As a Six Sigma professional I have seen many uses of Six Sigma methodology and principles improve and simplify the quality of a process. Many of these concepts are Japanese terms since Japanese companies perfected the use of Six Sigma such as Motorola and Toyota.
For instance Kaisen is a way of thinking that small or incremental improvements can make a change for the better. Underscore the importance of small and incremental improvements in making improvements in any process. Process refers to a string of actions focused towards a goal or end result. Examples of processes are cooking dinner, health and fitness routines, or building an airplane. Muda is a Japanese term meaning waste or any activity that adds no real value. Six Sigma principles fight to reduce and and eliminate waste or all non value steps to any process.
Six Sigma doesn't have to be just about the corporation. We can use these principles to simplify and organize our home and life. Take small steps to organize and improve your household activities. Remove all steps in your process that add no real value to the end result. In another words, if you spend time on meaningless activities that serve no real purpose to your overall goals and well being, these could be considered wasteful and non productive.
It’s about becoming efficient and in busy households where time is limited, sometimes we need to be efficient to create more time to do the things we really enjoy like spending more time with our families. We don't have to use statistics to improve our lives, but it's about adopting a mindset or principles using this fast growing philosophy of Six Sigma.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Lost Art of Thank You Notes
In the electronic world we live in, we have simply lost the fine art of a hand written thank you note. We have also missed the true value of it's simplicity. Think about it. How welcoming is it to receive a handwritten note in the mail along with all the other depressing bills and solicitation offers you receive on a regular basis? A hand written thank you note is a way to add a personal touch which will always be remembered and appreciated by your clients, friends, or prospective employers. The fact that it's handwritten will add value to the recipient, especially if it's heartfelt.
It's not that complicated in the electronic age we live in to do this. Simply have a supply of thank you notes, stamps and return address labels and away you go with your thank yous to anyone who did something nice to you, whether it was a birthday or holiday gift or a gesture by someone who interviewed you or better yet, the secretary who organized the interview for you. Anyone who has helped you along the way, or has purchased your services will remember your sincere thank you note and may even refer you because you stood out. