Sep 19 2014
The Creative Benefits of Boredom | HBR Blog Network | David Burkus
“[…]a certain level of boredom might actually enhance the creative quality of our work […]”
Source: blogs.hbr.org
It is one step away from claiming that boredom makes you creative, which would make no sense. The frustration of boredom may motivate you to use your creativity, but deliberately boring people in order to make them creative is not something I would recommend.
I think that creativity is innate, but much more widely spread than most managers and engineers believe. The example in the article is about sales; I am more familiar with manufacturing, where most jobs are repetitive, tedious, and boring.
They jobs are also tiring, but most production operators will tell you that they don’t mind the tiredness as much as the slowness of the clock. Boredom is their number one enemy, and participation in improvement activities a welcome relief from it, as well as an opportunity to be creative.
People who are bored by repetitive tasks go “on automatic.” Their hands keeps executing the sequence of tasks with accuracy and precision, while their minds wander off to, perhaps, the lake they fish in on week-ends. While on automatic, you don’t think about improvements.
Changes in the routine, whether deliberate or accidental, refocus their minds on the workplace. This includes product changes, spec changes, rotation between work stations, or any breakdown like defects in the product, component shortages, or machine stoppages. During theses changes, while engaged, your mind is focused on responding as you were trained to, and avoiding mistakes. If you think of better ways to do this work, they go on the back burner in your mind, while you attend to immediate needs.
Depending on the management culture, operators may or may not be willing to share these ideas. They may be afraid of humiliation by a tactless manager, or they may fear that improving their job puts it in jeopardy,…
To put to use the operators’ creativity, you have to organize for this purpose, and it can’t be while the line is running. This is why continuous improvement requires structures, procedures, and leadership.
See on Scoop.it – lean manufacturing
Sep 29 2014
Discipline And The Broken Windows Theory | Dumontis
“Over the last few years a lot has been written about Lean leadership. For instance about what the differences would be between Lean and traditional leadership. And what the characteristics are of a Lean leader. One of the aspects often missing, I feel, is “discipline”. I have always told my managers that they weren’t paid more because they would supposedly be more intelligent or because they studied for a longer period of time, but because I expected them to be the most disciplined in respecting standards. As without the manager’s respect – also interestingly described in the “broken windows” theory – the organization as a whole will flout its own rules.”
Source: www.dumontis.com
Is being disciplined in respecting standards truly the quality that justifies managerial pay? By this criterion, the Caine’s Captain Queeg and the Bounty’s Lt. Bligh were both excellent managers. Whatever happened to “plan, organize, control, and lead”?
Like the “Hawthorne effect” or “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,” the broken windows theory is being accepted just because it sounds plausible, not because it is supported by experiments. Do clean walls and intact windows deter serious crime? Perhaps, but it has to be established, and the response of passers-by to flyers does not do the job.
See on Scoop.it – lean manufacturing
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By Michel Baudin • Blog clippings • 6 • Tags: Broken-windows theory, Hawthorne effect, Maslow's hierarchy of needs