Measuring Success

Yesterday I set my goals for my 30 Day writing challenge.

• Get back into the habit of writing
• Be more succinct
• Explore topics I’m passionate about
• Learn from the experience

To be really successful, I need to establish some measures to determine whether I have accomplished those goals.

The first one is simple.  How many days in a row did I write a post.

Be more succinct is a bit more subjective.  I looked at my past blog posts and noted that the past 10 posts averaged 680 words/post.  So I’m setting a goal to decrease my word count by 25%.  That means I will average 500 words/post.  I know it’s much harder to be concise than to be verbose.  Since I tend to be wordy, this will be quite the challenge for me.

Writing about subjects I’m passionate about is also a bit subjective.  At the end of each week, I will review my posts and see how the topic strikes me on an emotional level and score it on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being “ho hum” and 5 being something that makes my eyes sparkle.

I will also take time at the end of each week to reflect on the experience and identify at least 3 things I’ve learned that week.  More importantly, I will come up with a plan to incorporate what I’ve learned into my future posts.

Day 1 of My 30 Day Writing Challenge

In retrospect, it was probably not the best idea to announce the start of my 30 day writing challenge on a Friday.  So, I’m officially kicking off day 1 today.  Here are my goals:

• Get back into the habit of writing
• Be more succinct
• Explore topics I’m passionate about
• Learn from the experience

The first goal is pretty self-explanatory.  I want to prevent this blog from going dormant again.

Before launching my challenge, I reread some of my previous blog posts.  Even I thought some of them were overly long.  I’m a big fan of Seth Godin and religiously read his blog.  One of the reasons I like it so much is that he can convey his ideas in a few sentences.  I aspire to that.

Passion is what makes anything worth doing.  So, that is where I want to focus my efforts for my blog.  Hopefully that passion will come across to those who read this.

I’m passionate about continuous improvement.  My model for accomplishing this is based on learning.  Try something, compare what actually happened to what you wanted/expected to happen, use that learning to make improvements, and repeat.  So, hopefully at the end of 30 days I will be a better blogger.

One day down – 29 to go.

Hello Again!

I’m embarrassed that I let my blog go dormant for so long!

I could give dozens of different excuses as to why, but the real reason is I didn’t make it a priority.  I reverted to old habits and forgot about the value of working out loud, of sharing, of contributing.

So, it’s time to change all that.  I’m relaunching my 30-day Challenge and committing to writing a new blog post every day for the next 30 days.  The goal is to get back into the habit of writing and develop the discipline (again).  Now that I’ve made my goal public, it gives me more incentive to stick to it.

Lean Storytelling

I recently listened to a Gemba Academy podcast (www.gembapodcast.com episode 116) on Storytelling and Lean. There were some great points I thought would be of use to this community.

Ultimately, Lean is about people.  However, when practitioners talk about Lean they tend to talk more about facts and figures – cycle time reductions, cost savings, etc.  The presenter for this podcast was Jacob Stoller (www.jacobstoller.com) author of the book “The Lean CEO”.  He interviewed leaders who were able to effectively develop lean cultures within their companies.  It was here that he first came to appreciate the power of storytelling for promoting the benefits of Lean.

Stories are great tools for touching people’s hearts and minds.  Neuroscience shows that when people listen to stories, that more regions of their brain light up than when they watch a presentation filled with facts and figures.  This  effect is amplified when someone can put themselves into the story and it resonates with their experience.

To instill a Lean culture you need to change people’s beliefs.  Great stories touch emotions.  In the podcast there is an example of a story told during a presentation of the results of a process improvement project.  The leader asked one of the workers who was part of the project, how that project had impacted him personally.   The man told the leader that now he talked to his wife more.  When asked to explain, he said that since being part of the lean project, he felt more fulfilled at work, his ideas were recognized and he had a chance to become more engaged in his job.  So, instead of going home at the end of the day feeling beaten down, he left with a more positive attitude.  This carried over to his relationship with his family and as a result, he and his wife were getting along better.

