Making Adjustments

I was listening to a summary of last night's World Series game (Game Two) and the analyst was talking about the batting team's (Phillies) initial strategy against the opposing pitcher (AJ Burnett of the Yankees).

Burnett has a history of being inconsistent so the Phillies plan was to make him "hit the target". Well, the Yankee starter threw first pitch strikes to the first five batters he faced. By getting ahead in the count, Burnett gained the upper hand which is so important for a pitcher.

Much talk was deservedly about Burnett's performance but a fair amount was directed at the Phillies' lack of adjustment to Burnett's consistency. He was obviously hitting the target but the National League Champs never seemed to alter their strategy.

This baseball example helps me make the following work point: Never adjust unless there is ample evidence to support and guide the adjustment. If you are running an adjustable work station, never adjust based on a single measurement. Collect multiple measurements to clearly learn the behavior of the station. Adjust to the mean performance.

It is the same idea with measurement calibration. We measure a standard multiple times with a measurement instrument. We compare the mean of the measurements to the standard's value. If correction is needed, we do so from the mean to the standard, not from an individual measurement to the standard.

In life, extreme circumstances will confront us. Some will be good and others will be bad. At such times, it seems so obvious that life must be altered but it is more prudent to wait on God's will which, to me, is analogous to mean performance. God's will is the center of life. It is the mean of our existence. We should never get to high in the great times and too low in the bad times. We should trust and hope in God's will and have confidence that he will help us make the necessary adjustments (in life) to grow closer to Jesus who is our standard for living.

Overproduction:One of the Seven Forms of Waste

To become lean, you must systematically eliminate waste from your business processes. One of the seven forms of waste is overproduction. Overproduction is producing more than customer demand. If you produce more than what your customer is asking for, you must do something with the excess-store it or throw it away.

The attached example is an example of the latter. It shows that America produces more food than the public can consume. In this case, the excess is thrown away. (Click on the picture to make it larger for reading)

Everyone is Blessed

I find it fascinating to draw analogies between stories in the Bible and happenings of the workplace. Take for example, the story of Paul-

After Jesus' death, the disciples were obediently spreading what Jesus had taught them. They were passionate and persistent as the Holy Spirit spoke through them.

The persecution also intensified as the Jewish leaders tried hard to rid society of anything tied to Jesus. One of the worst persecutors was Paul. His purpose for living was to extinguish the disciples and squash their message.

Paul seemingly was the last person God would choose to spread his message to Jews and Gentiles. Yet, he chose Paul because he knew that if Paul could change, his strong attributes would catapult the mission started by Jesus.

Is there someone at work that just rubs you the wrong way? Everything they do just does not seem to be right. Well, they can't be all bad. Look for their positive attributes and put them in a position to succeed. Look beyond what they do wrong and see the good they could do if a change was to take place.