Lean Connections

I love my Amazon Kindle!  The technology, the design, the utility – this baby defines value for me, the customer.  And as great as this product is, I’m constantly on the look-out for hints and rumors that might provide some insight into what kind of awesome value I should be expecting from the next generation Kindle.  Hey, it’s in my blood – I’m a continuous improvment kind of guy.

Well, Fast Company’s blog this morning suggests “7 Ways Amazon Could Make the Next Kindle Awesome.”   Check it out.  My most desired feature would be the addition of a WiFi connection.  But of course, I’m still a pretty conventional thinker in terms of product design.  I bet the wizards of Kindle are already way ahead of me in coming up with some innovations that will deliver an even more amazing experience next time around!

And that’s the way I see it.  Adam Zak

PS.  I’m conducting an executive search for the person who will head up quality for the Kindle team.  Position title is Director, Product Quality.  If you know of a passionate Lean quality leader who might have an interest in exploring this role with me, please ask them to connect with me directly.

Competition for Kindle?

What’s interesting about this tiny player (about the size of two match boxes) is just how simple and excellent it is.  Serves only one purpose – play back a prerecorded book, just one – but it does this so easily! 

Single-function tools are often looked down upon, given all the multi-purpose devices at our disposal these days.  The iPhone, of course, which my kids can’t imagine doing without, does do many things…the Kindle, which is an awesome product (one I don’t think I’d want to give up) – are examples of two such gadgets.  But here are some of the great things I find very handy in this easy-to-use device.

• It’s free – assuming you have a library card, and your local library stocks these little gems.
• Listening allows you to enjoy a book in situations where your hands are otherwise engaged – riding the lawn mower, stair-stepping or jogging, and (because it’s winter in Chicago) blowing snow off your driveway.
• Plug n’ Play - just insert your headphone jack and push play.
• It’s very small, light-weight and battery powered.
• There’s a neckstrap for easily carrying it around – or in my case, sitting under a beach umbrella – it won’t fall to the ground if you should happen to doze off.
• You can jog with it hanging around your neck.  If it’s raining, just put the whole thing in a plastic baggie and leave a small opening to pull the strap through.
• Controls take absolutely no effort at all to figure out – see instructions on the inside of case -  in the unlikely event you need a reference.
• The Barrington Area library has dozens and dozens of these available, fiction and non-fiction titles alike. Finished with the book, or just bored with it – stop by your library and pick up another batch.
• Easy to share with friends and family on vacation – and you can pack a dozen of these in the same amount of space that two hard-back novels would take up.

Now, let’s hope the battery doesn’t run out just as I’m nearing the suspenseful conclusion of  Vince Flynn’s Protect and Defend.    The librarian told me that I need to bring it back so they can use their special key to open up the battery compartment.  

I finished a new book over the weekend and wanted to share my thoughts with you. No, it’s not your typical Lean leadership-focused manual.  But it does address what in my mind is one of the most critical aspects of sustainable Lean:  actually doing something about the information we obtain when listening to the “voice of the customer.”  

The people we do business with constantly tell us that our ability to deliver customer service is critical to their experience of satisfaction with our companies, our products and our services.  BAM! Bust A Myth – Delivering Customer Service in a Self-Service World,  by Barry J. Moltz and Mary Jane Grinstead, clearly and effectively communicates how each organization competing in today’s market place can develop its individual definition of “good customer service” and then put into practice those systems and processes which help make it a reality.  

Barry and Mary Jane demonstrate that no matter what our business, be it manufacturing energy saving solar panels, flying passenger airplanes, or conducting executive searches for Lean CEOs, delivering customer service which is appropriately tailored to the needs of each of our unique customers is at the core of our long-term viability and success.  

In this quick and easy-to-read text (just over 200 pages),  the authors dispel many of the common customer service myths that many early entrepreneurs, and even Fortune 1000 companies, often cling to  -  many times because the fog of anecdotal “evidence” overwhelms the truth.  Some examples I like are:  Myth #2: The customer is always right;  Myth  #10: Unhappy customers tell their stories to more people than happy customers do;  Myth #12: Customers don’t care about great service -  they just want the lowest price possible; and perhaps my personal favorite, Myth #17: Customer service systems should focus on trouble shooting – if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

This last Myth personally hit home because of my own strong belief in the Lean & Six Sigma principles which are at the core of  continuous improvement philosophy and culture so necessary today if our companies are to thrive in this competitive market place.   In fact, Barry and Mary Jane strongly advocate at every turn that you go see for yourself  what’s really happening on the front lines of your business (in Lean terminology, “go to the Gemba, or workplace”), a concept so  familiar to Lean practitioners all over the world.  

In summary, BAM!  is: well-written with a light touch of humor, offers good insights into situations to which we can all relate, and presents practical suggestions for solving a broad range of customer service issues.

And that’s the way I see it.  Adam Zak