Category Archives: Timespan

Who’s Running the System?

3 Replies

Greetings from Boston, MA.
__
Jonas was perplexed. “Maybe I do have the wrong heads working on the problem,” he admitted. “But, if I have to get involved, what do I need them for?”

“That’s an excellent starting point,” I replied. Jonas looked puzzled.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“What do you need them for?” I repeated his question.

“Well, they’re, they’re supervisors. They make sure the work gets done,” Jonas concluded.

“And are they getting all the work done in each of their areas?”

“Yes, but it’s just not coordinated. There isn’t a system.”

“So, who is in charge of the system?” I queried.

“Well, no one, really. They are just supposed to get together and figure it out, but they don’t communicate. It’s really a communication problem.”

“So, who is in charge of the system?” I asked again.

Jonas stopped. Then slowly spoke. “Well, no one, really.”

Whose Head is Working on the Problem?

Leave a reply

Greetings from Boston, MA. Making a quick trip up the East Coast, then out to San Diego. Eight workshops this week on my favorite subject. Elliott Jaques and his research on Time Span.
__
“How big was your company five years ago, and how big is it now?” I asked. “And what have been the growing pains getting here?”

“It’s people,” Jonas replied, “always people.” Jonas runs a small company with 80 people, up from 40 five years ago.

“How so? People is a pretty generic response.”

“Well, when we were small, it was a struggle just to get the work done. Now, we have plenty of horsepower, we have even documented our processes, but things are more complicated. Sometimes we hit a home run. Other times, we simply drop the ball. I think it boils down to communication problems. People don’t seem to talk to each other when they need to. Our supervisors seem to worry about their own little area and just assume the other departments will pick up the pieces. Well, they don’t!”

“How much is this costing you?” I probed.

“I can’t really put a number on it. The margin gets lost in rework, delays and idle time. You know, when we have people scheduled to work, but no work stacked in the queue. Or we have too much work scheduled for Thursday and Friday, so we end up with overtime on Saturday.”

“How have you tried to fix it?”

“I don’t know, I get all my supervisors together and they say they have it under control, but the next day, there is some big snafu.”

“Do you think, maybe, you have the wrong heads working on the problem?” -TF

Supervisor’s Control System

2 Replies

“So, I am with you,” Joyce agreed. “Moving from Team Leader to Warehouse Supervisor is a different role. Talk to me about skill sets.”

“Okay, as Warehouse Supervisor, the role is no longer doing the work, but making sure the work gets done. What tool does the Warehouse Supervisor use to make sure all the work gets done?”

It had been a couple of years since Joyce had spent much time in the warehouse, but she was quick to respond. “Well, there is a daily shipping list containing all the orders available for the day, actually for the next four to five days.”

“That’s one skill set. Checklists. Remember, the role is to make sure the work gets done. A checklist is one of the primary tools of the supervisor. It’s the foundation of many control systems. Yet, how often do we sit with our supervisors and talk to them about how to create effective checklists (control systems) for all the work they make sure gets done?”

“You know, you are right. We just told Phillip that he got a promotion, he was now in charge. Something as obvious as a checklist never crossed my mind. I would bet that Phillip is trying to keep everything in his head.”

Different Skill Set

Leave a reply

“So, what do you make of this mess I seem to have made with Phillip?” Joyce asked.

I took a deep breath. “Based on what you have told me, Phillip’s current capability is greater than one month. That Time Span holds up to the task of a Team Leader. Phillip’s next step would be a transition to a Supervisor. But don’t think this is simple. You don’t sprinkle fairy dust and think Phillip is a Supervisor.

“Up to now, Phillip has been doing the work along with his team members. Being a Supervisor is a different role with a different skill set. Phillip will need training and coaching. Even beginning Supervisor tasks generally carry Time Spans of three months.”

“How much of a difference could that be for Phillip?” Joyce asked. “How different could the skill set be for Phillip to begin to be a Supervisor?”

