Theory Of The Decision Line The TPL Show podcast

29:17

What is Zoning? Zoning is a holistic system for ensuring that all items used in an enterprise can be engaged efficiently. Why is it important? • The Rational Reason - a well-organized enterprise that is “at-the-ready” to meet customer demand is an invaluable competitive advantage that can be achieved very inexpensively. • The Emotional Reason – Zoning is the management system that enables and safeguards 5S, and 5S is an essential platform, for the engagement and continuous improvement needed to achieve and maintain excellence. • The Tangible Reason – The direct value of Zoning is an improvement of overall performance by 1-2%. The systems it enables, such as 5S, Safety, Standardized Work, and Genchi Genbutsu improve overall performance by 8-12%. When do you use Zoning? Whenever you find it valuable to have a well-organized and at-the-ready workplace. Who uses it? Every member of the enterprise applies Zoning Principles. How do you apply Zoning to an Enterprise? 1. Align Senior Leaders with the concept of Zoning. 2. Make Zoning an Imperative. 3. Establish Geographic Zones. 4. Set Maturity Based Milestones for the whole facility. 5. Initiate 5S and zone-specific projects. 6. Embed Zoning into daily life to ensure sustainment. What are the Key Tools and Concepts? • Every square meter in the facility is owned by someone. • The enterprise is divided into Zones, and each Zone is owned by a Zone Steward. • The entire facility moves through the process together from general overall standards, to specific, work center standards, with no use of pilot-implementations. • Meeting Zoning Standards is an expectation of employment. • 5S is the method used to animate Zoning. • Zoning is sustained with the Relentlessness Techniques of Op-Ex. View the full WWH here: Zoning_WWH_full_2024…

