating the symptom of a problem, not the core problem.
You see, if you don't know your costs, then you still don't know how much to raise your prices, or when to raise your prices. And if there is one thing in life I can pretty much guarantee you, it is that no one, and I mean no one will say, hey you, your not charging me enough for this product or service. And even this line of thought is assuming you actually know that you are not charging enough for your products and services.
Assuming you don't know your not charging enough, then what sorts of symptoms might you experience? Typically businesses move enough money around that poor cash flow is not always self evident either. You know something is not right, but you just can't put your finger on it. You sold a ton of stuff last month, but why is it so hard to get all the bills paid this month? It seems like you never have enough employees to get the work done, you never have enough money to hire new or better employees, you're always behind the eight ball on technology, and again, there never seems to be enough hours in a day to get everything done that needs to be done.
What if there was One Thing responsible for the majority of the bad things in your life and/or business? Would you see it? Would you recognize it, even if it did not go boom, or have a flashing red light on top of it? Next time we meet in this particular blogasphere, we will talk about Identifying our Constraints, finding the One Thing That Can Affect Everything.
To make sure you won't miss a crucial part of this discussion, enter your email address in the Follow by Email field on the right, and each time I add to this discussion, you will automatically be notified. Oh, and you won't hurt my feelings if, depending on where you are seeing this, you Share, Like, Plus or Re-tweet it (there are buttons somewhere on the page to help you with that).
Sunday, March 29, 2015
One Thing Can Affect Everything
Welcome to my new blog. A blog about how "One Thing Can Affect Everything". Do you believe it? Can one thing really affect everything? I bet a dollar to a doughnut that you want me to prove it.
A few big picture things might be a good start.
In the beginning "God" created the heavens and the earth. We do not have to have an exceptionally high IQ to understand that in this case, ONE THING REALLY DID AFFECT EVERYTHING.
It only seems appropriate to mention the story of Easter the week before Easter. In our context, the Resurrection of Jesus changed everything, and I do mean everything. The uniqueness of this "One Thing" cannot be ignored, since it is the only "One Thing" that not only changed everything from that point in time on, but also changed everything from that point in time back into the past.
Just as we look back at that moment in time for our redemption, those that preceded that Easter event looked forward to that moment in time for their redemption. One Thing Changed Everything.
I can already hear some of you saying, it's one thing to believe one thing can change everything, but it is altogether another thing to believe that believing one thing as opposed to another thing can change everything. Go ahead you naysayers, admit it, that is what you were thinking, and you know it.
It really is not a question of whether you or I are right or wrong, but a question of whether what was said is true or false (I know, sounds like saying the same thing in a different way, but humor me). If it is true, then one thing really did change everything, if it is not, then that one thing changed nothing.
How about we use a property of nature to test the truthfulness of my assertion. There are four fundamental forces in nature, but for the sake of simplicity, let's use the weakest of these forces, let's use Gravity for our illustration.
When we talk about gravity, we don't speak in terms of right or wrong, we speak in terms of true or false. Gravity is objective, thus it is never subjected to right or wrong.
In almost everyone's reality (there are a few exceptions, like mental illness or retardation) gravity is very real, and when someone says they don't believe in gravity, we question their mental capacity and/or state of mind.
To deny the existence of gravity has absolutely zero influence on gravity or the implications of gravity. If you climb a tree, proclaim there is no gravity, and step off the tree limb, gravity not being subordinated or subject to your beliefs will prove your assertion as false, and that "one thing", that one decision will affect "everything" for you. If you reside in this universe, gravity is true, no matter what your thoughts or beliefs on gravity are.
So there you have it, my introduction to OneThingology. One Thing Can Indeed Affect Everything. Just in case you thought this was going to be a religious blog, you need to come back often so I can illustrate that a blog aimed at individuals and small to medium sized business owners can weave faith and logic together to make points that will be beneficial to our personal life and our work life. So stay tuned to find out where I am going with this blog, better yet, subscribe (there will be something somewhere on the right side of this page that will allow you to subscribe by email or RSS Feed).
A few big picture things might be a good start.
In the beginning "God" created the heavens and the earth. We do not have to have an exceptionally high IQ to understand that in this case, ONE THING REALLY DID AFFECT EVERYTHING.
It only seems appropriate to mention the story of Easter the week before Easter. In our context, the Resurrection of Jesus changed everything, and I do mean everything. The uniqueness of this "One Thing" cannot be ignored, since it is the only "One Thing" that not only changed everything from that point in time on, but also changed everything from that point in time back into the past.
Just as we look back at that moment in time for our redemption, those that preceded that Easter event looked forward to that moment in time for their redemption. One Thing Changed Everything.
I can already hear some of you saying, it's one thing to believe one thing can change everything, but it is altogether another thing to believe that believing one thing as opposed to another thing can change everything. Go ahead you naysayers, admit it, that is what you were thinking, and you know it.
It really is not a question of whether you or I are right or wrong, but a question of whether what was said is true or false (I know, sounds like saying the same thing in a different way, but humor me). If it is true, then one thing really did change everything, if it is not, then that one thing changed nothing.
 |
Image by: A Review of the Universe |
How about we use a property of nature to test the truthfulness of my assertion. There are four fundamental forces in nature, but for the sake of simplicity, let's use the weakest of these forces, let's use Gravity for our illustration.
When we talk about gravity, we don't speak in terms of right or wrong, we speak in terms of true or false. Gravity is objective, thus it is never subjected to right or wrong.
In almost everyone's reality (there are a few exceptions, like mental illness or retardation) gravity is very real, and when someone says they don't believe in gravity, we question their mental capacity and/or state of mind.
To deny the existence of gravity has absolutely zero influence on gravity or the implications of gravity. If you climb a tree, proclaim there is no gravity, and step off the tree limb, gravity not being subordinated or subject to your beliefs will prove your assertion as false, and that "one thing", that one decision will affect "everything" for you. If you reside in this universe, gravity is true, no matter what your thoughts or beliefs on gravity are.
So there you have it, my introduction to OneThingology. One Thing Can Indeed Affect Everything. Just in case you thought this was going to be a religious blog, you need to come back often so I can illustrate that a blog aimed at individuals and small to medium sized business owners can weave faith and logic together to make points that will be beneficial to our personal life and our work life. So stay tuned to find out where I am going with this blog, better yet, subscribe (there will be something somewhere on the right side of this page that will allow you to subscribe by email or RSS Feed).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)