People ask what successful Gainsharing companies have in common.
They all . . . “Lean into the problem.”
It seems either you’re just “muddling through” or you’re “leaning into the problem.”
When you’re just muddling through, you’re doing the best you can, dealing with things as they come up.
You use “band-aid” fixes and “work-arounds.”
You avoid attacking the problems straight-on.
Cause and Effect
It’s a cause and effect world.
So if we’re trying to make something happen and we have a problem, then there’s a reason we had the problem.
And if we don’t change what we’re doing . . . we’ll have the problem again!
People think that better productivity is going to be a matter of sweating more or moving faster.
I avoid the term “incentive” because people immediately think “hustle more” when they hear the word incentive.
But we can only work “so hard.
And even if you get to an amazing effort level, you can’t work like that all the time.
The real lasting improvements come from improving our systems . . . from systematically and consistently finding and fixing problems.
“When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens — and when it happens, it lasts.”
– Legendary basketball coach John Wooden
And there’s no limits to how much we can improve our systems.
Stepping Stones of Improvement
When you’re “leaning into the problem,” you’re actively looking for the changes/adjustments that should be made.
You want to be better. Do better. Achieve more.
Problems are really where the lasting gains begin!
It’s ironic. But it’s true.
The enemy is avoiding problems. Hiding problems. Not admitting problems. Just bumbling along.
Why? Because they’ll just keep multiplying.
Capture and Fix Problems (Not catch and release)
So to put this into action, you need a system to find, record, and implement fixes to the problems that come up.
One of the biggest dangers is problems getting lost because they’re not written down.
The second problem is that a decision is never made or a solution isn’t implemented.
Don’t be concerned your employees will be unreasonably upset if their ideas are’t implemented.
The real problem is them feeling that they brought something up and nothing ever happened.
In their minds, this means they’re being disrespected.
They may not be pleased if their ideas aren’t implemented, but will be profoundly offended if they never hear anything one way or another.
That’s the bigger problem. They’ll see that as an insult and will never forget it.
Creating Heros
The second point is that we need people to be seen as a hero for bringing up problems and not as a whiny complainer.
Often employees think the proper thing to do is just keep your head down, not mention problems, and “soldier on” through the difficulties.
Gainsharing companies use their weekly communications to celebrate problems being spotlighted and fixed.
This also sets an example and gives healthy peer-pressure for other departments to do the same.
But most importantly, it demonstrates on a weekly basis that people who find and fix problems are celebrated heroes, not whiny complainers.
In Gainsharing companies, fixing problems also drives bonuses for everyone, which also leads to greater hero status.
Your Homework
Top performers actively and directly seek out problems and focus on them as keys to being better in the future.
Consider the following questions:
- What systems does your Company have to capture problems and make sure fixes are put in place?
- How does your Company ensure that there’s follow-through on implementing the fixes?
- How do you give visibility to this process and build healthy peer pressure to speak up about problems?
- How does your Company celebrate and makes heros of those that aggressively speak up about problems and make sure fixes are put in place?
- What rewards/bonuses are given when performance improves that shows we all benefit from continuously improving?