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What is Lean Really? 39:29

大约1年之前39:29

39:29

What is the Origin of Lean Manufacturing? We see the roots of Lean in the writings of Ben Franklin. In his book, Poor Richard’s Almanac, he writes about the reduction of waste when he writes, “avoiding unnecessary costs could provide more profit than increasing sales”. Franklin’s thoughts are further developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor in his 1911 book, Principles of Scientific Management. Taylor outlined and named the process of “Proto-Lean”, calling it Scientific Management. He wrote, “Whenever a workman proposes an improvement, it should be the policy of the management to make a careful analysis of the new method, and if necessary, conduct a series of experiments to determine accurately the relative merit of the new suggestion and of the old standard. And whenever the new method is found to be markedly superior to the old, it should be adopted as the standard for the whole establishment." Shigeo Shingo read Taylor’s book and dedicated his life to the furtherance of Scientific Management. He and Kiichiro Toyoda refined Taylor’s philosophies in the textile and automotive industries. As time went on, the great engineer, Taichi Ohno, brought these methods together to form the philosophy known as “The Toyota Production System”. In 1988, we first see the term “Lean” in John Krafchik’s article, Triumph of the Lean Production System. Next, we see the term, “Lean Manufacturing” surface as the philosophy of Lean is detailed further by James Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos in the 1990 book ‘The Machine that Changed the World.’ Womack and Jones continued to clarify the Lean Philosophy in their 1996 book, Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation. In that book, they laid out five key principles, “Precisely specify value by specific product, identify the value stream for each product, make value flow without interruptions, let the customer pull value from the producer, and pursue perfection”. From that time on Lean Manufacturing was a mature business philosophy. What is Lean? Let’s start by saying that Lean means many things to many people. It has its purists, its revisionists, its visionaries, and its charlatans. So, it is important to think of Lean as a general school of thought rather than a specific discipline. Since the dawn of time, the desire to manufacture things has been a very human trait. Almost no other creature makes things, and humans alone engage in mass production. We human beings have been continually improving things for eons. Each generation improves upon the last. The Term Lean Manufacturing or Lean was first defined by James Womack and Daniel T. Jones in the Book Lean Thinking – Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation – 1996. They defined Lean as “a way to do more and more with less and less - less human effort, less equipment, less time, and less space - while coming closer and closer to providing customers exactly what they want." We at Avanulo believe that Lean is a business philosophy that calls for process owners to relentlessly pursue the reduction of variation for the benefit of the customer. We also believe that people will naturally seek to improve their environment, work processes, and lives whether or not there is a formal system to help them do so, and that Lean Manufacturing is a school of thought and some tools, that help us to . . . “Improve the way we improve”. Lean is a Meta-Improvement System. Lastly, we believe that Lean Manufacturing is mostly tactical, local, and very human. It is not a generic strategy, but an augmentation to an organization’s generic strategy. Why is Lean an important part of a Leader’s toolbox? Rational Reason – Lean provides an educational base, an integrated set of methods, and a vetted set of tools, for operating processes in a way that keeps everyone focused on customer-centered improvement. Emotional Reason – The Lean Philosophy extends the operational reach of leaders, increases employee engagement, promotes mutual respect and caring, and keeps the customer top of mind for everyone. Tangible Reason – Lean is a competitive advantage. Those who embed Lean thinking in their culture outperform their competition, in almost every metric. How Do you apply Lean as an Executive? Learn about Lean Manufacturing from a vetted expert. Read the books, Lean Thinking, by Womack and Jones and Toyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness, and Superior Results by Mike Rother, Todd Belcher, et al. https://www.dropbox.com/s/qok4zy456b8kerx/JD%20for%20Quality%20Control%20Engineer.pdf?dl=0 Make sure that your Purpose, Vision, and Values (PVV), and your Evenness Hierarchy, are relevant, clear, and fully animated. For more information about the PVV listen to the TPL Show, Episode 2. For more information about the Evenness Hierarchy listen to Episodes 12 & 13. Pick a specific philosophy of Lean and train all of your senior leaders in the key concepts. a. In general, the closer that philosophy is to the Toyota Production system the Better. b. Pick a noble, experienced provider like TWI Global, The Lean Enterprise Institute, or Avanulo’s Robust. c. Whatever specific approach you select, make sure it meets these criteria: i. It focuses on the Voice of the Customer. ii. Its implementation follows the sequence of physical order first, procedural order second, and optimization third. iii. It is based on the scientific method – meaning the PDCA cycle. iv. It includes classic Genchi Genbutsu (the Gemba Attitude, Shoshin, and Hansei) from the start. v. It has effective and continuous education and leadership development built in. 4. Commission a group of leaders who understand Lean Concepts well to develop your organization’s version of Lean. Make sure that what they develop is aligned with your organization’s PVV, and its Evenness Hierarchy. 5. With your senior leaders, learn how to make a classic Gemba Walk and implement Gemba Walks in your organization. a. Listen to Episode 7 of the TPL Show, How to Make a Gemba Walk. b. Read How to Do a Gemba Walk, a Leader’s Guide by Michael Bremer. c. We also highly recommend Avanulo’s Gemba Walk Training and System. 6. Educate your leadership cadre in Lean Principles. 7. Begin to implement the macro steps of Lean in order with the five principles of Lean in mind. These Steps are, 5S, which we call Zoning, Standardized Work, and Kaizen. 8. Conduct Hansei. Start again. Conduct Hansei at every step. How do you apply Lean as a Manager or supervisor? 1. Learn about Lean Manufacturing from a trusted colleague or an organizational expert. Read the books, Lean Thinking, by Womack & Jones, and Toyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness, and Superior Results, by Mike Rother, Todd Betcher, et al. 2. Make sure that you are fully versed in and aligned with your organization’s Purpose, Vision, and Values (PVV), and its Evenness Hierarchy, and ensure that these things are fully animated in those you lead. 3. Learn and master the specific philosophy of Lean adopted by your organization. If none is in use, find one and propose one. If that is not successful or possible, employ Lean Methods in your work humbly and do not label them. 4. Educate your people about the philosophies and methods you are using without labeling them or celebrating them. Just use them in your daily work as you would any other concept or tool. 5. Learn how to make a classic Gemba Walk. Conduct Gemba Walks and lead your subordinate leaders to do so. a. Listen to Episode 7 of the TPL Show, How to Make a Gemba Walk. b. Read How to Do a Gemba Walk, a Leader’s Guide by Michael Bremer. c. We also highly recommend Avanulo’s Gemba Walk Training and System. 6. If your organization is implementing a Lean Process, fully support it. If not, continue humbly applying Lean Methods and tools in your group without labeling them or celebrating them. 7. Conduct Hansei and patiently wait for your organization to catch on to the benefits of Lean Thinking. Key Tools Write us at info@tplshow.org for our free paper “What is Lean, Really?”. 14 Principles of Lean Toyota production system by Charles Intreiri on 7 Feb 2018 in Operations and Supply Chain - https://flevy.com/blog/14-principles-of-lean-toyota-production-system-tps/…