“Let’s take a look at the Tools of the Trade for Phillip,” I began. “Up to now, the tools for Phillip in the warehouse have been real tools, forklifts, picking baskets, picking tickets, staging tables, shipping boxes, cartons, packing tape.”

Joyce nodded.

“The role for a Warehouse Supervisor is no longer doing the work, but now, making sure the work gets done. It’s a completely different role and requires a completely different skill set.”

Joyce continued to nod. She was ready for more. –TF

Our next Leadership program in Fort Lauderdale begins July 16. For more information, visit www.workingleadership.com.

Our next Leadership program Online begins in September. Watch for details. –TF

Managing With Precision

1 Reply

“What could I have done differently?” Joyce asked. “I thought Phillip was the right choice. I know now, that I was wrong, but how do you make the decision on whether or not to promote someone?”

“Why did you think he was a candidate for promotion?” I asked.

“Well, he has been with us for a little over a year. He knows the ropes. He was a team leader, had the respect of his team,” Joyce replied.

“And what do you think his Time Span was?”

“Well, based on what we have been talking about, his current capability seems to be about four weeks or a little more, but not a lot more.”

“So, how could you find out how much more?”

“Well, he was successful at four weeks. I could have given him a task that took six weeks to complete, or eight weeks.”

“Exactly,” I pointed out. “The best way to determine performance is to test it. The problem with testing, is that, until we talked about Time Span, you had no way to determine the complexity of the task. With Time Span, you can now measure with more precision. Your job, as his Manager, becomes more precise.” -TF

Our next Leadership program in Fort Lauderdale begins July 16. For more information, visit www.workingleadership.com.

Our next Leadership program Online begins in September. Watch for details. –TF

Bone Headed Promotion

Leave a reply

“So, Phillip can handle tasks with a one month Time Span, but falls short on tasks with longer Time Spans,” Joyce confirmed.

“So, what does that tell you about his role? You told me that you promoted him to Warehouse Manager. Based on Time Span, is that appropriate for Phillip?” I asked.

Joyce knew the answer, so her hesitation was from reluctance. “No. Now it begins to make sense. What we expect from a Manager, even the Warehouse Manager requires a Time Span of twelve months. Phillip is not even close.”

“So, if you had determined his Time Span before the promotion, you might have done something differently?” I prompted.

“Absolutely. When I look at Time Span, it becomes so obvious that his promotion was a bone-headed decision.”

“And who was responsible for that bone-headed decision?”

“That would be me,” Joyce replied.

___
Our next Leadership program in Fort Lauderdale begins July 16. For more information, visit www.workingleadership.com.
___
Our next Leadership program Online begins in September. Watch for details. –TF

Performance Becomes Predictable

Leave a reply

“So, he does well on tasks that require a one month look-ahead, but he fails on tasks that require a three month look-ahead,” explained Joyce. We were discussing Phillip, her warehouse manager. Joyce was disappointed in his failure to complete longer term projects.

“So, if you ask your Manager to look at this same data, what would she say?” I asked.

“Oh, I have already discussed Phillip with her and we are on the same page.”

“So, making this assessment of a person’s Time Span is pretty evident.”

Joyce nodded, “When you put it like that, it sticks out like a sore thumb.”

“Knowing this about Phillip, how does that help you as his Manager?”

“If I look at all of his tasks in terms of Time Span, I can predict which ones he will do well, which ones he will struggle with, and which ones he will fail at.” A calm look came over Joyce’s face. “The pattern of his performance becomes predictable. I can almost plan around that. It’s beginning to make sense.”

___
Our next Leadership program in Fort Lauderdale kicks off next Monday, July 16. Visit www.workingleadership.com for registration information.

___
We have completed testing for the online version of our Leadership program, scheduled for September 2007. If you have an interest in this program, please reply to this email so we can make our plans. -TF

Measuring Tasks

Leave a reply

“Then, how are we going to measure that capability?” I repeated. Joyce and I were discussing Phillip. Though he had been made manager, he was having difficulty with some of his responsibilities.

