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Common Problems, Lean Principle Application If given a common problem, can you tell me what tools I might use to help me attack that problem? For example, if I have to take over as project manager off project that has gone “off the rails,” what tools will I use to manage the problem? What is an open task report? When do I use it? Crashing a project involves producing a cost/schedule tradeoff. Can you show me how I do this if I give you the numbers? How might managing your project team at work as if they were volunteers change your management style?
Tell me the five factors that make a successful project and why each of these factors is critical. When applying Lean to Project Management, defining value from the customer’s perspective is the first step. Give me an example of that (we used the Hands T-shirt example in streams flow. How do I create flow? How do I move the external to the internal to improve both? Give me an example of executing tasks in parallel to make a project Lean. Project Manager Roles, Skills, Responsibilities; Team Dynamics Project/Team Managers are responsible for defining the goal in a clear and elevating way.
What do we know about how people perform given no goals, easy goals, general goals and difficult goals? NO GOALS: Performance tends to be low. Most people will perform at a minimum level even when they are not certain of the standard that they should achieve EASY GOALS: The average is 10 per day, but you can shoot for 4). Even lower reference >Why? People tend to work toward the standard that has been established, and when it is easy, they slack off. GENERAL GOALS: ( Do your best) results in improved performance over easy goals.
DIFFICULT GOALS: (The average is 10 per day, but shoot for 12) produces higher level of performance. Can you turn a general goal I give you into a SMART goal? Specific Measurable Aligned Realistic Time bound Example: I will lose 10 pounds by the end of December 31 of this year. We will achieve 5 percent improvements in the on-time delivery of our products by the end of the quarter. I will spend one day a week with my daughter and help her with homework every day for the whole year around. Why do effective leaders refrain from giving the team the means to achieve a goal? 1 . Because undermines renovation 2.
Decreases member’s willingness to take responsibility for his [her actions 3. Increases the chance that the operation [task will be dysfunctional if circumstances change drastically- in other words- decreases flexibility elasticity. What are Everest goals connected to? Why are Everest goals so rare? It connects to a profound passion producing a benefit for others. A core personal value, producing an impact that extends beyond the immediate, even over a life time; virtues such as love, faith, integrity, compassion, or hope, producing a ripple effect so that the achievement is reproduced over and over again.
Goals are not always fixed. Fluid goals require adjustment because of pressures. What is an example of product relevance pressure? Of shift of growth in the marketplace pressure? Of government regulation or deregulation pressure? New technologies- a calculator in the early ass’s was priced in the ass’s of dollars. The microchip changed all of that. Travel agents ere the only way to buy an airline ticket prior to personal computers. Government which Reagan did in the early ass’s . Shift of growth- Cataracts – video industry from blockbuster to Nettles.
In team stages, this is the stage where the group may still have differences, but they are handled through constructive discussion and negotiation. What stage is it? Can you identify all the stages of group development? Performing phase FORMING: Early in the development Little work occurs Members may feel uncomfortable, nervous, uncertain Ends when members start to become comfortable with each other STORMING: Conflict and confusion Possible dissatisfaction and hostility Overwhelmed by the project or tasks.
Critical that this stage take place MORNING: Team begins organizing itself More cohesion, self confidence Increased levels of trust Differences managed through constructive means PERFORMANCE: Team focused on the task Most of the work happens in this stage Team handles stress of deadlines well Not all teams get to this stage May still have differences, but handled through constructive discussion and negotiation. ADJOURNING: Some teams reach this as a plan, others end because of failure to reach goals.
Time or evaluation Prepare for the future What do we mean by creating "emotional acceptance” when managing a team? Emotional acceptance means getting the minds and behavior of people as they change their behavior. Not because the boss says to do so, but because team members or employees know you and they like you. Why is conflict necessary for high functioning teams? Because conflict is not always bad. Lack of conflict or too much agreement isn’t always a good thing. It can lead to not always effective solutions. Conflict differences create better solutions when handled well. What are the causes of Corrupting?
In organizations: Inadequately examined alternatives Avoidance of risk analysis in their chosen course of action In team: Overestimation of team’s power and morality Close -mindedness Mind guards Happens when: strong and persuasive leader, high level of cohesion, pressure from outside to make a good decision. What are the suppressing responses to group conflict? Avoiding and smoothing strategies are ways of suppressing conflict and may involve: Denial, playing down the differences and emphasizing areas of agreement, changing topic, ignoring your feeling. Why is compromise not a win-win strategy? Cause no one achieves original goal/everyone has to give up something in exchange for something else The range of responses to problem behavior is wide. What kind of intervention is in-group confrontation and why is this response risky? -high intervention/ -response risky because it can be effective or disastrous What is possible fallout from dismissal from a team? -side effects outweigh solution -create ill will among team members -create fear (l might Be next) Describe the personal and positional types of power. What kind of power is most effective when operating in teams? Why?