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00:08.1
0:12.4
Welcome to Scaling UP! the podcast for
water treaters by water treaters where
0:12.4
0:16.7
we’re Scaling UP! on knowledge so we
don’t Scaling UP! our systems hello Scaling UP!
0:16.7
0:22.1
Nation Trace Blackmore here your host
for Scaling UP! and folks can you believe
0:22.1
0:26.9
it
it is 2019 it’s a new year we’ve got new
0:26.9
0:33.2
goals to set and that’s what we’re going
to be talking about today before we get
0:33.2
0:37.1
into that I want to talk about some
things that are coming up that are very
0:37.1
0:41.4
near and dear to me of course I’m
talking about the association of water
0:41.4
0:47.2
technologies annual training that we do
each and every year folks it is my
0:47.2
0:51.0
favorite thing to do I meet so many
people out there in the Scaling UP!
0:51.0
0:56.4
Nation from going to these trainings and
I also find new Lister’s because people
0:56.4
1:00.2
said hey I didn’t know there was a
podcast about water treatment but now
1:00.2
1:06.8
that I do I want to listen to the show
and my most favorite thing to do ever is
1:06.8
1:12.4
to teach proper water treatment and
there’s so many people out there that
1:12.4
1:17.5
want to do the best job they can and
they need to get more information so
1:17.5
1:22.7
they can do that and folks if this is
you that I am describing this is where
1:22.7
1:29.8
you need to be it is one of the best
training programs for water treatment on
1:29.8
1:35.2
the planet and the Association of Water
Technologies puts it on twice a year and
1:35.2
1:40.3
this year the AWT is putting that on in
San Diego California that’s going to be
1:40.3
1:46.3
February 27th through March 2nd and
we’re going to do it one more time in
1:46.3
1:53.3
Annapolis Maryland March 27th through
March 30th folks I can’t say enough good
1:53.3
2:00.2
things about this training I hope you
attend and I hope I see you there if you
2:00.2
2:05.6
see me please come up to me give me some
show ideas let me know what you think
2:05.6
2:09.4
about the show and I just want to shake
your hand and thank you for being part
2:09.4
2:16.7
of the Scaling UP! Nation folks as I said
before it’s 2019 and I hope you are
2:16.7
2:21.6
already off to a good start thinking
about things
2:21.6
2:27.1
2018 might have been a great year for
you and might have been a year where you
2:27.1
2:33.5
were learning how to do things better so
either come off a 2018 as a spring born
2:33.5
2:38.3
on things that you’re going to do to
make yourself better or keep the
2:38.3
2:46.2
momentum that you have had or keep the
momentum that you had coming out of 2018
2:46.2
2:52.4
to just make 2019 that much better so
I’m hoping that you are thinking about
2:52.4
2:58.4
some of the goals that you are going to
accomplish this year you’re writing
2:58.4
3:03.1
those down and you’re sharing that with
somebody who is going to hold you
3:03.1
3:08.3
accountable one of the goals that I have
every year is to read and for the
3:08.3
3:13.4
longest time I was not able to read
because I’m just too busy driving around
3:13.4
3:18.5
seeing clients which of course in and of
itself is a great thing but windshield
3:18.5
3:24.5
time can absolutely kill your
productivity so a lot of people enjoy
3:24.5
3:29.7
this show because they get to listen to
it too and from their customer locations
3:29.7
3:35.3
but another tool that you can use is
audible audible is a great service
3:35.3
3:41.0
because it allows you to multitask while
you’re driving folks please make sure
3:41.0
3:44.4
you’re paying attention while you’re
driving whether you’re listening to this
3:44.4
3:49.3
podcast or you are listening to audible
but if you’re driving responsibly and
3:49.3
3:55.1
you’re listening to an audiobook audible
I think is the best service out there to
3:55.1
3:58.9
do that now if you want to try audible I
can get you a free month and a free book
3:58.9
4:04.2
by going to https://scalinguph2o.com/audible and you can try this
4:04.2
4:10.7
service for yourself audible is how I
read so many books in a year and it’s
4:10.7
4:17.0
how I continue to get more information
that I can share with you on the Scaling UP!
4:17.0
4:20.3
program so I hope you try that I know
you’re gonna love it
4:20.3
4:24.5
today we’re gonna be talking about
problem solving now many of us will go
4:24.5
4:29.5
into problem solving by fighting a
problem and solving it it is my hope
4:29.5
4:34.7
that you are skilled are becoming
skilled to find what the
4:34.7
4:41.0
ah per issue is that really needs to be
identified and then solved so many of us
4:41.0
4:46.4
just don’t realize that a lot of the
problems that we’re facing day today are
4:46.4
4:53.0
symptoms of an issue that if we identify
properly we can not only solve the one
4:53.0
4:59.2
problem that is right in front of us but
also the 20 other symptoms of that so
4:59.2
5:06.0
next time you were trying to solve an
issue ask yourself is this the underline
5:06.0
5:12.2
issue that’s causing this with all
issues or is this just simply a symptom
5:12.2
5:18.8
of an issue that I have not identified
yet with that in mind we are going to
5:18.8
5:24.9
talk to Jason Berg and he’s going to
tell us about lean manufacturing and
5:24.9
5:29.4
you’re thinking okay Trace why are we
talking about manufacturing when so many
5:29.4
5:34.7
of us are out there servicing well I
learned from Jason that we are thinking
5:34.7
5:41.0
about lean incorrectly it is a
problem-solving tool and I want you to
5:41.0
5:47.6
learn what I learned from Jason Berg
my lab partner today is Jason Burtt lean
5:47.6
5:52.8
production expert and Jason we’re going
to talk about all things lean and why
5:52.8
5:56.7
people need to think about their
processes and make sure they’re
5:56.7
6:01.0
efficient but I want to thank you for
coming on Scaling UP! and educating the
6:01.0
6:05.2
Scaling UP! Nation about what you do oh
thanks for having me Trace I really
6:05.2
6:13.1
appreciate it absolutely so what exactly
does a lean production expert do well I
6:13.1
6:18.0
guess first of all you know I don’t use
expert very often because it’s tough to
6:18.0
6:22.0
be considered one of the best I don’t
know that anyone can really put
6:22.0
6:24.6
themselves there there’s always so many