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Commitment Lock 20:35

大约1年之前20:35

20:35

What is Commitment Lock? Commitment Lock is a simple, ancient, and powerful tool for ensuring individual alignment with a decision, plan, or action. It is comprised of two proven methods combined – Oath-Taking, and Public Square. Commitment Lock is a call for action posed in the form of a question to each person present at the time a decision is made. Commitment Lock, in its modern form, was revived by restaurant owners who used it to confirm reservations and persuade people to call them if their plans changed. Having seen this simple idea work so effectively, Avanulo used it to ensure compliance with safety standards and then, over time, extended its use to decision-making sessions from the shop floor to the boardroom. Why is Commitment Lock valuable? Rational reason – Commitment Lock is supported by well-accepted concepts in psychology. When people make an active “I will” or “I Shall” commitment in public, they are much more likely to honor that commitment than when the commitment is private or passive. Emotional reason – The regular use of Commitment Lock builds a culture of professionalism that minimizes lip service and exposes sycophants. Tangible reason – When a decision is clear, and everyone commits to it, the chance of success doubles or triples. When is Commitment Lock used? Commitment Lock is used when it is important to be certain that everyone involved will do their utmost to make a decision work. Commitment Lock is used after the decision is made and after the path forward is made clear with a Commitment Question. Commitment Lock is never used as a selection tool, to decide upon an option for a path forward based on who will commit to it. How do you use Commitment Lock? 1. Confirm that the decision has been made and that you are on the eastern (right) side of the Decision Line in the Theory of the Decision Line Model (See TPL Show, Episode 5). 2. Write a Commitment Question, which begins with “will you”. a. Include in that Commitment a call to action to support a clearly defined decision, plan, or step. b. Determine withier the commitment is a Goal Implementation or an Implementation Intention. i. A Goal Implementation is a commitment to bring about a desired state such as achieving one million dollars in sales – “We will increase sales to one million dollars this year”. ii. An Implementation Intention is a commitment to do something when a certain condition is present such as, “if the raw materials come in late, then we will work on Saturday to finish the order on time”. c. Make sure that the Commitment Statement is written in the form of a Question that one can answer, “I will”, or “I will not”. 3. Review the Commitment Question with all involved and make sure they fully understand it. Allow for discussion and modify the Question, if needed. 4. Starting with the lowest-ranking people and ending with the highest-ranking people, ask each individual whether or not they will commit to the decision. a. If someone will not commit (which is rare because the decision has already been made and this is a commitment check), discuss and attempt to gain their commitment. If this proves impossible, after a reasonable period of time, close the session in one of three ways, but be very clear. i. Have someone in authority over all present, simply declare what the path forward shall be. ii. Set a date and time and defer the discussion until that time. iii. Remove those who will not commit from involvement in the decision and the path forward. 5. Once everyone involved has confirmed that they will or shall commit to the decision and the path forward. Declare that you have Commitment Lock. 6. Make a record of the Commitment. 7. Establish your first process check. Key Tools Mark Milotik – Claxus Consulting – Bright Lines Peter Gollwitzer – Implementation Intentions…

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The Three Realms of Excellence 30:04

大约1年之前30:04

30:04

What are the Three Realms of Excellence? They are Leadership Aspirations that, when pursued, prepare and preserve an organization’s ability to achieve excellence. The Three Realms of Operational Excellence (Op-Ex) describe a condition of being that, at first, an organization strives to achieve, and then later to maintain, so that its pursuit of noble purpose, and the fulfillment of its vision are both conceivable and possible. The three Realms of Op-Ex provide an organization with the platform and strategic blueprint needed to implement a Learning Organization and achieve Excellence. Why are the Three Realms of Excellence important? Rational reason – Recognizing the three realms, and pursuing them in order, is the only approach that results in a healthy, sustainable focus on excellence. Emotional reason – Whether or not you recognize them, the Three Realms exist. Ignoring them, or pursuing them out of order, leads a workforce to reject continuous improvement concepts, and resist the implementation of intentional culture. Tangible reason – When you recognize the Three Realms of Op-Ex, and then pursue them in proper order, the resulting intentional culture is much healthier, delivers far greater results, and is much more sustainable. How does an organization leverage the Three Realms of Excellence? Educate top Leaders about the Three Realms of Excellence and facilitate a deep and long discussion of them that answers three strategic questions. What is the definition of each in our organization and how do we measure them? Are we aligned about the importance of the Three Realms as an archetype for pursuing excellence? What is the current condition of each Realm, what will we do next to progress in each realm, and when will we achieve sufficient Evenness to implement an intentional culture? Develop a plan with milestones and metrics for achieving your aspiration in each realm. Implement the 1440 Management System, Scrum, Agile, etc. Reduce your Gap of Knowledge (GoK) by implementing Genchi Genbutsu (Gemba Walks). Use Value Stream Maps and Kanbans to understand Flow and evenness in your organization. Optimize your Organizational (Local) Evenness by freeing up your key players to Think, Plan, and Lead (TPL). Eliminate/streamline non-value-added uses of leadership time. Teach them the skills needed to be better leaders and problem solvers. Set the expectation that key players use the time saved to lead and problem-solve more and better. Establish the reduction of Mura (Unevenness) as an essential leadership duty at all levels in your organization. Teach leaders the value of pursuing Evenness. Encourage them and expect them to pursue it. Establish Evenness metrics. Post them in the public square. Set goals. Assign stewards. Tally often. Once the initial Mura goal is achieved, repeat the approach to reduce Muri (Overburden). When ready, declare the organization sufficiently even to pursue Kaizen-At-The-Point-Of-Value and implement an Intentional Culture (Lean Concepts). Optimize the workplace infrastructure (Implement Zoning/5S). Optimize workflow. (Implement Standard Work). Lock it all in with Intentional Culture (Implement Kaizen). Rinse and repeat (Conduct Hansei and begin again with Shoshin). Key Tools Write us at info@tplshow.org for a free guide to the Three Realms of Excellence. You Can’t Kaizen Chaos by Danielle McGuiness, December 2014 - https://www.lean.org/the-lean-post/articles/you-cant-kaizen-chaos Muda, Mura, Muri: The Three Evils of Manufacturing by Christopher Rover, April 2015- https://www.allaboutlean.com/muda-mura-muri/ Full Show Notes & Transcripts https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5r92i0dqvkiw3ys81e8b8/Transcript-for-Episode-14-The-Three-Reals-of-Excellence-v2.pdf?rlkey=4lx4lfi7wyp0eq6cydmo5bnup&dl=0…

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Leveraging the Benefits of Evenness - Part 2 33:20

2年之前33:20

33:20

What is Evenness? Evenness is a constancy of flow or condition that results in a beneficial outcome. In Business, Evenness is a state in which those involved in a process, or invested in an outcome, can count on inputs, processing, and outputs that are regular, consistent, and predictable. Evenness is also a matter of perspective. What some perceive as an Even output at one point in a process can be preceded or followed by frenzied or erratic flow. So often, Evenness is a local point of view. There are two types of Evenness. Enterprise Evenness is the degree to which an organization’s Values Streams are Even. One of the best metrics for Enterprise Evenness is Forecast Accuracy. Local Evenness is the degree to which Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), or important conditions, are Even from the perspective of those who work in a particular process, system, department, etc. Why is Evenness important? Rational Reason – when you have a high degree of Evenness in a process, you can predict the outcome. What you can predict, you can control, and what you can control, you can improve. So, Evenness provides a platform for optimization. Emotional Reason – Evenness reduces surprises and the need to react to them. Evenness reduces stress, anxiety, and fatigue. In other words, it reduces Overburden, which is called Muri in Lean Manufacturing. It enables the customer of the process (internal and external) to benefit from the Certainty of on-time delivery that meets quality specs. Tangible Reason – A high degree of Evenness allows those working the process to fine-tune it because they seldom fight fires. This transition from firefighting to fine-tuning drives variation and waste out of the process while increasing velocity and quality. Evenness is a key competitive advantage that is free in that it costs only the will to keep working on it. Perhaps most importantly, when people see that their leaders relentlessly strive for Evenness, they are inspired to action. How does an organization use Evenness as a Rally Point in Uncertain Times? Listen to Episode 12 of the TPL Show – Part One of Leveraging the Benefit of Evenness – What is Evenness? Declare the situation openly and use a formal set of written Talking Points as a guide. Brief leaders on the situation, and then cascade and reinforce your message throughout the organization. Describe the situation clearly in simple language. Describe the impact on the process, on those who work it (suppliers & employees), and on the customer. Use tangible descriptions, relatable examples, realistic timelines, and numbers as much as possible. Clarify everyone’s role. Be very specific about how it is different than during “normal” times. Clearly indicate who will lead what, even if it seems painfully obvious. Spell it all out in detail, and set the expectation that everyone must be ready to help and must be flexible, cooperative, and engaged in positive ways. Create an organization-wide Help Chain for this issue. Establish an Obeya Room using the 11 principles of Obeya. Identify all the actual and potential interruptions to flow. Rank them – use FMEA. Devise plans and backup plans – Use Potential Problem Analysis. Carefully determine the generic strategy for each plan. Is it Kaizen, or Kaikaku? Significantly increase your presence at the Gemba, keep awareness high, react thoughtfully, and be ready to reset and reshuffle as the situation unfolds. What are the 11 Principles of Obeya? Mindset People come together in the Obeya to respectfully see, learn & act on vital information. People are committed to engaging in continuous improvement and resolving obstacles along the way. Alignment In the Obeya, we communicate a strong sense of purpose. Purpose is recognizably tied to our organizational strategy through meaningful objectives. The Obeya connects strategy to execution with visible orientation on customer experience. The Obeya meetings have a rhythm in sync with the operational heartbeat of the organization. Workspace The Obeya visuals provide logical and practical information and conversation flow. The Obeya reflects a good understanding of the flow of work from start to delivery. The Obeya is an attractive and available area, in proximity to the work floor. Content In the Obeya, we use analytics-driven evidence to make business decisions. Data owners ensure information is easy to consume, readily available, up to date, and visually attractive. Key Tools Write us at info@tplshow.org for a free guide on Leveraging the Benefits of Evenness. Full Show Notes & Transcript - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yu622wqdznun4c4jkxymz/Transcript-for-Episode-13-Leveraging-the-Benefits-of-Evenness-part-2-v2.pdf?rlkey=hmw6k6c19n80p6w8lme3g9jb9&dl=0 https://www.industryweek.com/operations/continuous-improvement/article/21126118/how-lean-can-help-in-a-crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obeya https://academyex.com/stories/industry-insights/coping-with-crises-through-lean-and-agile-thinking Crisis Leadership Now by Lawerence Barton https://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Leadership-Now-Real-World-Preparing/dp/0071498826 Crisis Ahead by Edward Segal https://www.amazon.com/s?k=crisis+ahead+edward+segal&adgrpid=1335907818737957&hvadid=83494403700205&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=61510&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83495025526177%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=22565_10446406&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_8jvrtve2yj_e…