This is a story everyone can relate to.  The facts of the project might only be of interest to someone in a similar position or industry, but the human impact is something everyone can relate to.

To help people begin to craft their own stories.  Jacob offered the acronym CRAVE – Certification, Relevance, Authenticity, Values, andEphany.

• Certification. You have to have some credible evidence to back up the point you are trying to make.  You want people to believe you.  You just don’t have to hit people over the head with numbers, statistics, and graphs.
• Relevance.  Make sure your example is one your audience can relate to, otherwise you will lose them.
• Authenticity.  This is about people.  You need to make it a human story and people need to believe you are being honest and sharing something of yourself with them.
• Values.  The story should touch on common values that everyone is working toward.  The purpose of the Lean project should relate back to some core value.  Make it meaningful to the organization.
• Epiphany. This is the “ah ha” moment where something is learned.  The person who learned something can be either the person telling the story or the person listening to the story.  Though it is usually more powerful if the person telling the story shares something he/she learned.

Jacob’s parting thought is where there is smoke there is fire.  Whenever you have a Lean success, there is somebody who got really excited and did something.  Look for the inspiring results and talk to the people involved.  Try to understand the human impact of the project from their perspective.  Then write up the stories so they can be shared and also to have a record of not just the projects you completed but also the human side of those projects.

The Beginner’s Mind

As I prepare to embark on our coaching project, I’ve been reflecting on the things I think will be challenging for me as a coach.  One thing I want to keep front of mind is my tendency to want to solve problems and tell people what I think they should do.  As a coach my job is to help the people I’m coaching solve the problems for themselves.  Over the past couple of weeks I keep running across the concept of the “beginner’s mind” and decided that this is something I needed to explore further.

Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki said, in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice, “In the Beginner’s Mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind there are few.”  For most of us, once we have figured out a strategy that works, we use the same techniques over and over again without ever questioning whether this is really the best approach.  As James Clear says in Shoshin: This Zen Concept Will Help You Stop Being a Slave to Old Beliefs, “most people don’t want new information, they want validating information.”  As a coach, I need to be aware of my preconceptions and biases and also be open to seeing things from another’s perspective.

My goal will be to adopt a “don’t know” mind set and also guide those I am coaching to use the same approach.  We need to approach each process with curiosity and a sense of exploration.  We need to ask questions without assuming we know all the answers.  One way to know that someone is straying into preconceptions is when you hear the word “should”.  In The Beginner’s Mind, Peter Kaufman says “I think one of the most basic ways to think about the beginner’s mind is to speak of intellectual curiosity—to have this insatiable desire to gain more knowledge and wisdom because we know there is so much more to learn. “

In Beginner’s Mind D. Keith Robinson recommends reframing “success” as learning something new.  If your goal is to learn something new rather than solve a problem or come up with an answer, you will be much more open to asking questions and exploring. Fear of failure can lead to approaching a problem with a closed mindset.  However with a goal of learning, you are bound to succeed.

Many times feedback can be framed in the negative. Instead of saying “yes, but”, which can imply unwillingness to explore new ideas, say “yes, and” which implies a openness and a willingness to include other ideas or perspectives.  We need to be sure that we don’t close the door and say “no” to new possibilities.  As a coach, I will need to pay attention to the words I use.  I want to be sure I’m being positive and open rather than negative and closed.

When approaching an obstacle as a coach, I need to be sure that we follow the  PDCA process one step at a time.  It’s important not to mentally skip to the end as following the process will likely take us in new and unexpected directions. I need to help the person I’m coaching focus on asking good questions rather than feeling like she needs to have all the answers.  “You can never solve a problem on the same level on which it was created.”  Albert Einstein

Adopting a beginner’s mind, doesn’t mean that you have to throw out everything you know, nor is it meant to discount expertise. Rather, it’s a reminder to try to approach a subject with the same openness and curiosity that you had when you first began studying a new field.  When applying what you know to a new circumstance pay attention to the things that might be different.  Just because something may have worked previously, doesn’t mean that it will work for every situation.  In The hidden power of ‘I don’t know’: How to work through creative blocks with Beginner’s Mind, Jory Mackay recommends using your experience as a “cognitive time machine”.  “It’s like a mental time machine transporting you back to a point of open curiosity but with a higher level of wisdom.”