“So, you are suggesting that we look at all the tasks on Phillip’s plate and assign a Time Span to them?” Joyce asked.

I nodded.

She began to brainstorm out loud, “If I look at his Key Result Areas, as Warehouse Manager, Phillip is responsible for:

  • Personnel
  • Receiving
  • Picking
  • Shipping
  • Warehouse Layout and Work Flow
  • Security
  • Equipment
  • And Safety.”

“And which of those has the longest Time Span Tasks?” I asked.

Joyce pulled out a sheet of paper to make some notes. “Receiving, picking and shipping are fairly short term things. The look ahead is probably no more than a couple of weeks.

“Warehouse Layout and Work Flow, though, really has a much longer Time Span. We have a lot of seasonality to our product lines and we have to make decisions about inventory bin placement four or five months in advance. Some of it is a feedback loop to sales and purchasing about inventory turns, raw materials in stock, finished goods in stock. There is a lot to control, but it’s easy if you think out far enough into the future and plan.

“That’s where Phillip messes up. He just doesn’t plan out far enough, so it’s always chaos.”

“So, if we were to measure Phillip’s capability in Layout and Work Flow, he does not live up to four months?” I confirmed.

It was Joyce’s turn to nod.

“So, let’s look at his other tasks, assign some Time Spans and see if we come up with a pattern of his capability.” -TF

Not a Matter of Skill

1 Reply

Joyce had her thinking cap on. Her dissatisfaction with Phillip was not from a lack of performance, but from a lack of capability.

“I want you to begin to think about capability in terms of Time Span,” I prompted.

“You’re right,” she replied. “Phillip seems to stay away from, or procrastinate on all the projects that take time to plan out and work on. And then, it’s like he jams on the accelerator. He even told me that he works better under pressure, that last minute deadlines focus him better. I am beginning to think that he waits until the last minutes because that is the only time frame he thinks about.”

“Give me an example,” I asked.

“Remember, I found him hidden away in the warehouse, rearranging all the shelves himself. It’s really a bigger project than that. We are trying to move the high turning items to bins up front and slower moving items to bins in the back. But it’s going to take some time to review, which items need to be moved, how to retag them, how to planagram the whole thing. We started talking about this three months ago with a deadline coming due next week. So, only now, Phillip gets stuck in the warehouse doing things himself. And the result is likely to be more of a mess than a help.”

“Is it a matter of skill, planning skills?” I ventured.

“No, I don’t think so. It is a matter of capability,” Joyce said with some certainty.

“Then how are we going to measure that capability?” -TF

___
Our next Leadership class in Fort Lauderdale begins July 16. For more information, visit www.workingleadership.com. We have only four available seats left.

___
Management Skills Blog will take a short vacation over July 4th, returning July 5th. See you on Thursday.

But, I Already Know

Leave a reply

“If you had to describe the reason for Phillip’s termination, what would it be?” I asked.

Joyce shifted with the uncomfortable question. I had asked her to make a judgment about a team member’s underperformance. And I was looking for objective and measurable evidence.

“I think I would have to go back to his job description and start there,” she replied.

“And if you went back to the job description, what would you find?”

Joyce got up from her chair and paced to the side of the room. “First of all, I would have to find the job description, but I already know it is just a bunch of gobbledygook.”

“So, if I really put you to the test, as a manager, you are holding Phillip to a performance standard that you describe as gobbledygook?”

“Yes, but, I can still tell that he is not doing his job. He doesn’t have the capability. I know that, even without the job description.”

“So, how are we going to capture what you already know in measurable terms to help us? To help us know what to do with Phillip?” -TF

___
Our next Leadership class in Fort Lauderdale begins July 16. For more information, visit www.workingleadership.com. We have only four available seats left.