other people out there that you can
6:24.6
6:29.5
learn from but you know what I do is a
ling consultants our business consultant
6:29.5
6:33.3
I work with a lot of different
individual businesses mostly
6:33.3
6:37.6
manufacturing some service some other
companies and I use lean manufacturing
6:37.6
6:43.2
to help them fix their businesses to
help them become more profitable to turn
6:43.2
6:47.3
around their companies I’ve been trained
in lean manufacturing work directly with
6:47.3
6:51.4
Toyota but I’ve used that process and I
kind of use it at a very broad sense
6:51.4
6:55.0
across the entire business to help lots
of different companies on a lot of
6:55.0
6:59.6
different industries I’m curious how did
you get started in that well I worked at
6:59.6
7:04.8
Herman Miller which is an office
furniture company for 16 years in very
7:04.8
7:11.3
early on back in the mid 90s they were
looking for a way to help themselves out
7:11.3
7:15.5
they were struggling particularly the
one facility that I was working in where
7:15.5
7:20.9
delivery was horrible quality was
horrible our costs were completely out
7:20.9
7:25.8
of line and they were looking for help
and they actually connected with Toyota
7:25.8
7:30.9
and basically struck up a relationship
with them where Toyota became their
7:30.9
7:34.5
mentors and started teaching them about
the Toyota Production system which is
7:34.5
7:37.1
essentially lean manufacturing here in
the States
7:37.1
7:42.3
so I was very fortunate back in 95 to
start working with Toyota who invented
7:42.3
7:47.7
lean manufacturing and I worked with
them side-by-side for 16 years and with
7:47.7
7:53.3
that I created a lot of connections and
a lot of different suppliers and
7:53.3
7:58.3
customers and people throughout that
engagement and I eventually started
7:58.3
8:01.1
getting in a
phone calls of people asking me to come
8:01.1
8:05.8
help them that my business just kind of
got teed up I wasn’t really planning on
8:05.8
8:09.8
leaving or planning on starting a
business but I believe in one week I
8:09.8
8:13.6
kind of turned to my wife and said you
know I got five phone calls this week
8:13.6
8:17.1
for people wanting me to help them I
think it’s time for me to to pull the
8:17.1
8:21.3
trigger and make this happen that seems
like a right sign right yes that’s right
8:21.3
8:25.6
so it just kind of happened so there are
a lot of people listening today and they
8:25.6
8:30.0
either own their company or they work
for somebody who owns the company
8:30.0
8:33.8
obviously and they’re out servicing
accounts and they’re in the water
8:33.8
8:38.5
treatment industry so why do these folks
even need to know what lien is they’re
8:38.5
8:43.2
not building cars they’re not Toyota
yeah I think that’s one of the big
8:43.2
8:47.0
misconceptions I really hate the
terminology and lean manufacturing
8:47.0
8:53.1
because lean or the Toyota Production
system has been applied to so many
8:53.1
8:57.7
different industries there’s a huge
movement right now in health care many
8:57.7
9:02.5
many hospitals are embracing lean and
trying to figure out how to create that
9:02.5
9:08.3
that lean culture to solving problems
and I think what the reality is is as
9:08.3
9:13.2
much as lean is about you know there’s
there’s technical tools and these
9:13.2
9:17.8
different processes that are put in
place more than that it is about
9:17.8
9:21.6
developing people and teaching people
how to solve problems
9:21.6
9:25.5
which if you think of it that way if you
think about developing people and
9:25.5
9:29.7
teaching them to solve problems related
to your business related to efficiencies
9:29.7
9:34.3
it can really be applied to any and all
industries and I’ve been very fortunate
9:34.3
9:39.5
to work in service industries and
manufacturing industries did some work
9:39.5
9:43.7
on commercial farm to the point of where
we’re picking cucumbers in a field how
9:43.7
9:48.8
do we process it all the way to the to
the shelf in the store so any and all
9:48.8
9:52.8
businesses at the end of the day they
have processes that people are involved
9:52.8
9:59.2
in that there’s equipment involved in
and there’s always opportunity to remove
9:59.2
10:03.8
wastes or to make them more efficient
and solve problems and for us to get
10:03.8
10:07.8
better so for example can we pick a
particular process in the water
10:07.8
10:11.9
treatment industry and maybe go into
that and explain how we can make that
10:11.9
10:15.2
more fish
oh yeah definitely well of course to be
10:15.2
10:19.2
in business we all need to have
customers so let’s talk about acquiring
10:19.2
10:23.5
a customer yeah I think that’s a great
example that you know like we were just
10:23.5
10:27.5
talking about how I think lean can be
applied to any and all businesses and
10:27.5
10:31.2
I’ve talked with a lot of small business
owners about you know what does that
10:31.2
10:36.3
sales funnel look like what does it look
like to acquire a customer and with lean
10:36.3
10:40.4
once it’s once again like I said it’s
all about problem solving right it’s all
10:40.4
10:45.2
about understanding what processes you
currently are using measuring how
10:45.2
10:50.5
effective they are and trying to figure
out you know what the gap is for what
10:50.5
10:54.7
you’re trying to make happen right so if
you’re reaching out to you know X amount
10:54.7
10:58.5
of customers 100 customers and you’re
getting an acquisition rate of you know
10:58.5
11:03.4
maybe 25% of those customers or 5% or
whatever that is you know first of all
11:03.4
11:08.5
you have to be measuring it to be able
to figure out how big the gap is how big
11:08.5
11:11.7
my problem is if you’re reaching out to
hundreds of people and you’re not
11:11.7
11:15.5
getting any obviously it’s a big problem
if you’re targeting and you’re trying to
11:15.5
11:19.1
hit some specific number from an
acquisition standpoint but first of all
11:19.1
11:23.5
you have to understand what that gap is
and then you can start looking at the
11:23.5
11:28.5
process what are the processes I’m I’m
taking am I trying to go through social
11:28.5
11:33.1
media am I going through you know email
campaign am i doing some type of
11:33.1
11:38.7
marketing campaign advertising campaign
