Where is the scope of Continual Improvement ?

Whatever you are doing, there is always a scope of improvement.

Like if you are an office goers and handling some projects or duties in your office then you can think about Business process standardisation.

Business process standardization and simplification reduce the cost of operation as well as the efficiency of the employee. It is necessary in today’s competitive world to make the business process at par with the industry standard and to make it so simple and friendly to process it faster and faster. There are ten golden rules which need to be checked in any business process to make it smooth.

1-Bureaucracy elimination-Reducing the unnecessary paper works, Authorization etc.

This is the area where you can look for the improvements in unnecessary paper work or authorisation needed to perform any work or activities which actually not having any sense but it delays the work.  There are several incidents in any company or organisation where paper work is a necessity due to the system from a long time.   These can be eliminated and it will save time and speed up the work

2-Duplication elimination - Reducing the repeating exercise which does not add any value. 

Many times in an organisation , there is a practise of cross checking of things for a similar jobs which increase the lead time of a work.  These activities can be easily identified and can be eliminated from the system.

3-Simplification -Simplifying the process and avoid the complexity of the process. 

There are some processes which are very complex and work goes one table to another table or one stage to another stage which decrease the productive time.  These processes can be taken as a project to simplify them.

4-Process cycle time reduction-Reducing the cycle time of an activity. 

If any activity take more time then it can be taken as an improvement point to reduce its turn around time ( TAT).   First, in this type of improvement the cycle time of completion of any activity to be noted down and then improvements can done after applying some changes.  The reduced time is the fruit of these type of improvement. 

The best example of Simplification and process cycle time reduction is Installation of ATM machine by Banks.  Now, you can imagine – How this improvement made a significant impact in the working of Banks as well as to the customers.

5-Error proofing -To make it pokayoke and fool proof. 

There are some processed which requires fool proofing.  The example of this type of improvement is biometric attendance system which eliminates the wrong / superficies card punching.

6-Upgrading - Simple language Understandable by all.

There are some processes laid down in the companies which are either old fashioned or not upto the mark needs up gradation which can be developed in such a manner that every user can understand them.

7-Standardization -Standardization of a process.

This is the area where many companies are struggling. Standardisation of the process is the requirement of today’s world.  Customised solutions can work for a little time, but , in longer run, every company requires standardisation of the processes.  The main advantage of the standardisation of the processes or activities is – it reduces the individualistic dependency.

8-Supplier partnership - Best input gives the best output.

 In any organisation’s success, the supplier beneficial supplier relationship plays a vital role.  Supplier includes internal customers as well as external.  There are some projects can be taken which make the supplier partnership more strong in the benefit of the organisation.

9-Big picture improvement -Drastically changing the process. To

    select a   different route.

This type of projects are comes from out of box thinking.  These improvements projects are needed in company for changing an old practise into new one.  But the execution of these types of improvements is critical.

10-Automation / Mechanism -Automation of manual work

      through computerization
Automation is the demand of this modern era.  There are many activities can be automated through machines / computers to eliminate the human interface. 

You can choose any project of continual improvement from above category and excel in your professional life. 

SMART Objectives- A Brief

SMART Goals :  Goal setting plays an important role in anybody’s life because this gives you the direction to move forward. 

OK ! Goals should be set but how Goals can be set.

Answer is : Goal whether it is professional , personal , spiritual , it should be SMART...... 

S- Specific

M-Measurable

A-Achievable / Assignable

R- Realstic

T-Time bound

Generally there are four types of goals : Professional Goals, Personal Goals , Economic Goals and Spiritual Goals.  All these goals should be follow the SMART Rules of Goals.

Can you elaborate the SMART Goals ?  Yes.  Now we will understand the SMART Parameters one by one.

S-Specific :

The criterion stresses the need for a specific goal rather than a more general one. This means the goal is clear and unambiguous; without vagaries and platitudes. To make goals specific, they must tell a team exactly what is expected, why is it important, who’s involved, where is it going to happen and which attributes are important.

A specific goal will usually answer the five "W" questions:

-What: What do I want to accomplish?

-Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

-Who: Who is involved?

-Where: Identify a location.

-Which: Identify requirements and constraints.

  

M-Measurable :

The second criterion stresses the need for concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of the goal. The thought behind this is that if a goal is not measurable, it is not possible to know whether a team is making progress toward successful completion. Measuring progress is supposed to help a team stay on track, reach its target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs it on to continued effort required to reach the ultimate goal.

A measurable goal will usually answer questions such as:

·         How much?

·         How many?

·         How will I know when it is accomplished?

·         Indicators should be quantifiable

     A-   Achievable/ Assignable :

·         The third criterion stresses the importance of goals that are realistic and attainable. While an attainable goal may stretch a team in order to achieve it, the goal is not extreme. That is, the goals are neither out of reach nor below standard performance, as these may be considered meaningless. When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. The theory states that an attainable goal may cause goal-setters to identify previously overlooked opportunities to bring themselves closer to the achievement of their goals.

