Six Sigma Memory Jogger II by Ginn, Finn, Ritter, and Brassard – Jan 2012

 Business  No Responses »
Jan 272012
 


Six Sigma Memory Jogger II: A Pocket Guide by Ginn, Finn, Ritter and Brassard ★★★★★

I haven’t been formally trained in the ways of Six Sigma, but I have been around it enough to know some of the basics. We used it at SuperValu/Albertsons. I saw it accomplish some amazing savings through several projects.  Simple, small process changes that were shown to save millions of dollars because of the scale of the operation. I worked closely with a few black belts on projects and their grasp of analysis was admirable. I always wanted to be one, but never got the chance.

One project I knew began with an idle comment from a vendor that the company purchased more small item shipping bins than anyone they knew. This was a huge expense each year. Why were the bins disappearing? That was the answer the Six Sigma team was tasked to find. Using several analysis tools, they quickly discovered the root cause was no process or procedure for returning the bins from the stores to the distribution centers. The bins were stacking up at the stores until the manager got tired of having them in the way and tossing them in the trash. A simple process change later and the bins were flowing back to the distribution centers on the empty trucks to be reused hundreds of times.

The Six Sigma Memory Jogger was recommended to me by my manager. It contains an alphabetical listing of all the tools and tricks the Six Sigma black belts use to do their work. Each tool and method is laid out in a concise discussion of what it is, why it is useful and how to employ it. It even includes a few examples of each. It is short, just 266 pages, but it has one of the most complete listings of analysis tools I have seen. Now that I have read through it, I can draw upon the multitude of tools, except for a few intense statistical functions that were beyond my brain. The rest, however, are useful in all sorts of settings. Having this handy reference close at hand means I don’t have to remember everything, but can do a quick review and get the results I need quickly. I have used several over the years in different situations and have found them invaluable. I

If you have to do any kind of analysis of business process in your job, this book is a great one to have in your toolbox. Recommended.

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Goal Review – Reading

 Focus  3 Responses »
Jan 092012
 

I have been thinking over my vacation about the goals I had for 2011 and what I want to do with 2012. It is a good thing to look back and remind myself of the successes. I know I started the exercise thinking that 2011 was a pretty lousy year. After all, the press were all calling it the year to forget quickly and move on. However, it was a pretty good year for me, even one of the best in recent memory.

One achievement I am proud of is my book reading. I don’t know how many books I have read in past years because I didn’t keep track. This year, however, I did and I am proud to report I finished 38 books in 2011. While I didn’t have a specific goal in this area, I was shooting for 50. Why fifty? Well, my friend Augusto Pinaud reads 50+ books each year, so it sounded like a good number. While I didn’t quite reach the target, I am thrilled with my accomplishment.

For the record, I read 16 fiction, 9 business, 7 non-fiction, 6 productivity and 1 spiritual books. I wrote reviews of several, but still have quite a few I would like to write about. I had a great time learning quite a bit this year.

For the coming year, I have created a goal to read 40 books and to write a review for each non-fiction book and write a mind map of each business book for future quick reference. This is an aggressive goal and I am concerned about achieving it. Why are the reviews important? I appreciate other people’s reviews when I am looking for a book to read. Also, the reviews I have written are some of the most visited pages on the blog, so others must enjoy them, too. However, the real reason is selfish. I am getting old and I can’t remember everything I have read. I like to go back and look at my list and reread the review. Usually that is enough to remind me of the good ones and inspire me to reread the great books. I wish I had started this practice when I was a kid. There are some great books I would like to reread, but can’t remember the title, author and any clues as to which book it was. Sadly, those are lost to me.

I was lucky to benefit from an unspent training budget at the end of the year. I was able to convince my boss to buy nearly a dozen books for me before the money disappeared at the end of the year. I am well situated for business books for this year. I am trying something different. Most of the books were purchased as ebooks and I will read them on my Kindle. While I welcome the reduced space necessary to store them all, I worry the experience will not be as good. I hope I can make the annotations and scribbles I want to make, as recommended by Mark Horstman of Manager Tools in the podcast titled How to Read a Book. I’ll give it a shot and reevaluate throughout the year.

Fiction will continue to be mostly “read” via Audio book. I love Audible.comand have subscribed to them for nearly a decade. I love listening to books on my commute. My wife says I am in a better mood after listening to a book instead of talk radio. I also listen to a lot of podcasts while in the car or running. I don’t know how to categorize that content in terms of reading. Podcasts can contain very valuable material, at least the ones I listen to do. Should I count them as books for the year?

I want to learn some new things this year. I actually have a goal to pick and investigate a new topic this year. More on this goal later, but the reading goal will in part facilitate that goal as well. Knowledge is key to not growing old. I better get started on my anti-aging regimen.

Happy New Year!

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Sprint To The Finish

 Focus  2 Responses »
Oct 052011
 

Welcome to October. I was thinking this weekend about my previous life in corporate America and how it revolved around quarters. We had quarterly reports, quarterly goals, quarterly budgets and quarterly reviews. Here we are: the last quarter of 2011. I was curious how I was doing on my goals for the year, so I pulled them up. No, I don’t have them laminated and in my wallet. I actually had to go to the page above to find them.