each one of those approaches can be
11:38.7
11:43.7
looked at and analyzed and tried to
figure out what is working or not
11:43.7
11:48.2
working and trying to improve it to be
able to increase that acquisition rate
11:48.2
11:54.1
so I know I know that doesn’t sound like
lean manufacturing but anytime we’re
11:54.1
11:59.8
looking at a gap from what you’re trying
to accomplish that is essentially what a
11:59.8
12:03.5
problem is right the that’s kind of the
the definition of a problem we have a
12:03.5
12:07.7
standard and we’re not able to meet that
standard so every time there’s a problem
12:07.7
12:12.4
like that we can use lean manufacturing
problem-solving techniques to try and
12:12.4
12:14.7
close that gap and try and improve the
process
12:14.7
12:19.4
do different tests whatever we have to
do to try and close that gap does that
12:19.4
12:22.9
make sense Jase it definitely does and
Jason I got to tell you I’ve never
12:22.9
12:27.9
thought about lean manufacturing
shirring outside of your building a
12:27.9
12:32.3
product so the fact that we can apply
that to going out and acquiring a
12:32.3
12:37.9
customer what the sales cycle is to what
we’re building indoors to sell the
12:37.9
12:42.2
customer I just never looked at it that
way before yeah a great example of that
12:42.2
12:46.4
is if you look at a lot of people that
are using digital advertising social
12:46.4
12:51.2
media advertising and they talk about
a/b testing that is a form of
12:51.2
12:56.4
problem-solving or using you know which
would be you know kind of a tool that
12:56.4
12:59.8
you would learn if you started
investigating around lean and trying to
12:59.8
13:04.9
develop that skill set because they’re
basically saying okay I’m getting X
13:04.9
13:10.6
amount of clicks when I get you know I
put this post out on Facebook and it was
13:10.6
13:14.7
viewed 10,000 times then I got 500
clicks well now they’re gonna take that
13:14.7
13:19.7
exact same post and they’re gonna say
I’m gonna subtly change the image to see
13:19.7
13:23.3
what kind of effect I have does it
change the amount of clicks or I’m going
13:23.3
13:28.2
to change the wording subtly to see how
it affects so so that a be testing from
13:28.2
13:32.6
a marketing and digital advertising
standpoint you know they’re just problem
13:32.6
13:36.5
solving that’s what they’re doing
they’re trying to close that gap and see
13:36.5
13:41.1
how efficient they can be within that
specific task and that’s really what
13:41.1
13:46.7
lean is it’s it’s teaching people how to
problem-solve how to how to frame up a
13:46.7
13:51.5
problem very clearly and then take a
very structured approach to solve it
13:51.5
13:55.6
wherever that is in your business well
let’s take a more traditional process
13:55.6
14:00.0
that most of us think about when we’re
thinking about lead which it would be
14:00.0
14:05.5
manufacturing so I’ve now sold the
client and now we have our special juice
14:05.5
14:10.0
that we that we make that we sell as
water treatment wares and I of course
14:10.0
14:15.2
have a process on when I need to make
items when I need to down pack items
14:15.2
14:19.0
when they need to ship out to the
customer what are some things we can do
14:19.0
14:23.6
with that to make that more efficient I
think the first place you always start
14:23.6
14:27.9
with is where is the biggest impact to
your customer what is the customer
14:27.9
14:33.7
looking for so with your current process
you kind of need to pick and choose
14:33.7
14:39.6
what’s most important right now let’s
say there’s a long lead time or
14:39.6
14:44.8
where the quality level is or where the
cost level is there’s probably you know
14:44.8
14:48.9
one or the other that’s more important
to the client at this point in time or
14:48.9
14:52.9
the end customer that probably has more
value for you to look at so let’s say
14:52.9
14:57.4
it’s costs if it’s costs then the
question is is looking at that entire
14:57.4
15:01.2
process and starting to analyze where
are the big cost factors are the cost
15:01.2
15:05.7
factors in terms of time and actual
processing what are the cost factors in
15:05.7
15:11.1
terms of material is there scrap or
wastes in the process you know is it
15:11.1
15:18.2
delivery expenses logistics but I think
everything from a lean perspective you
15:18.2
15:21.7
have to start with the customer because
at the end of the day that’s what that’s
15:21.7
15:25.7
who we’re trying to service and that’s
what’s most important great example of
15:25.7
15:31.4
that is you know I I constantly have
potential clients that will reach out to
15:31.4
15:36.3
me and say I have this process that is
you know it’s messed up typically
15:36.3
15:40.5
they’re manufacturing and they’ll want
me to go to the shop floor and help them
15:40.5
15:45.8
fix a specific manufacturing process but
when I start digging into it this happen
15:45.8
15:49.8
multiple times as I start digging into
it what are you trying to solve for your
15:49.8
15:54.2
customer and you know most recently
probably about six months ago I had a
15:54.2
15:57.4
client say well we’re really trying to
solve lead time that’s the big thing
15:57.4
16:01.3
that they have an issue with while their
manufacturing process was probably two
16:01.3
16:05.9
days but the rest of their processes
were about was about three weeks I said
16:05.9
16:10.2
well this is the last place you need to
be focusing is on the manufacturing
16:10.2
16:13.5
floor oh we need to get into your office
and understand order entry we need to
16:13.5
16:17.4
understand the logistics I that we need
to understand where is the actual lead
16:17.4
16:21.2
time coming from because that’s what we
should be doing to fix the problem for
16:21.2
16:25.5
your customer so they were chasing the
wrong problem yeah exactly and I think
16:25.5
16:29.1
that’s just another example where lean
as so many people think of lean
16:29.1
16:33.6
manufacturing and they only want to
think of the manufacturing processes but
16:33.6
16:37.7
you know no different with you guys in
the water treatment world you know I’m
16:37.7
16:42.0
not as familiar with that world but of
those different processes when you stack
16:42.0
16:45.9
them up it’s important to figure out
what are you truly trying the impact for