An Achievable goal will usually answer the question:

·         How: How can the goal be accomplished?

 R-Realstic :

The fourth criterion stresses the importance of choosing goals that matter. Many times you will need support to accomplish a goal: resources, a champion voice, someone to knock down obstacles. Goals that are relevant to your boss, your team, your organization will receive that needed support.

Relevant goals (when met) drive the team, department, and organization forward. A goal that supports or is in alignment with other goals would be considered a relevant goal.

A relevant goal can answer yes to these questions:

·         Does this seem worthwhile?

·         Is this the right time?

·         Does this match our other efforts/needs?

·         Are you the right person?

·         Is it applicable in current socio- economic- technical environment?

     T-Time Bound :

The fifth criterion stresses the importance of grounding goals within a time frame, giving them a target date. A commitment to a deadline helps a team focus their efforts on completion of the goal on or before the due date. This part of the SMART goal criteria is intended to prevent goals from being overtaken by the day-to-day crises that invariably arise in an organization. A time-bound goal is intended to establish a sense of urgency.

A time-bound goal will usually answer the question:

·         When?

·         What can I do six months from now?

·         What can I do six weeks from now?

·         What can I do today?

Some Examples of SMART Objectives :

Personal SMART Objectives

-          I will buy my house in July ,2015.

-          I will complete my MBA- Marketing by Sept,2015.

These two objectives are SMART. 

Professional SMART Objectives

-          Increase the production of Metal Slitters by 20 % from previous Financial Year to Current Year. 

Some Amazing Thoughts ( A Collection)

Here are some amazing thoughts :

1. " Watch your thoughts, they become words.  Watch your words, they become actions.  Watch your actions, they become habits.  Watch your habits, they become character.  Watch your character, it becomes your destiny. " - Unknown

2." Success is important, but satisfaction is more important because Success if other valuation for you but satisfaction is our valuation for us."

3." If the number of people who share your pain and grief is more than the people are are celebrating your success, this is the achievement of life and vice versa." 

Mantra ( Talisman) for success in Career

Career and Job are two different things.  We do job to earn money for our livelihood and Career is a path where we put our efforts to make ourselves worthful  in a particular domain so that after some experience and skills we can make the best out of it in terms of money , status etc.

Grow your own gnome

What is PDCA and RCA and how we will make the best out of it ?

Life is full of opportunities and we have very limited time given by the GOD.  So, How we will convert our dreams into reality in this limited time ?  Answer is – RCA and PDCA.

Whatever we have dreamt about , convert this into PDCA. 

PDCA is the abbreviations for Plan-Do-Check – Act.  Whatever we want to achieve in our life – in short run or long run , convert this into Plan, then Do your action as per  your plan and defined a frequency to review your plan weekly , monthly , quarterly or yearly.  If this goes as per plan , then good enough and this is not as per your plan , take the necessary action and act on it and then follow the similar path of PDCA.  This will help you personally as well as professionally.

Then what is the role of RCA  in this PDCA ?  RCA stands for Root cause analysis.  If you planned something , and when you reviewed it in the Check stage and you find that your action are not as per your plan then there is an immediate need of this Tool termed as RCA ( Root  Cause Analysis).

Root cause analysis is a technique by which you can get the root cause of a problem and once the problem identify , then you can easily solve the problem.    This can be done through WHY WHY ?  For any problem which occurs , ask five times why  ?  and then you will reach to its root cause of the problem.  Then you can address the problem.

So My Suggestion is – Follow PDCA and RCA in your life. 

What is effective management and Manager ?

What is effective management and Manager ?

I believe and concise , management , in my terms as follows :

Effective management is the perfect alignment of all Ms – Marketing , Man , Machine , Methods, Materials & Money in a clear cut direction. 

How can it be done ?  Answer is Through – POLC (Planning , Organising , Leadership and Controlling).

Question is – Every entrepreneur or good manager follows POLC , then why they get failed ?

Answer is :  Most of the entrepreneur/Manager does not give the weightage to this essential POLC.  According to me , the weightage should be given to Planning as 40%, Organisaing – 30% , Leadership : 20% and Controlling : 10%. 

But in most of cases this becomes reverse and management / manager collapse to get the desired results. 

So, follow POLC with 40% -30%-20%-10% formula. 

Five essential arrows in your quiver to be a good professional ........

1.       Be smart Worker , not hard worker.  SMART work is today’s mantra.  Hardwork always pays is old mantra in corporate jungle.  Whatever you are doing , do it smartly keeping few things in mind- What to do? When to do?

2.       Time Management : You have officially 8 Hours to work.  How well you utilise with this time, this is your art of time management.  If you able to manage your time well, you will have a plenty of time to do your work and never feel the stress of pending work. 

3.       Good Communication & Good Repo with Boss : Good communication or to the point communication makes you an effective and target oriented employee.  If you are able to make a place for yourself in the good books of your boss, it always paves a good path to your career enhancement. Be open with your boss for your work.

