Learn from othrr Disciplnes

Someone once told me if you want innovation in engineering, don’t ask an engineer.  They’ll give you accepted (and workable) engineering solutions but they won’t give you groundbreaking, innovative or creative solutions.

What you need is to ask a non-engineer to give you ideas for new ways of addressing your problem - and then ask an engineer how to make those ideas work.  Together they  might produce an innovative - but still workable - solution.

This ‘principle’ (of asking those outside of the current field of knowledge) can pay dividends in many situations.

Similarly, ideas which seem intuitive and obvious often limit your spread of thinking and your range of ideas.  They are obvious often because they are well-established and entirely logical.

So you have to force yourself out of the straitjacket of accepted wisdom and current technologies. 

Build a multi-disciplined team snd let them play ideas off against each other.  Encourage them to think freely and give them training in creative thinking techniques.

You have nothing to lose except your boundaries!

We need real, mot artificial, intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is touted as ‘the next big thing’ in productivity improvement - and there is little doubt that we will see lots of examples of AI taking over relatively menial, snd some more sophisticated, tasks over the next couple of decades.

However, many of us have already seen quite a few examples of non-intelligent devices claiming to act intelligently.   These could be regarded as experimental or prototype devices (though why they are released commercially is a question that needs to be asked).  

The mistakes made by AI devices, of course, reflect mistakes or omissions of those programming the ‘intelligence’ into the device - and those that have not been picked up in the testing process.  (We consumers are getting increasingly used to being the group that carries out user testing.)

Their other significant problem is that most AI devices try to replicate and replace existing devices.  

What we need is real, human intelligence and creativity, working on devices with improved functionality and design, building better products - rather than replicating current ones with their existing, inherent flaws.

(This is  rather like the early days  of automation when firms automated their existing, imperfect and inefficient  processes snd systems instead of perfecting,  or at least improving, the process before adding automation.)

Step up to the plate, you intelligent and creative humans.  We need you!

Are Some People More Productive Than Others?

Most people assume that some people are more productive than others - and for some jobs, that is clearly true.  But for many people, their productivity is determined by ‘the system’, the technology and the productivity or performance of the people around them - at the previous workstation, for example.

So, should we worry about individual performance or concentrate our attention on that system.

Well, it’s not necessarily a simple question to answer.

The reason that in some jobs or roles, people are more productive is due to a number of possible factors - experience, skill, attitude, motivation, etc.  it would be foolish not to pay attention to skill levels - to make sure our employees (all our employees) have the tools, equipment and skills they need.

If they all have those factors provides, the ‘system’ is likely to be more effective.

So, work at the system level and the individual level to improve productivity.

What's The Purpose

Many firms put in systems to improve productivity, by monitoring what is going on and how hard people are working.  They manage - or micro-manage - the time of their employees and how it is filled.

But they’ve forgotten something.

Employees don’t work well when they are micro-managed.   They work well when they know their role in the overall work system, when they have the correct tools and equipment to do their job, when they are fully and properly trained for their job.

Too many firms fail to address all of these factors.

“But what about motivation, what about rewards?” I hear you ask.

I am not ignoring these but, for me, motivation comes  from employees knowing their role - their purpose.  What do they do that helps the organisation achieve, succeed and grow?

So, forget time management of your employees.  Concentrate on managing their purpose and their understanding of that purpose.

Treat your employees like dogs

Do you have a dog?

If so, you know that, above all else, dogs value ... food, yes, but consistent behaviour from their owner.  That is how you train your dog - by applying consistent behaviour tied to small rewards and giving praise when they do something you perceive as good. You make it clear how you want them to behave and reward them when they do so.

People are not very different.

If you make it clear to employees how you want them to behave and praise or reward them for good behaviour - and do so consistently - they will respond with their loyalty - and with their productivity 

The Technology Circle

Last week I suggested that technology might be useful in helping drive productivity forward.

This week, I am changing my view after further reflection.

Yes, over time firms have used technology to improve their business performance.  But there is some evidence to suggest the pattern is now somewhat changed.  It seems as though well-performing firms are using investment in technology to increase the performance advantage they already have.  In effect, they are realising some of the value they have created to fund the next stage of development - a virtuous circle of improvement.

Firms who cannot realise that funding stream have to work much harder or take greater risks to fund their development - and may spend some time playing ‘catchup’ before they can break into the circle. 

Technology might help

Major technological change does boost productivity. Think of the really big developments - the wheel, the steam engine, the computer, the Internet, the robot. Though it takes time, such technologies have transformed industry and  human life in general.  Sometimes, of course ,the developments are on a smaller scale or more niche in terms of applicability - but important drivers of productivity no less.  

So what are the new technologies that are transforming or will transform industrial and commercial processes.

Well, drones are proving very useful in surveying both small and large physical areas - and objects.  Using a drone to scan an aircraft’s fuselage for signs of wear is much quicker than building the scaffolding for humans to do a close-up physical inspection. Artificial and mixed reality headsets could revolutionise skills training and development - and assessment.

The ‘trick’ is to keep your eye on technological development and regularly assess whether it does, or could, apply to your business, your products, your processes.  Scanning the technology horizon should involve looking at new and emerging technologies - not just obviously relevant technologies but seemingly irrelevant technologies that can be made relevant by the way in which they are applied.

Why wouldn’t you look at what might be a helping hand to improved productivity?