by John Brooker | Mar 7, 2012 | Facilitate meetings
Creative Gorilla #67 By reducing a process to its fewest steps, keeping it simple, you can reap a number of benefits… “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Albert Einstein Are your processes simple? Here’s a good news story. My paper shredder broke down. The motor ran but the paper didn’t shred and I delayed calling the manufacturer for a while because I have had some bad experiences with equipment service organisations and didn’t want hassle. I anticipated the usual array of excuses why they couldn’t do anything: I must have pushed a sheet of aluminium through the shredder; the shredder only shreds papyrus made by Ancient Egyptians; the warranty is only valid in the grouse shooting season etc. So I procrastinated and eventually my wife telephoned. So where is the good news? “No problem”, the manufacturer said. “We’ll send you a new one,” which they did. And the old one? “Throw it away.” So we kept the bin and recycled the rest. “That is so unfair,” I thought, “why was I not the recipient of that great piece of customer service? And why do other companies not do this?” That set me thinking about the benefits to them. These include: They have a raving fan who is writing about them (the manufacturer is Fellowes) which should improve sales They probably have low turnover of customer service staff as they deal with delighted customers not grumpy people Repeat calls will be fewer so they need fewer staff Supervisors and senior managers are not dragged in to a dispute They know exactly how much the problem...
by John Brooker | Feb 7, 2012 | Facilitate meetings
YES! AND… Facilitate. Innovate. Transform – Creative Gorilla # 38 Look to see how you can make things simpler. This can save time and money… “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Albert Einstein Do you find some solutions are a little more complicated that necessary? This week my son was ill and wanted to sleep with his Mum, so Dad slept in his bunk bed some five feet off the floor. Waking in the middle of the night I wanted some water, but was too lazy to climb down the steps. Lying back, I invented a rope and pulley system in my mind on which I could haul up the water sitting in its beaker on the table below the bed. The pulley would screw in to the ceiling and the beaker would sit in a small container to catch any slops as I hauled it up. Thankfully I dozed off to the imagery of little beakers of water gaily jaunting through the air in a very Heath Robinson fashion. The next morning my daughter came in to wake me. I asked her to pass me up the water and explained my idea. “Oh” she said “Andrew has already done that. But he just put a little bucket on the window latch and puts his cup in it.” Hah! I looked at his device and burst out laughing. Obviously I’m Einstein’s “simpler” in his quote. Heath Robinson made a good living for many years by creating caricature drawings of “complex inventions that achieved absurdly simple results” (quotation from BBC site). He believed that many...
by John Brooker | Jan 25, 2012 | Develop Opportunities, Facilitate meetings, Overcome Challenges, Solution Focus
YES! AND… Facilitate. Innovate. Transform – Creative Gorilla # 25 If you have people focus on strengths you can help them to achieve more. “What have you done today, to make you feel proud?” M People, Lyrics Has anyone ever said they were proud to be on your team? After an evening’s speaking engagement, I rose at 4.30 a.m to drive from my hotel back to home, for my 7 year old son’s class assembly. It was worth the early rise. Each child stood in front of the school and parents to say what it was that had made them proud during their year at school. Their teacher had made a great PowerPoint presentation, with a slide recording each child’s contribution, to aid their memory and help the audience when a small voice occasionally faded. In addition, the children sang “Proud” and performed a choreographed song and dance to “Reach for the Stars”. It was a pleasure to listen and watch. Two inspiring moments were: The child who haltingly and confidently read from the screen how proud they were to have improved their reading skills The child who loudly and clearly related how proud they were to have improved their speech A few of the adults were wiping their eyes by the end. I reflected on the event afterwards, delighted to know the school are developing in the children a sense of pride in their achievement. It was also a useful reminder of how important it is to focus on the positive things that are happening, not just the negatives. In “The Solutions Focus” (a great read by Paul Z Jackson and...