4.       Knowledge enhancement : Your knowledge towards your work domain is the only way which keeps you sustain in your professional arena.  How much knowledge you have is directly proportional to your success in your career itinerary?  If you get a chance to widen your knowledge, go for it.  It is always better to have many arrows in your quiver.

5.       Multi-skill – In this changing scenario / competitive world- Keep abreast yourself with multi-skill. Multi-skilling always helps you at the time of crunch situation in the corporate and when there is a need of short-listing to fire, these people importance emerges and their multi skilling ability keeps them apart and makes them important. Multi skilling does not mean that you have the knowledge of every domain of your company, it means- you can handle different assignment together. 

What are the essential tools you must have to get success in your professional life?

I always wondered to see that many people in the corporate world are so successful and some which are very talented but not have the enough cups in their table.

According to my experience in the corporate world for last 12~14 years, I feel following points are to be kept in mind to get success in your professional life.

-          Smart work- Now the days gone when hard work is the only way to get success in your professional life.  Smart work is today’s requirement.

-          Spread your legs – Keep your eyes and ear open.  Be multitasking because multitasking is the perfect mantra to sustain in this changing and demanding corporate environment.  

-          If you have problem, do proper analysis and homework, keep solutions handy before communicating it to your boss.

-          Learn each and every day.

-          Develop the faith of your boss in yourself.

-          Don’t overreact to any situation before going to its deep.

-          Don’t show that you are getting frustrated to your job or you are losing your interest.

if     If there is a scope of buttering to your boss, do it in a smart way.

If ,any  how,  above solution does not work for you , always remember, it is entirely your choice to stay within job or not. 

What things to be keep in mind when you are joining new company ……..

Wandering in corporate jungles is today’s necessity for growth. When you get a offer after your interview, following things are to be kept in mind…………

1. Check the credentials of the company before putting your paper in your current organization because everything, which glitters is not gold.
2. Try to get in touch with any employee of your probable company and let us ask him/her about the company. You can find the employee through linked.com or brijj.com or you can find someone from your own resources.
3. Don’t make up your mind by just visiting the website or marketing of the company.
4. Once You have framed your mind to accept the offer and joined the new company. Then do not criticize your previous company in your new company.
5. First understand the environment of the new company, meet with colleagues and another person in new company.
6. On very initial days, don’t boast yourself that you can do that and this. First understand the working culture of the company.
7. Don’t excited when top management decided to give you whole department responsibility.
8. People already in a new company are hesitate to accept you, don’t afraid from this. Keep calm and do start interacting with people.
9. Try to understand the rules and regulation of the company.
10. Best of luck ! if you are joining another company.

Organizational Structure of a corporate house…………

Understanding of a corporate structure is very important to a new employee. Broadly, the management is divided into four categories

1. Top Management: Top management includes Chairman, Managing Director, Director, CEO (Chief Executive Officer), CFO (Chief Financial Officer), CTO(Chief Technological Officer).  
2. Senior Management – Senior Management includes General Manager, Deputy General Manager, Assistant General Manager
3. Middle Management – Middle Management includes – Senior Manager, Manager , Assistant Manager , Officer
4. Junior Management – Junior Management includes Sr. Engineer, Engineer, Sr. Executive, Executive, Jr. Engineer, Assistant Engineer, and Assistant etc.

Typical work experience of these levels if there is not any exceptional case. Most corporate prefers the experience in age as follows:

Top Management generally has the experience of more than 20+ Years.

Senior Management generally have the experience of 15 ~ 20 years.

Middle Management people have generally 8~15 years of experience.

Junior Management has the experience of 0~ 8 years.  

I hope now you able to understand the organizational structure of a company with their age of experience.  But there are many exception in corporate, to recruit the employees in higher position keeping in the mind of their ability and skills.

Don’t copy if you can’t paste - Interesting Story

A popular motivational speaker was entertaining his Audience. He Said: The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who wasn't my wife!


The audience was in silence and shock. The speaker added: And that woman was my mother!

Laughter and Applause!!!

A week later, a top manager trained by the Motivational speaker tried to crack this very effective joke At home. He was a bit foggy after a drink. He said loudly to His wife who was preparing dinner, The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who was not my Wife!

The wife went; ahhhh! with shock and rage.

Standing there for 20 seconds trying to recall the second Half of the joke, the manager finally blurted out and I can't remember who she was!

By the time the manager regained his consciousness, he was on a hospital bed.


Moral of the story – Don’t copy if you can’t paste.
 ( This story is sent to me from one of my friend and I am sharing with you)

PURPOSE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN NEED

A  cat got tired while chasing a Rat but could not able to catch it after all its efforts.  At a point He asked Rat " I would not eat you if you tell me what makes you faster than me?"  then Rat replied " You run for food and I run for life."  Cat understood the difference purpose and Need.  PURPOSE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN NEED.