Understand What Flows Through Your Business to Find Improvement

I remember once seeing a cartoon which showed two people working a counter. On the wall behind them was a sign which read, "Quality Work, Low Price, Fast Service ? Pick Two." In order to deliver all three, which is what customers expect, it's important to understand the flows of your organization.

The first flow is, of course, cash flow. This comes in two varieties, money coming into the organization, revenue, and money going out, expenses. Understanding cash flow is not as easy as it appears. Throughput accounting and Lean accounting are two methods some companies are using to try and get a better understanding of how cash flows through a business.

The second flow is the product or service flow. This starts with how the product or service is designed. The next step is how the product is built or the service delivered. How is the product or service used? Finally, what happens when the customer is done is the product discarded, recycled, or consumed.

How does information flow through the organization? How does it come into the company and how does it leave? How is it used in the organization, does it follow the work or pull the work forward? What types of feedback is received?

How does material flow in the company? If a product is built, how are the raw materials or parts brought to the point of assembly. For a service, how do the necessary information, materials, and people get to where they are needed?

How does the movement of the workers flow? Is the motion smooth or does it start and stop like rush hour traffic? Are there any wasted motions, like retrieving a paper file from a cabinet in another room or walking over to get a tool which is required for product assembly? Why is the tool at the point where it is needed? Why is the file located in a cabinet in another area?

Creative flow is important to understand. Creative energy, like any other kind of energy, can be harnessed and managed. Does a research and development department create everything and the rest of the people just do what they're told? Or are all employees thinking about innovation, how to reduce costs, looking at safety issues, reducing wastes, and improving the environment. Are people developing skills to identify, articulate and communicate those kinds of things?

The final flow is time. Time is, of course, a factor in all the other flows. Since we can't change time, rather than looking at how time flows; we need to see how the organization flows through time. How long does it take to accomplish things? Can the time be reduced? By reducing the time it takes to do our work, we reduce or eliminate the wasted things we do. Eliminating wasted brings us closer and closer to excellence.

By observing the flows in our work, we can see where things run smoothly like a tranquil river. Bottlenecks in the workflow create turmoil, much like the rapids in a river.

"Oh, this ol' river keeps on rollin', though,
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow,
And as long as it does I'll just sit here
And watch the river flow."
- Bob Dylan (Watching The River Flow © 1971 by Big Sky Music)

Any process, any product, any service can be made better in some way, somehow. So observe and understand the flows of your organization, it will lead to improvement opportunities.

Copyright © 2005 Chuck Yorke - All Rights Reserved

Chuck Yorke is an organizational development and performance improvement specialist, trainer, consultant and speaker. He is co-author of "All You Gotta Do Is Ask," a book which explains how to promote large numbers of ideas from employees. Chuck may be reached at ChuckYorke@yahoo.com

---

5 Questions Great Managers Ask (and they arent hard!)

However hard we try, we seem to make life more... Read More

Retaining An Expert -- What Every Business Owner Needs To Know

As an entrepreneur, hiring an expert can be one of... Read More

Managing Change - Get it Right

In any event, getting the process right is a vital... Read More

Employee Performance - If You Want the Best, Get Personal!

This is a story about a man and three dogs.I... Read More

Muggers in Our Midst - When Rumour and Gossip Pay You a Visit

'I heard it on the grapevine' the old song goes.... Read More

Conquering the Number One Problem in Business--Poor Communication

The Number One problem in business is poor communication: between... Read More

The Dripping Faucet in Every Organization

Each day millions of workers spend 8 hours or more... Read More

Management to the Vision-Contribution and the Role of Compliance

As a manager our role is to:1. Establish the vision,... Read More

Blame Culture Blues - How the Language of Blame Manifests Organisational Underperformance

If you have ever worked within a large organisation then... Read More

Forget The Sandwich Technique

Do you remember being told to use the "sandwich" technique... Read More

Hidden Consultants Within Your Organization

You've all heard the old joke about a consultant being... Read More

1000 Managers Turned Their Plans Into Energy!

I bet you can't tell me how leadership training and... Read More

The 5 Things Great Managers Sense about their People, Every Day

Using all of your senses, to help you test how... Read More

Its Not Always What You Say

A major source of communication breakdowns is incongruence between the... Read More

Group Decision Making : Are the Decisions Really Made by the Group?

GROUP DECISION-MAKING: Many managers feel they are well-versed in areas... Read More

The Three-Dimensional Communication System

Human communication is always three-dimensional. No spoken or written message... Read More

Performance Appraisals: Nightmares or Sweet Dreams

Some managers think of performance appraisal meetings and recollections of... Read More

Meetings: Don?t Just Show Up, Stand Out and Shine

Meetings, whether they're regularly scheduled routines in your company or... Read More

Objects in the Mirror are Further Than They Appear

Definition From http://www.merriamwebster.com -- "Virtual: - being such in essence... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Conflict Becoming the Norm ? Part 1

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

Too Much Time Treating Symptoms

A man drives down the highway each day on his... Read More

Four Ways To Make the Case For Outsourcing

How do you convert outsourcing leads into clients? You may... Read More

Can What Someone Does Off-hours Affect Your Business?

Q: How much do I have to worry about what... Read More

Business Innovation ? the Value of Work Processes

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Creativity Management - The Value of Being Prolific

When asked his secret to success, the author Graham Green... Read More

Score the Rainbows Pot of Gold: Become the Boss That No One Wants to Leave

Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the... Read More

Creativity Management and Time Pressure

There is a pervasive belief that time pressure stimulates creativity.... Read More

Delegate or Die!

You Can't Do It All - Learning To DelegateThere is... Read More

Training Adults, Not Teaching Children

Adults are vulnerable to personal and professional embarrassment from poor... Read More

Its a Training Issue!

There's a common phrase used by Organizational Development and Human... Read More

Poor Employee Performance: How to Deal

KEEP WRITTEN RECORDS: "Document !Document! Document!" Keep a record of... Read More

Demise of the Lone Ranger Manager: A Lesson in Management Communication Style

When executives see themselves as solely responsible for the overall... Read More

Hire The Person, Not The Resume

"? [get] the right people on the bus, the right... Read More