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Leveraging the Benefits of Evenness - Part 1 32:39

2年之前32:39

32:39

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Help Chains and How to Use Them 34:32

2年之前34:32

34:32

What is a Help Chain? A Help Chain is a structured, and highly visual, accountability system used to communicate and restore interruptions to flow. Why are Help Chains important? Rational Reason - They ensure that everyone knows when an interruption to flow occurs and who is accountable to restore it. Emotional Reason – Alignment is much easier when restoring flow is identified as an organizational priority, and when addressing interruptions to flow is led in a predetermined, clear, and systematic way. Tangible Reason – Having a Help Chain makes it much easier for organizations to identify and eliminate the root causes of interruptions to flow (downtime). Organizations that apply Help Chains have 50% less downtime than those that do not. How do you use help Chains? Step 1 - Understand the concepts behind Help Chains. Learn about the Visual Workplace by reading Visual Workplace – Visual Thinking by Gwendolyn D. Galsworth & the 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace by Hiroyuki Hirano. Learn about Andon - https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/guide-to-andon-in-lean-manufacturing . Learn about Reverse Cascades – Avanulo Blue Paper #562 – Everything you need to implement Help Chains - write us at info@tplshow.org. Step 2 - Publish a simple, clear, and relevant definition for downtime (an interruption to flow) for your organization. Step 3 - Identify the Bottleneck and major pinch points in your process that will benefit from Help Chains. Step 4 - Design the Escalation Protocol for your organization. Step 5 - Design and install the Andons for each place that will have a Help Chain. Step 6 - Train everyone in the concept of Help Chains, Your organization’s definitions and protocols, and your Andons. Step 7 - Implement the Help Chain System. Practice using it. Adjust as you go. Step 8 - Do a Process Check after 30 days and adjust as appropriate. Step 9 - Schedule and hold a Process Check every quarter. Key Tools Show Notes and Transcript – https://www.dropbox.com/s/6kyvvs437hkmbfp/Transcript%20for%20Episode%2011%20-%20Help%20Chains%20and%20How%20to%20Use%20Them%20v2.pdf?dl=0 Write us at info@tplshow.org for our free guide - Everything you need to implement Help Chains (Avanulo Blue Paper #562) Book - “Visual Workplace. Visual thinking”, by Gwendolyn Galsworth Book - :”The Five Pillars of the Visual Workplace”, by Hiroyuki Hirano A good, concise article about Andons - https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/guide-to-andon-in-lean-manufacturing…

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The Power of Alignment 42:10

2年之前42:10

42:10

What is Alignment? Alignment is a relationship to decisions. It's an approach to decisions that leads you to own decisions as if they were yours. Alignment is the most powerful relationship you can have to a decision. Alignment is a choice. It's also a commitment to have a decision work. If you're aligned, then you both own the decision like it's yours and you're committed to making the decision work. Also, alignment is not a one-time thing. It must be sustained over time. It's an ongoing commitment, an attitude, a state of mind. Why is Alignment, especially, Executive Team Alignment important? Rational reason – when a group or team is aligned, it can get more done, with less effort than similar teams that are not aligned. Emotional reason – when a group is aligned, drama and dysfunction are reduced, people are happier and more fulfilled, and dedication and engagement go way up. Tangible reason – organizations that are aligned are 300-400% more profitable than those that are not. How does an organization ensure Alignment? Teach everyone what alignment is and the benefit of alignment. Implement tools that support alignment, an effective and formal decision-making tools are a must, but there are others – see key tools below. Practice getting and staying aligned as you decide and implement at work. Reflect upon recent decisions and implementations with respect to alignment. Did we align? Did we stay aligned? How can we do it better next time? Keep this process evergreen. Talk about it all the time. Retrain. Reflect a lot. Key Tools Write us at info@tplshow.org for a free guide on how to achieve and maintain executive and organizational alignment. The Transformational Power of Executive Team Alignment by Miles Kiersen. Full Show Notes & Transcript https://www.dropbox.com/s/3v80vqurorf779h/Show%20Notes%20and%20Transcript%20for%20episode%209%20-%20the%20Power%20of%20Alignment.pdf?dl=0…