16:45.9
16:49.4
the customer to know where to
Jason let me ask what are some of the
16:49.4
16:53.4
processes that you use to try to make
sure you’re solving the right problem
16:53.4
16:58.3
well I guess first of all is like I said
truly trying to figure out what the
16:58.3
17:03.6
customer wants right I mean that’s the
the first thing but when you start
17:03.6
17:10.0
digging into a problem that problem
solving process can be very difficult
17:10.0
17:15.7
depending upon where you’re looking or
what you’re trying to solve many times
17:15.7
17:19.0
you can get confused and you’re fixing
things that aren’t really going to
17:19.0
17:24.0
impact the you know the end result or
the metric that you’re trying to change
17:24.0
17:29.7
so I think it’s important to have a
clear image of what you’re trying to
17:29.7
17:33.7
accomplish so if it’s you know I’m
trying to affect cost what is the cost
17:33.7
17:37.1
factor you know what is that number that
you’re trying to affect so you can
17:37.1
17:41.5
measure your effectivity against that
problem so I think you know when we
17:41.5
17:45.6
start talking about having some good
metrics or things in place that will
17:45.6
17:52.0
guide you – am i working on the right
thing first of all and when I am working
17:52.0
17:57.6
there am I actually having an effect on
the problem so whether that be a lead
17:57.6
18:02.8
time problem a quality problem a cost
problem you know those are all different
18:02.8
18:06.4
types of problems and and there’s a lot
of different metrics can that can be
18:06.4
18:12.4
underneath those headers that you can
put in place to help guide you to know
18:12.4
18:17.1
if you’re truly having the impact for
the customer that you’re hoping – well
18:17.1
18:23.7
metrics seem to be a key term in in what
you just said and was a Peter Drucker
18:23.7
18:29.1
that said what gets measured gets better
I believe so yeah who said that
18:29.1
18:32.8
all right let’s say well we’ll give it
to him somebody can ride in and tell me
18:32.8
18:36.4
I’m wrong but until I know otherwise
we’ll say Peter Drucker said it so just
18:36.4
18:39.9
by the simple fact we’re looking at
something we know it’s going to get
18:39.9
18:43.2
better because now it’s in the
foreground now we’re able to look at it
18:43.2
18:47.6
and Jason I don’t mind sharing with you
that when I work with other water
18:47.6
18:53.0
treatment companies something that I
find is that a lot of them don’t keep
18:53.0
18:58.6
score they do the day to day but as far
as doing some of the things that you’re
18:58.6
19:02.6
talking about and look
at how they’re keeping score with those
19:02.6
19:07.6
metrics they’re not doing that so what
advice do you have for them as far as
19:07.6
19:13.0
the metrics you know it’s such a
difficult thing with so many companies
19:13.0
19:19.0
of so many different sizes and it’s
amazing how many of them don’t have good
19:19.0
19:23.8
metrics in place I’m talking large
companies you 100 million other company
19:23.8
19:29.2
is that I will work with and I look at
the metrics and they don’t have the
19:29.2
19:36.3
controls in front of them to be able to
make good solid decisions what to work
19:36.3
19:41.4
on what to do next and it really amazes
me it’s it’s shocking that there’s so
19:41.4
19:45.1
many companies like that
and I think to have those right metrics
19:45.1
19:49.2
you have to be looking at a few
different things one you know the
19:49.2
19:53.1
popular thing that that everyone looks
at is financials and I think those are
19:53.1
19:57.7
you know obviously very important but
the problem with financials is those are
19:57.7
20:03.9
after the fact that it’s too late to
affect them right that the financials
20:03.9
20:09.3
are hey this is what happened last month
well that’s too late so I think the key
20:09.3
20:15.5
to developing metrics is developing
metrics that are close enough both in
20:15.5
20:21.6
real-time and at a low enough level to
the processes that are happening that
20:21.6
20:26.5
they’re giving you the feedback very
quickly as to what’s happening right I
20:26.5
20:31.2
don’t want to find out a month later
that I you know that my delivery was
20:31.2
20:35.5
horrible this past month right it’s too
late to change that path for those
20:35.5
20:39.9
customers I want to know on a daily
basis I want to know heck on an hourly
20:39.9
20:46.4
basis if I can so so I think the key to
good metrics is one as real-time as
20:46.4
20:51.3
possible and I know that’s not always a
reality to have it immediately but I
20:51.3
20:56.3
would rather know at the end of the day
how well my metrics are going then at
20:56.3
20:59.5
the end of the week or at the end of the
month and then like I said I think the
20:59.5
21:02.9
other thing is is trying to bring
metrics as low as possible everyone
21:02.9
21:06.7
typically wants to measure at the
highest level you know I’ve thrown out
21:06.7
21:12.6
lead time quality and cost those are
very much umbrella terms if you’re
21:12.6
21:16.4
measuring your
quality is an entire company in my
21:16.4
21:20.3
opinion that is way too high because
quality has so many different aspects to
21:20.3
21:25.2
it it’s difficult to guide you to tell
you whether or not you’re going in the
21:25.2
21:29.4
right direction or not same with cost
same with lead time I think you need to
21:29.4
21:33.2
bring those metrics those umbrellas and
bring them down and have very specific
21:33.2
21:39.3
metrics underneath that are tailored to
your specific business to your specific
21:39.3
21:43.9
customer base that makes sense so that
would be my advice is is turning them as
21:43.9
21:47.9
real-time as possible and as low level
as possible that it that it has some
21:47.9
21:54.3
specific value to on a day to day basis
Jason are lagging metrics useless so do
21:54.3
21:58.2
I not use the P&L anymore do I not use
the the balance sheet things like that
21:58.2
22:02.5
no not at all I mean those are obviously
you know I think critical for running a
22:02.5
22:06.7
business that’s typically one of the
first things I asked for when I come
22:06.7
22:10.3
into a business to start helping them
and evaluate them because I think it
22:10.3
22:15.8
tells you a story it is lagging like you