When I think about preparing to coach and developing a beginner’s mind, I have to keep reminding myself that this is not something I’m going to be good at immediately. It will take practice and work.  “For the beginner, practice without effort is not true practice. For the beginner, the practice needs great effort.” Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki  I have to also remind myself that a beginner’s mind is not just another tool that I take out and dust off when needed.  It’s not a mindset but a way of being and approaching the world.  I just have to keep practicing and learning.

Improvement Kata Part 5 – Guidelines for Coaches

The Improvement Kata Handbook describes the role of the coach being to “accompany the Learner and give procedural guidance as needed to ensure that although the Learner struggles, s/he is successful in using the Improvement Kata pattern to achieve a challenging target condition”.  It’s important to both follow the coaching steps outlined but to also pay attention to the emotions of the learner as they work through the process.  Encourage them when they are frustrated and celebrate successes.  It’s not enough for the learner to know how to use the Improvement Kata.  She should also want to use the Improvement Kata.  Coaches are responsible for the learner’s success.

Stages of the Coaching Kata Practice:

1. Practice the Coaching Kata exactly. As a beginner you need to follow the step-by-step instructions.  The repetition will help to build the new skill.
2. Personalize your Coaching Kata practice. Once you understand the patterns and methodology, you can adapt the practice to fit your particular situation and personal style.
3. Intuitive Operating. At this point you have internalized the techniques to such a point that you can be more spontaneous and creative.  You no longer have to devote so much conscious thought to your practice.

The way you coach will also depend on the level of experience that the Learner has with the Improvement Kata.  With a beginner, the coach will focus on instructing.  The coaches role at this point is to teach the basic techniques.  As the learner becomes more experienced, the coach’s focus should shift toward coaching.  At this point the coach and the learner partner to address the learner’s areas for improvement.  Once the learner begins to demonstrate mastery the coach should focus on counseling.  At this stage the coach is providing advice and support as needed.

Coaching should always be done one on one – one coach to one learner rather than a group of learners.  This is done to personalize the approach.  Different learners have different levels of understanding or mastery.  Different people learn at different rates.  You will have to adjust your style to meet the learner’s specific needs.

The coaching cycle is built around the 5 questions.

The 5 Coaching Kata Questions:

1. What is the target condition?
2. What is the actual condition now?
   1. What was your last step?
   2. What did you expect?
   3. What actually happened?
   4. What did you learn?
3. What obstacles do you think are preventing you from reaching the target condition? Which *one* are you addressing now?
4. What is your next step (next PDCA/experiment)? What do you expect?
5. When can we go and see what we have learned from taking that step?

Use the See-Compare-Instruct coaching model:

• SEE – Try to understand how the learner is thinking. (Coach is in an observing / questioning / listening mode.)
• COMPARE – Compare this to the desired pattern specified by the Improvement Kata (Coach is in a judging mode.)
• INSTRUCT – Introduce a course adjustment if necessary (Coach is in an instructing or guiding mode.) At this point the coach can either correct the learner or let her fail and then instruct. The coach will need to apply judgment here.

The purpose of asking the 5 Coaching Kata questions is to listen to the responses to get a better feeling for how the learner is thinking and approaching the problem.  However, beginning coaches can get so caught up in the questions, that they don’t pay close attention to the answers.  As a coach you really need to focus on your listening skills.  “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Stephen R. Covey

In helping the learner to plan their PDCA cycle, it’s important to know where the knowledge threshold is.  If the coach is not knowledgeable about the process this could be difficult.  Some people may be reluctant to admit that they don’t know an answer.  One hint to listen for is when the learner moves from facts to guesses. Words or phrases to listen for include “I think”, “probably”, “maybe”, “likely”, or “on average”.