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The Little Guy 27:56

2年之前27:56

27:56

Who is the Little Guy? The Little Guy is a version of yourself that lives in your head. It's an inner voice that sows doubt, fear, and self-hatred. The little guy is a dark part of you that tears you down and pushes you to be petty and negative. It's an inner voice that we must all overcome if we seek to live happy, healthy lives. Why is overcoming the Little Guy important? Because the Little Guy robs leaders of valuable thinking time, resulting in less effective solutions, less inspirational interaction, and even less time leading. To lead well, leaders need the full capacity of their minds. They must have time to think, and those thoughts have to be very clear. Our brains are kind of like computers. We only have so much space available to process things. If we clog our brains up with the unproductive, maybe even counterproductive, thoughts of the Little Guy, we're reducing our capacity to TPL (Think, Plan, and Lead). To be the best leaders we can be, we must learn how to overcome the Little Guy, because it’s destructive, distracting, and takes you off task. How do we contain the Little Guy? One - Acknowledge that the Little Guy occupies space in your head and commit to containing it. Two - Keep the Little Guy contained. At the time of big decisions and important interactions ask yourself, "am I containing the Little Guy?" Develop an internal leadership kata [1] tocontain the Little Guy. Optimize your Inner-Coach – the adversary of the Little Guy. Perform Hansei (self-reflection). Use the 3 Questions of the After-Action Review to do this. What was supposed to happen? What actually happened? What will I commit to do next time to improve the outcome? Approach everything with Shoshin – the Beginner’s Mind. Three - Read the book, “The Wise Advocate the Inner Voice of strategic leadership”, by Art Kleiner, Jeffrey Schwartz, and Josie Thompson. Four - Develop a Life Purpose that is noble, a Life Vision, and a personal Code of Ethics. Five - Gain input, advice, and feedback from a mentor, or personal board of advisors. Six - Practice, practice, practice. Key Tools Write us at info@tplshow.org for a free guide on how to contain the Little Guy. “The Wise Advocate the Inner Voice of strategic leadership”, by Art Kleiner, Jeffrey Schwartz, and Josie Thompson. Full Show Notes & Transcript - https://www.dropbox.com/s/n7i7dldups0983l/Show%20Notes%20%26%20Transcript%20for%20Episode%2010%20-%20The%20Little%20Guy.pdf?dl=0 Episode Transcript [00:00] Luke: Everybody. Welcome back to the TPL Show. First off, I think we maybe owe the listeners an apology. [00:10] Dave: Why is that? [00:11] Luke: Well, we haven't recorded them. [00:12] Dave: Well, that's true. We certainly got distracted by hot projects and the holidays and all that stuff. [00:21] Luke: So 2023 New Year. [00:26] Dave: Happy New Year. [00:28] Luke: Happy New Year to all of our listeners. Yeah. So here we are. We're recording in our new recording studio. [00:36] Dave: Yes. We vacated the loft, and we now have studio space. [00:45] Luke: Studio space? Yeah. [00:46] Dave: In downtown Lebanon, Ohio. [00:48] Luke: It's very fancy. [00:49] Dave: Yeah, it's very fancy. [00:50] Luke: There are sound dead named panels on the wall in this room. [00:57] Dave: Yeah. [00:57] Luke: I don't know if that works, but it's there. [00:59] Dave: But there's no giant semicircular window that makes you feel like you're in Sam Spade’s detective office. I miss that. [01:08] Luke: And you're not going to hear fire trucks. [01:10] Dave: That's true. [01:10] Luke: Down the street. [01:11] Dave: Yeah. Later. Eleven is no longer a block away. [01:15] Luke: If you do hear a fire truck, it's probably something serious, because it's probably inside this building. [01:19] Dave: Yeah. [01:20] Luke: So just FYI. [01:21] Dave: Yeah. [01:22] Luke: Okay. All right, let's move on with today's episode. So today we are going to be talking about the little guy. [01:32] Dave: The little guy. [01:34] Luke: So, let's get into it. [01:35] Dave: Okay. [01:37] Luke: I'm Luke. [01:38] Dave: I'm Dave. [01:39] Luke: And this is the TPL Show. [01:49] Narrator: Welcome to The TPL Show, a podcast dedicated to the study and discussion of leadership. Join us as we share relevant, simple, and lasting methods for improvement that can be used to lead from any level in any organization. [02:20] Luke: All right, the little guy. Dave, tell us, who is the little guy? [02:25] Dave: Okay, so the little guy is a version of yourself that lives in your head. It's an inner voice that seeds doubt, fear, and self-hatred. The little guy is a dark part of you that tears you down and pushes you to be petty and negative. It's an inner voice that we must all overcome if we seek to live happy, healthy lives. [02:57] Luke: So, everybody has a form of this. [03:00] Dave: Everybody has some form of this dark inner voice, which we at Avenulo call the little guy. [03:09] Luke: Is this a version of . . . would you call this a version of self-conscience? [03:15] Dave: Sure. So, in ancient times, people described what was going on inside our heads with stories, with characters, with themes. They could certainly observe these things, but they couldn't study them very scientifically. [03:39] Dave: Right. [03:40] Dave: So, since ancient times, a common view of what's going on inside a human mind is that there are