said it is a story after the fact but
22:15.8
22:20.2
it’s also going to at the end of the day
as a business you know that’s what
22:20.2
22:24.5
you’re trying to altom Utley effect by
being better for the customer by having
22:24.5
22:29.5
better performance so you want to see
that move as well but I want to make
22:29.5
22:34.2
sure that people understand that you
know what I do today I can’t wait a
22:34.2
22:39.3
month to find out if it was effective or
not that PL is going to be most likely
22:39.3
22:45.3
reflect many many many activities that a
business owner or a leadership group has
22:45.3
22:51.3
taken to affect that P&L not just one so
we need to be able to see on each and
22:51.3
22:55.0
every problem how are we affecting
things and if that makes sense so I
22:55.0
22:58.8
think they’re both very valuable I think
they just kind of provide two different
22:58.8
23:04.2
purposes so definitely it makes a lot of
sense but I can’t help but thinking
23:04.2
23:10.8
again of Toyota where they have the
resources to do real-time measurements
23:10.8
23:14.2
and they’ve got monitors over every
single station and they know every
23:14.2
23:19.0
single unit as its being produced for
somebody who it doesn’t have the
23:19.0
23:24.3
resources like that how do they get
real-time metrics yeah so I think it’s
23:24.3
23:27.3
you know once again it’s different with
every business
23:27.3
23:31.3
you know I think you have to develop
what makes sense for you and I don’t
23:31.3
23:37.5
ever want you know a lean approach to
become an extra burden on someone
23:37.5
23:42.8
because that’s that can’t happen if it
becomes an extra burden or extra work
23:42.8
23:47.5
most likely the journey will end very
quickly so I think the key is how do you
23:47.5
23:53.6
figure out a way to institute lean into
your daily activity so if I have a
23:53.6
23:58.6
delivery route for example you know the
question is is how do I know instead of
23:58.6
24:02.6
just using very general hey I’m gonna be
there at 8 o’clock I’m gonna be there at
24:02.6
24:07.7
9:30 I’m gonna be there at 12
how do we get more specific just even if
24:07.7
24:11.2
it’s just from a learning standpoint to
say well how long should this
24:11.2
24:16.0
appointment have lasted yeah I gave
myself an hour but should it have lasted
24:16.0
24:22.1
30 minutes or should have lasted 45
minutes in evaluating yourself based on
24:22.1
24:27.3
that because if you can say yep it’s
consistently 45 minutes but what do I do
24:27.3
24:31.1
to be able to get it down to 30 minutes
now we can look at well maybe we can get
24:31.1
24:36.5
to within an hour right so it’s you may
not have an immediate impact but I think
24:36.5
24:40.6
we have to measure at that lower level
to be able to to see where the
24:40.6
24:46.0
opportunities are to improve if we’re
just at a very general hey I want to get
24:46.0
24:51.9
seven deliveries in today there’s so
much flex back and forth where some I
24:51.9
24:58.0
may be faster someone I’m late you kind
of lose the opportunity of where is my
24:58.0
25:03.1
opportunity to improve where can I get
more efficient does that resonate tres
25:03.1
25:07.5
absolutely it does they’re they’re great
places to start definitely good
25:07.5
25:12.7
questions to ask but then we probably
need somebody like yourself to help us
25:12.7
25:16.3
guide you through that process because
again until you and I started talking I
25:16.3
25:22.3
thought that lean production or lean
manufacturing always dealt with you know
25:22.3
25:26.0
the automotive industry or you’re
building something so you have really
25:26.0
25:31.1
opened my eyes that it’s it’s simply
problem-solving yes very much so
25:31.1
25:36.0
I think you know I wish I could go back
in time at some level and be able to
25:36.0
25:42.6
change some of the terminology and
you know change how the lien you know
25:42.6
25:48.3
movement and the Toyota Production
system started spreading and there were
25:48.3
25:54.0
a lot of misunderstandings early on they
were spread you know to many industries
25:54.0
25:58.5
and and I think there’s a lot of
industries now that are missing out on
25:58.5
26:05.4
the possibilities of how lien could help
them become much better companies I’ve
26:05.4
26:10.1
really enjoyed reading some books on
this process and I can’t remember which
26:10.1
26:15.1
one I read but they gave me the idea of
using Kanban cards is that something
26:15.1
26:19.2
that you use regularly yeah definitely
definitely do you mind talking a little
26:19.2
26:23.3
bit about those because we find that
that has solved a tremendous problem
26:23.3
26:30.9
here yeah so come on is it’s essentially
the Japanese word for card so here in
26:30.9
26:34.2
the States we most of us don’t know that
so we always say Kanban cards we’re
26:34.2
26:38.3
actually saying card card but but Kanban
I didn’t know that I just said it yeah
26:38.3
26:46.8
there it goes right so it’s interesting
Kanban is essentially the way Toyota or
26:46.8
26:53.6
the lean you know industry we use to
connect processes so both internal and
26:53.6
26:59.7
external processes so Kanban is a
communication tool that has specific
26:59.7
27:06.0
information that tells us potentially
when to order something when to
27:06.0
27:11.4
manufacture something it creates a very
specific customer-supplier relationship
27:11.4
27:16.2
so if we have two machines for example
in a manufacturing process we have an
27:16.2
27:21.8
assembly line and we have a you know
welding machine welding a door there may
27:21.8
27:27.5
be a Kanban that every time an assembly
car goes by a Kanban goes to the welder
27:27.5
27:32.1
that says you can now weld another door
it controls that connection between
27:32.1
27:39.6
those two processes and gives the
process authority to produce or to
27:39.6
27:45.5
potentially purchase more product and
put it into the system so it really kind
27:45.5
27:49.0
of limits and controls the amount of
inventory between one or two processes
27:49.0
27:53.1
so common is a you know it’s a very
broad
27:53.1
27:57.6
term because there’s a lot of different
uses for it whether that be a front in
27:57.6
28:03.5
an office and we’re talking about hey
I’m order entry and I’m ready for the
28:03.5
28:08.8
next stack of ten orders from the sales
