| A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to accompany | | | | on the big picture; that is, what the yard is supposed |
| a manager on a tour of his physical facilities. As we | | | | to look like. Once agreement is reached, standards |
| walked around the yard and through the | | | | are set. |
| warehouses, the manager spotted several | | | | One of the most effective managers I know carries |
| housekeeping issues that disturbed him. Each time this | | | | a small camera on his belt and takes a quick |
| happened, he would seek out an employee, angrily | | | | photograph of anything he sees on the yard or in a |
| point out the problem and tell him to take care of it. | | | | warehouse that doesn't meet agreed-to standards. |
| "I get so frustrated with these people out [on the | | | | At his weekly operations meeting, he displays the |
| yard]", he told me. "Every time I'm out here, I find | | | | photographs and asks these kinds of questions:o Do |
| material that has not been stored properly, piles of | | | | you agree that these conditions do not meet the |
| trash that should have been picked up and thrown in | | | | standards we agreed upon? (Let's assume that the |
| the dumpster and bunks of lumber that are not | | | | middle managers agree.)o What action have you |
| stacked correctly. I don't know what else to do to | | | | taken to correct these inconsistencies?o Are |
| motivate our people to pay attention to detail. It's | | | | housekeeping standards given enough attention |
| little things like this that eventually lead to big | | | | during the orientation process for new employees?o |
| problems." | | | | Do our people have the resources they need to |
| The problem I saw with this manager is that he is | | | | meet the standards we agreed upon?o Are our |
| attacking the problem instead of the process. He is | | | | housekeeping standards being covered in weekly |
| dealing with surface issues, not the root cause. | | | | operations meetings?o Are our systems and |
| When you dig a little deeper into situations like these, | | | | procedures manuals up to date? |
| you usually find that the employees are accustomed | | | | Lines of authority: Managers who make it a habit of |
| to a management style that doesn't establish | | | | giving orders to employees who don't report directly |
| performance standards and hold workers accountable | | | | to them are usurping the middle managers' authority. |
| for maintaining those standards. Instead, | | | | In an emergency, of course this is acceptable, but |
| management has gotten into the habit of taking | | | | not if this kind of behavior is routine. |
| potshots when something is spotted that is not | | | | Try this: When you spot a problem, something that |
| exactly right. | | | | violates agreed-to standards, focus on the process |
| In my work with lumber dealers, I've found that the | | | | and not just on the individual problem. When the |
| managers who get the best results are the ones | | | | process is fixed, odds are the problem will be fixed, |
| who sit down with their middle managers and agree | | | | as well. |