Author Archives: Tom Foster

About Tom Foster

Tom Foster spends most of his time talking with managers and business owners. The conversations are about business lives and personal lives, goals, objectives and measuring performance. In short, transforming groups of people into teams working together. Sometimes we make great strides understanding this management stuff, other times it’s measured in very short inches. But in all of this conversation, there are things that we learn. This blog is that part of the conversation I can share. Often, the names are changed to protect the guilty, but this is real life inside of real companies.

Control Systems vs. Feedback Loops

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Question:
Our company is contemplating a new position for a Quality Control person. Who should they report to? How do we make sure they don’t cover up or gloss over quality problems. Some say they should report to the Plant Manager, some say they should report to someone higher in management.

Response:
The Quality Control person in most companies is despised and largely ineffective. The reason is that most companies regard Quality Inspection to be a punitive process. In the end, everyone hates the QC person, ignores their directives and in some cases, even sandbags the entire Quality initiative. Why does this happen?

Simply by changing the name, we can change the orientation of the entire process. Substitute Control Systems with Feedback Loops and everything changes. Where do Control Systems go wrong, and where can Feedback Loops be more effective?

Purpose:
Control systems try to catch product or service defects prior the customer experience.
Feedback loops try to measure variances in product or service so corrective action can be taken immediately.

Who:
Control systems depend on an inspector who informs a manager who chews out the production line.
Feedback loops provide useful information to the production line so they can take corrective action immediately.

When:
Control systems generally check the quality of the product or service after delivery. Inside the control system is a built-in delay.
Feedback loops check the quality of the product or service during critical phases of production in real time so corrective action can be taken immediately.

So, figure it out. Come up with your own list. Abandon the Quality Control department and startup the Feedback Loop department. I think they should report to the production line. The job is to provide feedback in real time directly to the people who take corrective action immediately. —TF

How to Set Weekly Goals

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Credit to Barry Shamis, Selecting Winners for this model.

Materials: 3×5 index card, a stack of them.
Each Monday (or other consistent day of the week), the Manager meets with the Team Member. The Manager always asks the same question, “What 5 things do you intend to accomplish this week?”

The Team Member responds, “After reviewing all the things on my plate and the needs of the other folks around me, I intend to accomplish the following items on my 3×5 card:”
Item #1
Item #2
Item #3
Item #4
Item #5

The Manager takes the card, clarifies something about items #2 & #5, adjourns the meeting.

The next meeting, the Manager asks the question, “Of the things on the list from last week, what did you get accomplished?” The Team Member responds:
Item #1, I got finished, no problems.
Item #2, we started, but had to postpone due to inclement weather.
Item #3, we finished, no problems.
Item #4, we finished, but on inspection, noticed a defect, had to scrap the effort and start over, still incomplete.
Item #5, we finished, had to make an adjustment to the final outcome, but delivered to customer, they accepted the change.

As you review the list, is it possible that the Manager and the Team Member could have a short, but meaningful conversation about progress the previous week?

The Manager finishes with the same question from last week, always the same question, “What 5 things do you intend to accomplish this week?”

The Team Member responds, “After reviewing all the things on my plate and the needs of the other folks around me, I intend to accomplish the following items on my 3×5 card:”

This is the Five by Five system. Five items in review for five minutes per week. In the real world, I have Managers who are working 2×2, 3×3, 4×4. Whatever works for you. —TF

What is the Role of A Manager

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When I talk to groups about this structure, I draw a picture. The picture makes it simple. It is the fundamental building block for any organization engaged in productive work. It clearly defines the role of the worker, the supervisor and the manager. This is simple, fundamental, but most companies don’t “get it.” Once you “get” this, you can build infrastructure in any organization.

The picture is a triangle with three levels.
On the top level is the – Manager
On the middle level is the – Supervisor
On the bottom level is the – Worker.

The role of the Worker is to “do the work.” The Worker uses machines, equipment and tools to “do the work.”

The role of the Supervisor is to “make sure the work gets done.” The Supervisor uses checklists, schedules and spec sheets, observes production, marks completion, inspects quality. The Supervisor coordinates, checks available material and labor, re-sequences production to meet the deadline. The role of the Supervisor is to “make sure the work gets done.”

The role of the Manager is to “create and maintain systems in which the work is done.” The Manager uses flow charts, capacity grids and budgets. The Manager plays “what if,” anticipates problems, creates contingency work programs, looks for bottlenecks, designs and tests sequence for efficiency, time and motion. The role of the Manager is to “create and maintain systems in which the work is done.”

These are the keys to the Kingdom.

This is so fundamental that most companies miss it. When I inspect their job descriptions and review their organization charts, I see a big chocolate mess. And they wonder why things are so screwed up. Get this right, and you will have the basic building block to create the infrastructure you need in your company.

