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Hi folks,
I was in Mt Eden the other day and I spotted this vehicle outside the Cicus, Circus Cafe.
By the personalised plate, I recognised some Elves sitting at the back of the cafe, meeting to put the finishing touches to the logistics plans for Christmas 2014.
Note that they drive a Toyota, and it’s obviously a Prado, that carries the whole team and converts to a runabout as they close in on Christmas Eve!
For most of the country we have been enduring some extreme weather over the past couple of months.
I saw thunder and lightning followed by heavy hale in New Plymouth, and torrential rain pretty much across the whole of the north island.
In the garden, the tomatoes are safely in, but with buffeting winds and definitely cooler temperatures, I’m wondering what the results might be?
For those fellow Aucklander’s who received their new CV’s, there maybe some joy with some big rises, but that will be tempered when next years rates hit the doormat to be sure!
On a positive front, the Roses seem to be doing really well… and it is not unusual for people to knock on my door and ask what type they are. The pink variety smells gorgeous, and I wish I knew it’s name…but don’t.
So all in all, life is good and smelling of roses…can’t complain about much else!
Here we go with the builder across the road…he’s updated his sign!
Quite original, but only a minor distraction !
The other day, I was sharing a bit of a personal story on how I enjoyed Smarties.
For those in the know, these were originally made by Rowntree Macintosh in the UK and are now owned by my friends at Nestle.
They are, to quote the packet, a crisp candy coated shell around a milk chocolate centre and are made in differing colours and packaged up in little boxes or tubes.
So here’s my confession, I always used to open the tube and empty the contents out. Nothing odd there you think?
At this point it goes a bit 5S, as I have just Sorted: by removing the packaging and put them on a plate for hygiene purposes.
I would then, before eating any, sort them into colours, arranging the sequence from highest to lowest.
This is of course a little bit of Straighten or Set in Order.
I then would eat them in reverse order of quantity, from Lowest to highest number, however I would always save the orange Smarties until last.
This is a Standard that I still adhere to today, why? That is obvious, because the orange Smarties taste of orange!
Finally, let’s discuss the final of the 5S’s, Sustain. I still maintain this Smartie ritual today, and although a few people have muttered the words OCD, I prefer to call it just simple 5S thinking 🙂
What are you 5S Smartie stories?
With the spring finally showing it’s face and a hint of summer on it’s way I’m enjoyiong three good things at the moment.
The first good thing is an increase in Auckland based engagements for yours truly, which cuts down on travel and long days on the road.
Secondly my new Mac Air which is so easy to use and gives me a much appreciated boost in personal efficiency.
The third is my re-aquaintance with coffee.
So this postcard comes from Middlemore Hospital’s Wishbone Cafe, having an I-Coffee, with my Mac Air in celebration of three good things!
Nelson by Lemuel Francis Abbot
In this blog I reflect on something I saw on a history programme charting the 2,000 years of British history from Roman times to modern day.
I was interested to learn that the major innovation that the British made was the ability to essentially die cast cannon out of iron in a way that they would not crack on firing.
The long story short is that they were lighter, cheaper to produce and more deadly than their continental enemies, notably the Napoleonic French and Spanish.
I also learnt that Admiral Horatio Nelson spent hours below decks talking through tactics with all ranks to discuss and involve them in battle preparations. he then always brought his Captains together to explain and get feedback on the battle plans, maybe the origins of the stand up meeting?
Nelson was obviously a master of leader standard work?
This was notably the case the night before the battle of the Nile, when the British dealt a knock out blow to the French who were finally routed after a cat and mouse chase around the Mediteranean.
So there you have it, Nelson was a Gemba guy. He spent a large proportion of his time with the troops in an early form of Leader Standard Work!
Back to the most notable battle, Trafalgar.
The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on the 21st of October 1805 off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish coast, between the combined fleets of Spain and France and the Royal Navy. It was the last great sea action of the period and its significance to the outcome of the war in Europe is still debated by historians.
The British were out numbered but had approximately double the firepower and half the reload time of the Spanish and French.
The only option was to break the enemy lines head on, risking huge casualties on the approach. Nelson, aboard the Victory, took the lead at the head of his fleet and then when the victory broke their line and sailed in amongst the enemy, he gave the order to unleash their superior firepower to devastating effect.
The British lost no ships and the French and Spanish forces lost 17 ships, effectively wiping Napoleon’s naval power out in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, as history reminds us, Nelson didn’t make it, but his deeds and bravery are all part of the founding of the British naval empire that spanned over 100 years.
I am pleased to report that in just under two weeks, around 80% of my tomato seeds have popped their heads up, which I will chalk up to the now trusted window sill method.
Keeping them tucked up on the widow sill at a constant temperatures means they get the best chance of germinating.
So folks, thats my recommendation if you are starting the growing season. If you are lucky I may have a few to share and swap too!
The other day I was running a workshop at a venue which had a coffee shop as part of the function room facilities.
Having return to the fold so to speak, I now imbibe the occasional flat white, after a 15 year abstinence.
I picked up a cup of coffee, and once I had finished, put it down on the desk next to another when I noticed the subtle visual marketing, extolling the virtues of coffee…in think it’s quite a draw and almost poetic in its verse?
What do you think folks?
I was sharing a story with a recent Lean Academy group on how Taichii Ohno used to spend hours on the shop floor observing the process, and identifying waste.
Ohno coined the Seven wastes, which we all know and love. By the way, these were actually referred to as the Flow Wastes and despite numerous reincarnations were never the 8 wastes or the 9!
However he was most acerbic about the Waste of Motion.
Ohno saw this the waste of human movement, or activity and saw on so many occasions in his factories how people would want to look busy rather than actually being busy adding value.
Added value is simply defined from the Toyota perspective of transforming information or materials into a product or service which the customer would be happy to pay for. This definition was embedded into my cerebellum by none other than the legendary Shingijutsu back…
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I think Mt Eden attracts people that like to manage visually as now I have the builder across the road getting in on the act!
Typically this builder has his sign up to advertise their trade, however this particular builder is also treating us with an accompanying sign, which has already changed three times!
The first was “Caution, this building site contains traces of nuts!”
The second was “It’s not just the women around here that wear aprons!”
The third and current is….
Richard Steel
Lean Tomatoes 