In knowledge work, tasks are given to us without consideration of the priorities we already have. Anything that is our responsibility (even remotely) can be given to us to complete (a push system vs a pull system). If we were manufacturing widgets there would be a big pile of them next to us that we…
Author: Josh Bulloc
Managing Conflicting Goals in Challenging Work Environments
The employee’s goals at my company stay pretty constant. However, there is a temporary situation where the team members have to take a significant amount of additional training for a few months which hinders their ability to meet all of their standard goals and this frustrates them. In many cases, they are put in a…
You Will Always Have More to do Than Time to do It
This post is a message to myself that hopefully, you can use. I am off from work for the holiday and every day I have the urge to check my email or do some work “get caught up”. Over my career, this pull has become more pronounced, especially since became a manager. The problem is…
Navigating the Popcorn Effect: Strategies for Smoothing Out Prioritization Chaos in Knowledge Work
In knowledge work, following a defined process can sometimes be frustrating and feel slow but most often it is best for the business and best for your stress level. A counter-example to this is when a project is moved up in priority and everybody must shift their focus to the new priority and “hand carry”…
All Deadlines are Made Up
Today’s post is going to be short. I have been trying to collect my thoughts on why we tend to look for workarounds rather than use defined processes and I am struggling to collect my thoughts. Hopefully next week I will have it figured out. Here is something for you to think about in the…
Beyond the Assembly Line: Applying the Andon Concept to Knowledge Work for Increased Efficiency and Quality
This post is more of a thought experiment. In manufacturing on an assembly line, there is something called an andon cord. It is a method (sometimes a cord hanging above each workstation) to stop the assembly line when an operator on the line is not able to complete their task before the assembly passes them.…
Empowering the Workforce: Navigating the Final Step of Lean Implementation for Continuous Improvement in Knowledge Work
This is the last post defining the four-step process to implement Lean manufacturing principles in knowledge work. The previous posts were defining the workflow, defining the connections, then defining the work of one. The last step is continuous improvement. Continuous improvement can only come from a place of stability or a defined standard. For instance,…
Streamlining Knowledge Work: Simplifying Tasks for a Less Daunting and More Fulfilling Workday
Implementing Lean principles in knowledge work is a 4 step process. The first step is to define the workflow, the second step is to clarify the connections between the people, and the third step is to define the work of the individual, which I will talk about today. The fourth step is continuous improvement. Improving…
Optimizing Knowledge Work: Streamlining Connections through Lean Principles
Continuing on from last week’s post, once you have all of the key processes identified and flow defined, the next step in implementing Lean manufacturing principles in knowledge work is to analyze the connections between people. The individual providing the product is the supplier and the one receiving the product is the customer. These connections…
Lessons from Assembly Lines to Enhance Productivity in the World of Knowledge Work
Lean manufacturing was a revolution in production and knowledge work has a lot to learn from these principles. For instance, when someone works on an assembly line they are required to focus on their primary task. They don’t have to waste time figuring out how to accomplish their task and they don’t have others constantly…
Some Ideas to Make Work More Enjoyable
As a teenager, I loved hanging out with friends but sometimes they had to leave to do chores. I figured out that if I helped them with their chores we could continue to hang out and the time spent would be more enjoyable for both of us. This was reaffirmed when I worked on an…
Work Does Not Have to Suck
We accept a lot of stupid things at work. Too much of the job is checking emails, spending too much time in meetings, and having to fight fires due to lack of obvious planning are three that come to mind. I’m willing to bet that if you ask anybody about these they would agree that…
Reduce Stress At Work-Use More Paper-Based Productivity
I use a task management system which I have been improving since 2007. Over that time I have crafted it to be primarily electronic because of the ease of note transfer, the ease of moving priorities around, and the ability to sync across mediums. I have started to feel that the electronic-based process is creating…
Overcoming Resistance to Productivity Enhancement Initiatives: A Managerial Perspective
My team and I have initiated our project to enhance productivity by implementing a ticketing system and a Kanban board. However, when I introduced this initiative to the managers of the teams responsible for submitting requests, their reactions were mixed. Some managers were excited about the improvement, some were neutral, and some downright didn’t like…
Pseudo Vacation Days, The Gateway Drug to Focused Productivity
I had a crazy idea the other day. What if we pretended to be on vacation to get work done? There have been times that I’ve scheduled vacation, found people to cover for me, and turned off email. Then the appointment I had planned for was canceled so I decided to work without anyone bothering…
Maximizing Workplace Efficiency: The Power of Streamlined Daily Meetings
In my current organization, we utilize tiered meetings but they can be done better. In my previous organization, I was taught tiered meetings are for attendees/stakeholders to align on the goals of the day and to ask for help from fellow attendees or escalate to the next level manager. In these meetings, all stakeholders must…
Better Processes Can Replace Meetings
I am often in meetings that serve three primary purposes which are held by upper-level management. To share information so the managers can speak intelligently about the problem to their peers, to provide help, and to recalibrate priorities. There should be better methods to share information with higher levels of the organization If help is…
Discipline Equals Freedom
Stealing the title from Jocko: When I was an engineer most of my tasks were defined. It was easy to work on those tasks as long as I followed the process that someone else had developed and I had less stress due to ambiguity. Now that I am a manager my tasks are less defined…
Software Reliance is Making it Harder to Improve Processes
There is significant overhead required to create/improve software-based workflows. You need a specialist trained to create it and you need to ensure that you are not impacting other systems. Could a workflow be created with a paper process or (as painful as it is to say) a spreadsheet? Are we so used to software that…
Cracking the ‘Everything is a Hot Item’ Dilemma: A Better Approach to Prioritization and Overwhelm Reduction
Half of my team’s work is planned, but they also receive many additional unplanned requests (emails) that are critical to the company. It is hard for them to determine priority because every requester claims their request is the top priority and with so many emails it is easy to lose track of what to do.…