many voices inside of us. And these voices form kind of a chorus in the ancient Greek sense. Right. And they respond and comment and so forth as you're moving through your day and life. And so there's this one negative voice in the chorus, which we call the little guy. So, that's what it is. So, we're talking about leadership. Right. And we're always talking about increasing ways to think, plan and lead – TPL. So that you can be an effective leader. And the whole premise of the show is that no matter where you are on your leadership journey if you study and practice the science and the art of leadership, you'll become a way better leader than you are now. So, you can employ this study of leadership and become a better and better leader. It's a continuous improvement approach to your leadership capability. And so it's time to talk about the little guy, because everybody has a little guy in their head, and leaders have to address this to become the best leaders they can be. So, that takes us to the ‘Why”. We usually do this, what, why, how in our format. Right? [05:20] Luke: And today we're doing the who. [05:23] Dave: Yeah, today we're doing the who, why, how. Because it's the little guy. So, we've talked about who. So, what. Why is it important to overcome the little guy for leaders? [05:34] Luke: Okay? It's important because to lead well, leaders need the full capacity of their minds. They must have time to think, and those thoughts have to be very clear. [05:47] Dave: Sure. [05:48] Luke: This little guy robs leaders of valuable thinking time, and that results in less effective solutions, less inspirational interaction, and even less time leading. [06:03] Dave: Sure, it does. Yeah. [06:05] Dave: If you think of our brains as kind of like a computer, we only have so much space available to process things. And if we clog it all up with these unproductive, maybe even counterproductive thoughts of the little guy, we're reducing the capacity we have to think, plan, and lead. [06:28] Luke: For the good stuff. [06:29] Dave: Yeah. [06:30] Luke: Full of the bad. [06:32] Dave: For the good stuff. Yeah. Great way to say it. Okay, so that's at the heart of the matter. Is it's important because to be a better and better leader, you have to learn how to overcome this little guy in your head because the little guy is destructive, distracting, and takes you off task. [06:54] Luke: Do you think most leaders are aware of the little guy? [06:57] Dave: I don't think so. As a matter of fact, when we train Sensei in our organization, which are the internal consultants of our clients, and we talk about the little guys, we caution them quite carefully not to use this as a widely spread lesson plan or approach because some people can be very offended by even the notion that there are voices in their head or that there are negative thoughts dominating their thinking. So, it's something to know about for sure. But I don't think many leaders think about this. And if you look at the literature, not much is written or taught about this idea about how you have to overcome this kind of negative aspect of self. [07:56] Luke: That's true. You see a lot of stuff out there about self-love and trying to inspire positive thinking, but it doesn't really address this specific. [08:10] Dave: Yeah, it almost talks around it. [08:13] Luke: It's like, yeah, you can have negative thoughts, but it's not really an ongoing thing that you have to battle. [08:22] Dave: Yeah. And so, if you sit quietly with your thoughts and kind of become aware of your thoughts, you can kind of push yourself aside for a minute and just watch your thoughts. Right? Many times we're saying things to ourselves like, I'm stupid, I screwed that up. I'll never get that. Right. Nobody likes me. They don't recognize my authority. My boss doesn't support me. On and on and on, these kinds of thoughts race through our minds and just clog it up. [08:56] Luke: A lot of the times, that inner voice is not intentionally, but a lot of the times, it's negative. [09:05] Dave: Yeah. [09:05] Luke: It's just the way we've been raised or the way we grew up, it just kind of always stemmed to a negative state. [09:14] Dave: Sure. [09:14] Luke: It doesn't always have to be that way. And of course, with practice, as we're talking about, you can get into that positive mindset that reduces the negative thought. [09:24] Dave: Yeah. So when we talk about the why, we've got this why about it just is unproductive because it limits the good thinking that you need to do. But there's also this very kind of realistic aspect, which is if you're not doing that good thinking, then you're sub-optimizing the results that you achieve. And if you are doing that good thinking, you're optimizing more and more the results you achieve. And people are studying this when we have a positive inner voice and we apply that to leadership, we get a better outcome. We get better results. And those results promote better results and a more positive view and a more positive outcome. And you get this cycle of very positive things when you minimize this negative voice in you. [10:26] Luke: Okay, how does somebody do this? [10:29] Dave: Yeah. [10:30] Luke: So how can somebody overcome this negative little guy in their head? [10:37] Dave: Sure. So, it's simple if we talk about the how to, it's simple in the list. It's simple in talking about it. When you make the checklist of what are the