A Mindless Worker is a Happy Worker
One thing I know from experience: when people are given a chance to participate in creating something good, solving a problem, and play a role in adding value through the use of their mind, hands, and heart, good things happen. Indeed, morale increases and a type of magic takes place – a feeling joy can be seen in people’s faces.
How to Add Value
In Lean Thinking, we use the phrase “value-add” and then qualify that term as taken from the “customer’s perspective.” While that might be true, it’s not concrete enough and is actually difficult to understand.
I am reminded of something my older brother taught me a long time ago. He said simply (I’m paraphrasing):
Gretchen Rubin – Part II
Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project, answers reader’s questions – your questions – on this multi-series post on her Happiness Project. This post is Part II of her responses to reader’s questions.
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Gretchen Rubin – Part I
Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project, answers reader’s questions – your questions – on this multi-series post on her Happiness Project.
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Comment by Porter on February 10, 2010 @ 12:59 pm
Hi, Gretchen -
Less is Less with Jason Fried
Most of you know who Jason Fried is – the founder of 37Signals and the author of several books, including Rework, his most recent publication.
He’s on shmula.com to answer your questions – on Lean Thinking, Design, Less is Less, Customer Development, and other principles he lives by and encourages others to consider in his book Rework.
Ask Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Interview
We’re delighted to have Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project, on shmula.com today.
Similar to prior interviews we’ve done [1, 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15], you – the reader – have a chance to ask Gretchen questions related to her findings on the Happiness Project. But first, here’s some background:
Nothing Else You Need To Do
I reluctantly filed and survived – I finished my taxes. I used TurboTax and things went smoothly. Today, I received a message that was relief to read:
Nothing Else You Need To Do
It’s nice to know exactly what is expected of you. In this case, I’m done and I need to do nothing else.
Expectations…
Cost Savings for a Fortune 500 Company
Cummins Inc.1 reported their Q4 2009 earnings call today. In that call, they reported a cost savings of over $500MM due to their emphasis on Lean Thinking and Six Sigma. In the words of Tim Solso, Chairman and CEO of Cummins Inc:
Just Dial “0″ (”Zero”)
On the way to work this morning, a commercial on National Public Radio (NPR) caught my attention. It was a commercial for Ally Bank and one phrase piqued my interest (I’m paraphrasing):
To open an account, call xxx-xxx-xxxx and to talk to a real person, push “0″ anytime.
In the radio commercial, they emphasized “real person”. Interesting.
Freedom within Framework
A fence keeps us safe from harm – often, from harming ourselves and from harming others. In deployments of Lean Thinking at organizations, the principle of Freedom within Framework describes our approach well.
Disambiguating the Fence
A fence can be understood a few different ways:
- A Silo: A fence marks “mine” from “yours”. This is NOT what we are talking about.