Death by Meeting

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Dear Tom,

Question:
I thought I would try to just meet with my supervisors individually. That way I could compile all the information and make some sense out of it. It just isn’t working. By the time I get back to them, chaos has broken loose.

Response:
Management is about leverage and impact. One of the most powerful leverage tools you can use, as a manager, is calling a meeting. Working with team members one at a time has its place, but the leverage is 1:1. Don’t ever work 1:1 when you can help it. A manager cannot afford to work 1:1. A manager has to work at least 2:1, better 3:1 or 5:1. Gain 5 hours productivity from one hour’s work.

You are working with several supervisors on an individual basis, attempting to coordinate their schedules. Call a meeting, get them in the same room and have them coordinate with each other. The trap most managers fall into is the feeling that the manager must solve the problem. Listen carefully, write this down:

The manager does not have to solve the problem. The manager ONLY has to make sure the problem gets solved. Big difference. Think about it. The manager solving the problem requires:

1. The manager meets with each supervisor to collect a schedule familiar only to the supervisor.
2. The manager reviews the schedule to understand its current sequence, without the knowledge of required labor and materials.
3. The manager meets with three other supervisors to do the same thing.
4. The manager does some anlaysis to locate overlaps and gaps between the schedules.
5. The manager, without the benefit of knowing labor and materials, makes unilateral decisions to re-sequence production, preventing overlaps and filling in the gaps.
6. Everyone stands around wondering how far the manager had his head up his a*s when he made that decision.

Try this scenario:

1. The manager calls a meeting with the four supervisors who arrive with their schedules and knowledge of who is working today and what materials they have on hand.
2. The manager asks each supervisor to report on their intended production schedule, asking the other supervisors to listen for overlaps and gaps between the schedules.
3. The manager asks each supervisor, with their knowledge of who is working today and materials on hand, to re-sequence production to prevent overlaps, fill the gaps and meet the production needs of the Project Mgrs.
4. The manager adjourns the meeting.

Management is about leverage. Meetings are a powerful leverage tool. —TF

Fitness – The Ability to Pull It Off

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Dimensions of Performance

  • Capability (Mental)
  • History
  • Fitness
  • Attitude
  • Technique
  • Technical Knowledge

There it is, number three on the list. When I think about “performance,” and the things that impact performance, I always come back to this list. It makes for interesting thinking. You can guess at most of this stuff, but I get some sideways glances when I start talking about fitness.

Fitness comes at several levels, but the obvious is physical fitness and mental fitness. A team can have all the elements, but if they don’t have fitness, they will not be able to pull off the strategy. So, class members get that blank stare when I start talking physical fitness. The eyes glance from side to side. “He’s not talking about… being fat, is he?”

If the project calls for a ten hour day, can you work it and then go home with enough energy to be with your family? No way, unless you are in shape. Yes, I am talking about physical fitness, exercise and nutrition.

And mental fitness. What exactly is mental fitness? Is it:

  • Creating four alternative solutions to every question, to make sure we include unlikely possibilities.
  • Creating an argument for the other side when this side seems so obvious.
  • Pulling the team together for fifteen minutes to make sure we “check-in” before we make a major decision.
  • The discipline of using a consistent mental process for problem solving and decision making.
  • The discipline of concentration on a task until it is complete.
  • The discipline of follow-up on due date projects.
  • The discipline of have the difficult conversation when it is easy to avoid the confrontation.

Physical discipline and mental discipline go together and are critical for successful execution. Most companies do a fair job of planning and organizing. But if you want to crush your competition, get great at execution. To be great at execution, you need physical and mental discipline. I will take a mediocre plan well executed, anytime, over a great plan that is poorly executed. Where does your team stand on the fitness scale? —TF

When Should You Delegate?

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Management is about leverage. So, let’s talk about leverage.

Most people work on a ratio of 1:1. They work for an hour and they get one hour’s productivity. Managers have to get far more leverage from their time than 1:1.

Here is how I counsel my clients. “You have to get more leverage from your time than 1:1. You cannot afford to get only one hour’s productivity for one hour worked. Start by asking yourself, “How can I get two hours productivity from one hour worked?”

It’s a fair question.

Since we are talking about delegation, the answer is obvious. But the challenge continues. Ask yourself, “How can I get three hours productivity from one hour worked?” Okay, okay, I know you get it.

But here’s the real challenge, “How can I get 50 hours productivity from one hour worked?”
Chicken feed. “How can I get 100 hours productivity from one hour worked?” In fact, “How can get 100 hours productivity from one hour worked, every month, month in and month out?”

You see, most managers view delegation from the perspective of time management. Personally, I call it dumping. And if you dump enough stuff, you can get multiples of five, or six, even ten hours of productivity from one hour’s work.

But, if you look at delegation as development, you begin to understand true leverage. One hour can turn into 100 hours productivity. How would you like to work for 5 hours and gain 500 hours productivity over the next 30 days? It’s all in the way you think. So, how do you think? —TF

Why Should You Delegate?