things you do, it's very simple. But it's actually more challenging than it sounds. Right. So, we need to keep that in mind and not kind of be glib about it. When we're talking about this is a process that can take some time. [11:06] Luke: That makes sense. It's not something it's not a switch that you just flip on and off. [11:09] Dave: Yeah. So, the first thing is to acknowledge that the little guy does indeed occupy space in your head and commit to contain it. [11:20] Luke: There's the awareness. [11:20] Dave: There's the awareness. Right. So, yes, this little guy is rolling around in there. He's taking up valuable time. He's sub-optimizing my ability to lead, which is then sub-optimizing the organization. It's causing people to be disengaged. Whatever. [11:42] Luke: It's a trickle-down effect. [11:44] Dave: It's a trickle-down effect. Right. So, to acknowledge the little guy is there and then set a commitment in your mind to put a stop to that or contain it. So that's the first thing so the second thing is, then keep that little guy contained. [12:04] Luke: Lock him up. [12:05] Dave: Lock him up. So, this is easier said than done, right? And so, every time the little guy starts talking in your mind, you have to start building the habit of, hey, stop it. Be quiet, and quiet that negative inner voice. And just put it aside, right? Let it die, let it drift away, and so forth. And a very simple way to do that is to start when you're making big decisions. You've got important interactions throughout that process. Just to ask yourself periodically, am I keeping the little guy out of this? Is the little guy showing up here? And this is a question you're asking inside your own mind. And you're answering and then adjusting accordingly. So, the path for doing this is just practicing it. Thinking about it, and you build your own very specific how-to in terms of how to keep the little guy contained. Some people sit for a minute quietly and refocus. Some people might exercise, some might rest, right? Some might go do a sport, get with a loved one, whatever it might be. You'll find your own way through this if you become aware that when that little guy surfaces, you quell that and then work on keeping that little guy contained. [13:26] Luke: And I, of course, think that the more you practice this, the better your awareness becomes, obviously. [13:34] Dave: Yeah. Right. [13:35] Luke: So once you're used to checking in and saying, okay, am I keeping the little guy out of this? It becomes more natural and subconsciously. I think you are already starting to do that by removing that negative thought. [13:52] Dave: Yeah. [13:52] Luke: Does that make sense? [13:53] Dave: It makes perfect sense. In an episode in the near future, we'll talk about leadership kata. So kata is the thing that martial arts students and experts use often. They're called forms. Kata is the thing they use to specifically move in certain defensive or offensive postures to make that punch or kick, or to make that body throw. And you repeat these again and again and again as you study a martial art until you become so proficient in them, you can do them automatically. [14:29] Luke: Just train your body to make that movement. [14:31] Dave: Yeah. And then that gives you this advantage in the moment when you're having to defend yourself, et cetera. [14:36] Luke: It's a reaction versus . . . [14:41] Dave: So, the great leader and engineer Taichi Ono, of course, knew about this idea of kata. And he kind of transformed the way you can think about management and saying, not only are there physical kata but there are leadership kata. So, there are things you can do, five questions in a row you can ask, or three things you can do. And it forms a leadership kata. And then you can practice those over and over and over again until you become very proficient at them. And it really increases your leadership. So, we'll talk about those in some detail in another episode. But right now, I mentioned all that just to say this. This idea of checking in with yourself and keeping the little guy out of it. It's a unique and personal leadership kata that you build, but it's an inner kata. You're not asking the question outside with others. You're asking or going through that process, whatever it might be for you, that kata to contain the little guy. You're developing a personal internal kata to contain the little guy. [15:46] Luke: Yeah. [15:47] Dave: So, that's keep the little guy contained. Another thing you can do is optimize your inner coach. Just like there's this little guy that's negative. There's an inner coach that's an inner voice, but it's very different, very different than the little guy. [16:04] Luke: This is the positive side? [16:05] Dave: It's the positive side. The little guy hates you and wants you to be destroyed. Right. The inner coach loves you and wants you to prosper, succeed, and be happy. So you can give this inner coach more space in your mind and help this inner coach to develop and grow your ability to listen to this inner coach. Right? [16:36] Dave: There's many ways, but there are three nice ways to do that. The first is to practice Hansei. Hansei is the art of self-reflection. So, you think about your day or your week. You get a routine together where you sit down and reflect. Maybe every day, maybe every week, whatever makes sense for you. And...…

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