As a coach, it’s important to remember that a knowledge threshold is not a problem.  It’s the starting point for the next PDCA cycle.  When you identify uncertainty, that’s your cue to coach the learner on defining her next experiment.  Ask questions to help her figure out how to find an answer to bring more clarity and increase her understanding.

When a learner proposes a solution don’t say “let’s try it and see if it works”.  This implies success or failure.  Instead say “let’s try it and see what we learn”.  Here the focus is on learning.  Even if the proposed approach doesn’t give the expected result, you can still learn something from that experiment.

Tips on giving feedback as a coach:

1. Look for the learner’s current area of weakness and think of ways to have her work on addressing this.
2. To give constructive feedback, you should have a genuine interest in helping the learner apply the Improvement Kata.
3. Your feedback should be specific and focus on one or two areas where the learner is doing well, and one or two areas where he needs improvement.
4. The learner should be deriving her motivation from feeling like she is improving over time. If the learner does not feel this way, then something in your coaching technique should be adjusted.
5. You can ask clarifying questions beyond the 5 questions.
6. At this stage of the kata it is best to give feedback immediately. A misstep should be seen as an opportunity for a teachable moment.
7. Another strategy is to allow the learner to fail and learn from the experience. This strategy works best if the step the learner is taking is short, and simple.
8. You should be coaching frequently, so don’t load up the learner with too much at once. Take it one step at a time.

It helps to keep a coaching notebook to track your observations.  This way you can review where the learner may have struggled, as well as progress made.  It helps to review what was discussed in the previous coaching sessions prior to each new session.

It helps to have a second coach.  The role of the second coach is to give feedback to help the coach improve her coaching technique.  It takes practice to become a good coach.  Like any skill, it helps to have someone who can provide objective feedback and help you identify areas where you can improve.

Improvement Kata Part 4 – How to Get There

In the Improvement Kata Handbook the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) method is used to work toward achieving your next target condition.  The path to achieve your next target condition should not be obvious and require experimentation to get there.  Progressing to the target condition now boils down to iterative ingenuity and receptiveness for adapting to new circumstances.

The PDCA method is basically a form of the scientific method.  You form a hypothesis based on what you currently know.  You execute an experiment to test that hypothesis.  You analyze the results from your experiment.  Did you get the results you expected?  If not, then why not?  You use those results and new information to update your current understanding.  Then you plan the next experiment or work on setting your next target condition.  It’s a process of trial and error and then applying what we have learned.

3 Key Points About PDCA:

1. “Surprise” is often how PDCA helps you learn and improve. It’s the unexpected results that often teach us the most and help us to innovate.  “If the result confirms the hypothesis, then you’ve made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you’ve made a discovery.” Enrico Fermi
2. Rapid and frequent PDCA cycles = more learning. The more testing you do, the more learning opportunities you have.  The ideal is to do daily small experiments.
3. Every step will not bring a measurable benefit. The path to the target condition will not be a straight line.  Some experiments will “fail” but allow you to learn something new that can be applied toward meeting your target condition.

The 5 Coaching Kata Questions:

1. What is the target condition?
2. What is the actual condition now?
   1. What was your last step?
   2. What did you expect?
   3. What actually happened?
   4. What did you learn?
3. What obstacles do you think are preventing you from reaching the target condition? Which *one* are you addressing now?
4. What is your next step (next PDCA/experiment)? What do you expect?
5. When can we go and see what we have learned from taking that step?

Examples of 3 different kinds of PDCA experiments:

1. Go and See. Direct observation and data collection, without changing anything, to learn more about a process or situation.
2. Exploratory Experiment. Introducing a change in a process to see, via direct observation, how the process reacts. Done to help better understand the process.
3. Testing a Hypothesis. Introducing a change together with a prediction of what you expect to happen.

Expect to hit obstacles and challenges along the way.  Don’t give up.  Try to adopt the mindset that each obstacle you face is a new opportunity to experiment and innovate.

*Illustration by Bill Costantino