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It all starts with purpose And there are only two purposes.

If you make a list of all the benefits to the manager from delegation, you get an impressive inventory (Be selfish, think only of yourself):

  • More time for golf.
  • More time for lunch.
  • More time for surfing the internet.

That’s nice. But you also get:

  • More time for thinking.
  • More time for higher level work.
  • More time for planning.
  • More time for organizing.
  • More time for analysis.

Things you were hired for in the first place, but have no time for.

Now, list the benefits of delegation to the team member:

  • Cross training.
  • More responsibility.
  • Eligible for promotion.
  • Understanding of the bigger picture.
  • Feeling of importance.
  • New skills.
  • Credit for a new “job well done.”
  • Feeling of pride.
  • Eligible for higher compensation.
  • Feeling of teamwork.
  • Higher level of motivation.

Two different lists, one for the manager and one for the team member. Look at the themes. What do you see?
List one, for the manager, the theme is unmistakably time.
List two, for the team member, the theme is unmistakably development.

And, so these are the two purposes for delegation.
One: Time (Delegation is your most powerful time management tool)
Two: Development (Delegation is your most powerful people development tool)

So, which one gains the manager the most leverage? —TF

What are the Problems with Delegation?

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Question:
I have this ongoing discussion with my boss about whether I delegate enough to my team. There are some things that I just don’t feel comfortable delegating to other people. I have been let down too many times before.

Response:
Most management “skills” or management behaviors, we learned from our parents, a teacher or coach when we were young. That’s just the way it happens. As much as we might think that we read and learn better ways of doing things, we find ourselves migrating back to the days in our childhood. Whether or not we delegate has little to do with technique and everything to do with what we believe…about delegation.

Most people believe (because they were taught by their parents) that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. You have been let down by a team member in the past (which reinforces your belief). Here’s the real question: “Is your belief accurate, or is it just something that is holding you back?” What we believe is much more powerful than any skill we possess.

To explore this further, make a list of why you don’t delegate more often. Your list will include things like:

  • I can’t trust my team to follow through.
  • No one is trained to handle this delegation.
  • I don’t have enough time to train someone to do this.
  • I can do it myself in one-quarter of the time.
  • My team is better at squirming out of responsibilities than I am at holding them accountable.

It is quite a formidable list. Whatever technique or model you use to organize your delegation, it has to deal with your beliefs. If you still believe this stuff, you will hesitate and ultimately continue to do things by yourself. You will lose the leverage of your team and ultimately fail as a manager. —TF

First Post

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Gunfighters don’t get paid by the bullet.
Managers get paid for results. Management is about leverage and impact. Management is not “doing.” Management is making sure the work is done and creating a system in which the work is done. Management is hard work requiring skills which are seldom taught. Promoted managers are expected to just “get it.” The problem is they don’t “get it.”

They could if they knew what “it” was, but most companies don’t have a clue. A colleague of mine will conduct a study inside your company to help you figure out why things are not working so well. This is an extensive survey and costs about $10,000 (USD). The survey always says the same thing, so he has started a new discount program. For $5,000, he will just tell you the results of the survey without actually conducting the survey. You see, it’s always the same. The leadership in your company sucks (scientific term meaning underperformance). If you take a look around you, if that is what you see, then please send me the $5,000 so I can forward it to my friend.

Interest and Passion

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If you were with us in the early days of this blog, you may remember that, on Friday, I always posted something related to cycling. I know it was selfish, but cycling is also my passion.

I was sitting with a guy from the Navy Construction Battalion (Seabees) at breakfast this past Monday. He is a Harley Davidson fanatic, had a bike that he rides as often as he can, boasting 30,000 miles. I said, “Yeah, I’ve got a bike, only 23,000 on the frame.”

He smiled, knowing he had bested me out of the gate, “What kind of bike do you have?”

“Trek,” I replied, waiting for reality to set in. I could see him searching, for a motorcycle named Trek, then it cleared the threshold.

Tomorrow begins the Tour de France. You can find my early posts on cycling under the category of Henrik’s Wheel. Henrik is my favorite wheel. When I am tired, I can always find a place to rest in his draft. When I get complacent, I can always expect No Mercy. Henrik is leaving Sunday on a 750 mile ride with a 90 hour cutoff. The California Gold Rush. Not for the faint at heart.

July 4th, is a US holiday, but also kicks off the Tour de France. Once again, my hometown hero is in the mix. Lance Armstrong is 37 years old, out of retirement after 3 years, broke his collarbone early in 2009, still raced in the Giro d’Italia, 12th place overall.

So, why after winning 7 previous tours and then retiring, does he want to race again? It could be to win number 8, but his team is committed to Alberto Contador as the team leader. So why?

Each of us faces that same question. Why do we do what we do? It is our interest. It is our passion. We cannot stop. -Tom Foster