I am quite pleased with my progress. In fact, I was kind of surprised I have had the success I have had.

Physical:
√ Run a 5K by September 30. I ran my first ever 5k race on September 24. It was a neighborhood race, part of an Eagle project. I’m counting it.
√ Weigh 200 lbs. by October 30. I can report that, as of this morning, this goal is complete! The scale reported 200.0!
• Exercise 5x / week, running 3x and strength training 2x. I have been getting the running in. Partially complete.
√ Eat less. I have been doing that with the help of this new diet. I am amazed how little I eat now.

Spiritual:
• Read the New Testament by December 31. Still working on this and way behind.
…Read the Book of Mormon by December 31. Bad. Haven’t even started.
…Read 4 religious books by December 31. Not good. I am about half way through the first.

Mental:
• Complete 50 woodturning projects by December 31. I will call this a partial, but I know I am not going to make it. I made 23 pens, but that is it.
√ Write on the blog twice weekly.  I was going to call this a partial win until I counted it up. I have written 130 posts this year, which would be more than the 104 required for the goal. I haven’t posted as regularly as I would like, but still, I have done quite well.
…Complete an outline for my book by June 30. Complete miss. I haven’t done anything. However, I am committed to writing something in November for NaNiWriMo. If I finish the book by December 31, can I count this as a win? I think so.

An unwritten goal I had this year was to read 50 books. I am on pace for this one. I have finished 32. I have decided, though, that the religious book goal is more important than completing this one and will focus on it.

As I said, I am very pleased with the progress I have made this year. I have done some pretty hard things that I didn’t really believe I could accomplish. Losing the weight was one of them. My wonderful wife has listened to me whine and rage and for that I thank her. I couldn’t have done it without her constant support. Even in the darkest days when I was gaining weight despite being quite strict on the diet, it was her confidence that kept me from abandoning it. These last five pounds have been the toughest and I owe them to her.

Back in January, I was concerned with discipline. Did I have the discipline necessary to accomplish these goals. Did I have the discipline to make the changes in my life I desire? This whole year, I have doubted my ability to stick with something. I even went to a doctor a couple weeks ago to get checked for Attention Deficit Disorder. The doctor actually laughed at me and told me if he got 15 things out of the 20 on his Saturday list, he would be nominated for Husband Of The Year. Instead, he suggested I have a problem with being satisfied. Then he politely told me to get out of his office.

Here I am, nine months in the searching for discipline, only to discover I have it. I can stick to a diet through ups and downs and lost thirty five pounds. I can write regularly and return to it, even if I get knocked off schedule for awhile. I can make it from not being able to run a block without gasping to running a 5k without dying. What I need to find are realistic expectations. Can I get those at the mall?

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Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family by Conolezza Rice – Sept 2011

 Non-fiction  No Responses »
Sep 182011
 

Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family by Condolezza Rice ★★★★★

I have admired Condolezza Rice for many years. I was always impressed by her grace and intelligence in one of the toughest jobs in government – the National Security Advisor. When I heard she had written a memoir, I have to admit I dismissed it at first. Everyone in politics seems to be writing a “tell all” book that guarantees the inside dirt on Washington. Fame for the cost of trashing friends, coworkers and allies. I was had always hoped she would not stoop to that depth. I finally took up the courage to listen to this book when I saw that she read it herself. I think this is the best book I have enjoyed this year. Perhaps it should be required reading.

Ms. Rice grew up in Birmingham, Alabama at the height of the Civil Rights era. She experienced the hate and prejudice first hand. This memoir of her parents showed how she was able to rise and become the woman she is today. I started thinking this was a book about Ms. Rice. I was mistaken. This is a tribute to her parents, Angelena and John Rice. This is the story of raising a family in the racially divided South prior to and during desegregation.

I won’t go into the stories she presents. You need to experience them for yourself. They are engaging, gripping and ordinary. These were plain folk, raising their daughter the best way they knew. It is a story of sacrifice for children not often heard today. Yet, I believe it is a tribute to all the parents who do an extraordinary job of raising their children without fanfare, while the dysfunctional families get their own reality TV show. The Rice’s were the kind of family next door who are there for a cup of sugar or a listening ear. Their greatest tribute is the phenomenal success of their daughter.

I grew up just after desegregation and in nearly all-white Idaho. I didn’t experience racial discrimination. My parents taught me not to judge anyone by their skin color. I had no concept of what it was like for blacks in the South. I found myself crying in shame and pain while reading her descriptions of life in Birmingham. I appreciate the education she gave me without instilling hate or anger herself.

I understand she is writing an additional memoir of her time in politics. This book ends with the death of her parents, just as she is accepting the NSA job for the Bush White House. I wanted to know more of her thoughts on this time and can hardly wait. I hope she stays true to her style and provides another great read. Truly a wonderful lady, thanks to her extraordinary, ordinary parents. This is how every family should be.

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