team here’s a card and give me the next
28:08.8
28:13.2
ten and I’m controlling that flow of
information or controlling flow into
28:13.2
28:18.0
manufacturing floor week you can use
Kanban in a lot of different ways and at
28:18.0
28:21.7
the end of the day you know comma and
just like all lean tools are really
28:21.7
28:27.3
there to help highlight problems so we
can solve them so if for some reason
28:27.3
28:33.3
that assembly line example I produce a
card back to the welding area and they
28:33.3
28:38.3
don’t get me the door in time I can see
the problem very quickly so now I can go
28:38.3
28:41.4
down that problem-solving path because
at the end of the day that’s what lean
28:41.4
28:45.6
really funnels down to it’s that
problem-solving process and a lot of the
28:45.6
28:50.4
tools that they use are just ways to
help us see the problems easier in the
28:50.4
28:56.0
process it really was a great tool here
and the problem that we fixed it was it
28:56.0
29:01.7
was so silly everybody has access to
taking products or pails of products
29:01.7
29:07.0
that we have but only one person was
able to do the ordering or generate what
29:07.0
29:11.5
needed to happen to get something to
come in and people would forget to tell
29:11.5
29:16.5
that person so by simply just putting
that card on there we now have a process
29:16.5
29:21.4
where that card now goes to where those
cards go and nobody has to remember to
29:21.4
29:25.8
tell anybody because it’s built right
into the card yeah that’s great yeah it
29:25.8
29:30.6
was so silly and we’ve been using that
for about a year now and I kind of
29:30.6
29:34.2
wonder how we got along without that I
also realized I’ve been calling it a
29:34.2
29:37.3
card card so I’ll stop doing that no
that’s all right
29:37.3
29:41.5
that type of thing a long time ago I
actually tried to implement Kanban in my
29:41.5
29:45.3
kitchen and realized very quickly that
my marriage was much more important than
29:45.3
29:51.0
trying to bring ween so it was you know
I drove me nuts so like how can we be
29:51.0
29:55.2
out of ketchup you know or whatever the
item was and but I realized that you
29:55.2
29:59.0
know there’s a there’s a point in time
where you separate your personal life
29:59.0
30:03.7
and your work life so that was one of
them I also have made the mistake of
30:03.7
30:08.0
bringing some things that were very
successful here in business home and
30:08.0
30:12.3
they just don’t translate well that’s
right that’s right Jason what are some
30:12.3
30:16.9
of the biggest problems that you solve
for people well that’s a that’s a very
30:16.9
30:23.7
broad question many of my clients are
private equity firms where they’ll bring
30:23.7
30:29.4
me in and a company is distressed many
times and you know I’ve been very proud
30:29.4
30:34.1
to be able to turn some companies around
and you know where they were able to
30:34.1
30:39.6
succeed in in continue on where they
probably wouldn’t have otherwise
30:39.6
30:46.3
we had a aerospace company in Wichita
fewers back that basically there are 120
30:46.3
30:50.9
jobs there that they were significantly
behind I believe they were you know
30:50.9
30:54.9
there were a 15 million 20 million
dollar company and they were past-due
30:54.9
31:00.7
about three million dollars and we’re
losing significant amount of money on a
31:00.7
31:05.1
monthly basis in about a year we were
able to turn them around get them into
31:05.1
31:10.3
the black and you know allow them the
opportunity to continue producing
31:10.3
31:15.4
product and and being successful moving
on so so those are the the successes
31:15.4
31:20.1
that really get me excited is is when
you see a leadership team or a group
31:20.1
31:25.1
within the company that they’re really
embrace lean and and take it and and
31:25.1
31:29.9
take it to that level where they have
some just some extreme success whether
31:29.9
31:33.8
it’s you know both on the learning side
and then obviously from the business
31:33.8
31:37.2
process side as well
let me ask you this what are some of the
31:37.2
31:41.9
biggest mistakes that people you work
with make after you’ve started
31:41.9
31:48.3
implementing your new process I would
say the biggest mistake that I see is
31:48.3
31:58.5
when they stop it’s very easy to take
the success that you’ve had and be very
31:58.5
32:03.7
happy with it which you should be but
you’re so busy patting yourself on the
32:03.7
32:08.2
back that you don’t realize how much
more is there just the the overall
32:08.2
32:13.1
possibilities so so many I think
companies in general and a few of my
32:13.1
32:17.3
clients have gone on the path
where you know we get to a point and we
32:17.3
32:21.6
have some great success and you know
I’ll take that as a failure on me if I
32:21.6
32:27.0
wasn’t able to communicate and and still
with them the need to continue on you
32:27.0
32:32.9
know enough to where they realize how
much more was possible how much more was
32:32.9
32:37.6
you know there for them to be better for
their customer to develop their people
32:37.6
32:41.7
within their organization you know I’ve
had many companies that have that have
32:41.7
32:45.6
taken it on well beyond me and and and
I’ve been very proud of it in that way
32:45.6
32:50.0
but you know every time I see a company
that we we have some great success we
32:50.0
32:54.6
accomplish the short-term goal that they
had in their mind but I wasn’t able to
32:54.6
32:59.4
convince them of that long-term
possibility that’s that’s probably the
32:59.4
33:04.0
the greatest failure that I see in
companies and and that’s I think one of
33:04.0
33:08.9
the biggest struggles in my industry and
myself when you hate seeing that type of
33:08.9
33:12.1
failure because there’s just so much
more you think a Toyota they’ve been
33:12.1
33:17.1
doing it now for you know gosh for 70
years they’ve been down this path and
33:17.1
33:21.9
they haven’t stopped it just shows how
long you can continue to go down and
33:21.9
33:27.0
keep improving your processes Jason let
me ask what is the one thing that you
33:27.0
33:32.0
want the Scaling UP! Nation to get from
this conversation well I think the best
33:32.0
33:36.6
thing that your audience can take away
from this and I’m actually going to say
33:36.6
33:41.9
two things I hope that’s okay so so the
first thing is is that lean is not just
33:41.9
33:48.1
a manufacturing way of thinking right it
can be if someone wants to learn about
33:48.1
33:54.5
it they want to you know go down that
path there is a lot of people that use
33:54.5
33:59.3
it in industries completely different
industries I’ve heard of dentists using
33:59.3
34:03.4
it I’ve heard of lawn care companies
using in fact I just posted an article
34:03.4
34:08.3
on my LinkedIn if anyone goes out there
and connects with me the a great article
34:08.3
34:13.1
of a lawncare company utilizing lean so
I think that’s the first thing is is the
34:13.1
34:17.8
fact that lean is not just a
manufacturing process and I think the
34:17.8
34:22.2
second thing is that so much of it is
about problem solving and self
34:22.2
34:27.4
development so so the way Toyota looks
at it whenever
34:27.4
34:30.7
someone goes through that
problem-solving process it’s also self
34:30.7
34:35.5
development so you go through and you
identify a problem and you work hard to
34:35.5
34:39.8
solve that problem whether you solve it
or whether you fail on that moment
34:39.8
34:44.2
you’re learning something and I think
that’s one of the best things that
34:44.2
34:49.4
that’s really impacted me personally is
taking that process of problem-solving
34:49.4
34:54.4
and realizing that it’s not just
something I do for work it’s something I
34:54.4
34:59.4
do for me and everything I do and that
it’s a way that I can continue to
34:59.4
35:04.0
develop myself I can use it to develop
people that I work with develop entire
35:04.0
35:08.8
companies by using that problem-solving
process and continuing to learn every
35:08.8
35:12.5
step of the way no matter what direction
we’re trying to get or what business
35:12.5
35:17.3
problem we’re trying to solve which is
we’ve covered a lot of information here
35:17.3
35:20.4
today but we still have so many more
questions I’m sure people out there in
35:20.4
35:24.1
the audience want to know where they can
get some more information so how can
35:24.1
35:28.5
they do that well I think the first
thing you know to contact me you know I
35:28.5
35:35.8
have a website it’s it’s not the easiest
domain I apologize but it is eh i IP
35:35.8
35:40.9
consulting that’s a hip consulting com
and we’ve actually created a welcome
35:40.9
35:44.6
page for your listeners so if you go to
a hip consulting comm and then do
35:44.6
35:48.9
forward slash Scaling UP! there’ll be a
welcome page for you guys there and and
35:48.9
35:52.9
once you get to that welcome page you
can connect with me on LinkedIn you can
35:52.9
35:58.8
connect with me through my signing up
for an email for some updates from me I
35:58.8
36:03.1
have a free download on my website that
you can grab that talks about you know
36:03.1
36:07.2
whether or not you should start your
Lane journey so I am on just about every
36:07.2
36:11.4
social media platform and I welcome
anyone and everyone to connect with me I
36:11.4
36:16.6
love building my contact list so feel
free and I gotta say you post some great
36:16.6
36:21.7
articles on LinkedIn thank you I try I
have really put in you know we talked
36:21.7
36:26.2
about the the problem solving process
and I’ve been trying to figure out what
36:26.2
36:30.9
the right strings to pull and changing
my process a lot on LinkedIn to try and
36:30.9
36:35.0
figure out how do you grow that group
your network on LinkedIn and I’ve been
36:35.0
36:40.4
slowly finding the ways to to grow that
network and how to provide value for
36:40.4
36:44.1
people up there through different
articles and and different content so
36:44.1
36:47.7
that’s a my own learning journey that
I’m going on from a social media
36:47.7
36:51.8
standpoint which has been fun Jason
we’ve now come to the point of the
36:51.8
36:56.7
episode where the point values are
double and you could walk away with some
36:56.7
37:01.0
very valuable prizes so are you ready
for the lightning round sure all right
37:01.0
37:06.4
there’s no prizes please please don’t
want oh right so here we go so uh we
37:06.4
37:10.8
talked about Toyota I am a huge Back to
the Future fan so Toyota didn’t make the
37:10.8
37:14.5
Delory and of course DeLorean made the
DeLorean so we are going to get into the
37:14.5
37:17.9
DeLorean we’re going to set the time
circuits back to the very first day
37:17.9
37:24.0
where you became a lien consultant you
get out of the DeLorean you see yourself
37:24.0
37:29.7
walking across the parking lot going to
your first consulting job what advice do
37:29.7
37:34.2
you give yourself yeah I thought about
this a lot when I saw it on your
37:34.2
37:40.4
question so I think the big thing for me
is I was not prepared for the sales
37:40.4
37:45.1
process as being an individual business
owner you know like I said early on I I
37:45.1
37:49.4
was very fortunate that I had a lot of
people looking for my service early on
37:49.4
37:55.6
but I had no thought or plan really for
that sales funnel so I’ve had I’ll do a
37:55.6
38:00.1
lot of using lean and the problem
solving process a lot to develop that
38:00.1
38:06.0
sales funnel and understand what do I
need to do to continue to keep the
38:06.0
38:09.7
business flowing in so that was that be
my biggest advice figure out the sales
38:09.7
38:14.0
funnel before you take the leap and
again before we had this conversation
38:14.0
38:19.7
I’m amazed that we’re talking about the
sales funnel the sales process with the
38:19.7
38:24.4
lean process that I just never put those
two together so again you have opened my
38:24.4
38:28.3
eyes and I’m sure other people in the
Scaling UP! Nation oh that’s great to
38:28.3
38:31.4
hear
so what are the best books that we
38:31.4
38:36.4
should be reading that help us
understand the lean process yeah there’s
38:36.4
38:42.1
a there’s a few that I really go to when
I’m recommending books one and I don’t
38:42.1
38:48.1
recall the exact name the creator of the
Toyota Production system his name is ty
38:48.1
38:56.6
Ishii oh no leave its ta cee hie o h
No and he has some books out there that
38:56.6
39:00.6
were basically translated from his early
journals when he was trading the Toyota
39:00.6
39:07.2
Production system and I always recommend
the Ono book because it is not technical
39:07.2
39:13.8
it is more philosophy in why lean the
Toyota Production system is what it is
39:13.8
39:18.1
and I always recommend that as an early
reading and that is a book that from my
39:18.1
39:21.8
opinion I’ve probably read it I would
say probably 50 times over the years
39:21.8
39:24.3
because every time I read it I get
something more out of it
39:24.3
39:28.7
another one is a newer one once again
not technical more on the philosophy
39:28.7
39:33.7
side called the Toyota Way by Jeffrey
Laker I would recommend that book and
39:33.7
39:39.5
another one would be the Lean Startup by
Eric Ries and the Lean Startup I would
39:39.5
39:44.1
recommend that one simply because it’s
not about manufacturing they’re talking
39:44.1
39:48.4
about product development and startups
that are outside of the manufacturing
39:48.4
39:52.3
space and I think that’s another good
way to hear about lean in a non
39:52.3
39:57.9
manufacturing way I’ll make sure to put
those on my show notes page now here’s a
39:57.9
40:01.1
question I don’t know if you can answer
or not but what’s your favorite movie
40:01.1
40:08.2
that revolves around Wayne well it’s
kind of a joke in our industry many
40:08.2
40:15.0
people that I talk with about the office
space consultants sadly enough you know
40:15.0
40:20.8
a Toyota Production system TPS they
refer to the TPS reports they have the
40:20.8
40:25.2
consultants coming in and even at the
end of the movie when the building is
40:25.2
40:30.7
burning down they show one of our lean
manufacturing books burning in the fire
40:30.7
40:36.8
so it is it is very much a and I will
say a satire you know a play on my
40:36.8
40:43.2
industry and as funny as it is I love
the movie it really kills me because you
40:43.2
40:47.2
know the entire movie is about you know
firing people and and this and that
40:47.2
40:52.5
which is for those of us that were
brought up from the toyota approach that
40:52.5
40:58.6
is very much against everything that
were for in the lean movement but it is
40:58.6
41:01.9
a great movie one of my one of my
all-time favorites I love it and I get I
41:01.9
41:06.5
get a good laugh out of it every time I
hear them talk about TPS reports and
41:06.5
41:12.3
that so so I have to ask as a lien
consultant how many pieces of flair
41:12.3
41:17.5
should somebody wear I believe it’s 36
but I I’m not gonna quote that right now
41:17.5
41:21.9
so alright well you heard it here all
right so now you’ve got the power to
41:21.9
41:26.3
talk to anybody throughout history who
would it be with and why you know man I
41:26.3
41:33.3
debated on this so much and there’s so
many great people through history I mean
41:33.3
41:37.7
I don’t know how I can every ever settle
on one but you know I get a little bit
41:37.7
41:41.2
sentimental here and I’ll have to say
that if I had a chance I would go back
41:41.2
41:45.5
and talk to probably my grandparents
just because I just be an adult now I
41:45.5
41:50.4
just love to hear their perspective now
on life versus when I was a kid just
41:50.4
41:56.1
like I said get a little sentimental
versus a good one but there’s just too
41:56.1
42:01.3
many great historic people to talk to to
build a nail down just one understood
42:01.3
42:05.5
and I think grandparents is a great one
well thank you for coming on the show
42:05.5
42:11.8
opening all of our eyes to what lean
actually is and how we should be
42:11.8
42:16.5
considering adopting some of those
processes for things we might have not
42:16.5
42:21.3
have thought about before like sales so
really appreciate you coming on the show
42:21.3
42:26.0
thanks they have been Trace I really
appreciate it was a lot of fun nation I
42:26.0
42:29.8
gotta tell you I never looked at lean
manufacturing outside of the
42:29.8
42:35.6
manufacturing process but after speaking
with Jason it is a great tool to do
42:35.6
42:39.7
exactly what we mentioned on the top
half of this show where you were trying
42:39.7
42:46.6
to identify the real issues that are
causing your problems and I knew I was
42:46.6
42:51.9
going to get phone calls and emails
about the quote that I mentioned so I
42:51.9
42:56.6
looked it up on the great Google and
Google said the quote what gets measured
42:56.6
43:02.3
gets managed was a quote from Peter
Drucker so for those of you that had
43:02.3
43:08.5
money on that there you go the Google
solved it and when we measure items we
43:08.5
43:13.9
now are able to manage them and that’s
what Peter Drucker said in his quote so
43:13.9
43:20.4
how do we know what we need to start
measuring and I love what Jason told
43:20.4
43:27.0
we ask ourselves what is our customer
going to get the biggest impact out of
43:27.0
43:32.7
and that’s what we should start
measuring so step back look at your
43:32.7
43:39.2
entire process and see where your
customer will see the biggest value and
43:39.2
43:45.0
that is where you should start now maybe
you can’t find anything with that and
43:45.0
43:49.6
I’m gonna suggest maybe you take a break
from that and look at where you’re gonna
43:49.6
43:55.5
see the biggest impact and then if you
can identify that go ahead and start
43:55.5
44:01.2
with that one and then come back to your
customer folks problem solving is a
44:01.2
44:06.8
skill and when you start looking at ways
to make yourself better to make your
44:06.8
44:12.2
company better you will get better every
single time that you will do that so
44:12.2
44:16.8
what are some of the metrics that you
have set for yourself this year we
44:16.8
44:22.5
started talking about goal setting if
you set a goal great now put some
44:22.5
44:25.7
metrics to it
what is the end date that you want to
44:25.7
44:32.1
have that goal done by and then come and
work backwards so you can figure out
44:32.1
44:38.4
each and every week where you should be
and if you are on or off track folks I
44:38.4
44:42.9
hope you learned something from this
episode I sure am looking at lean
44:42.9
44:48.2
manufacturing weigh differently than I
did before I use several the items that
44:48.2
44:54.1
Jason had spoken about in our business
and I hope that you start using some of
44:54.1
44:59.6
those too have a great week folks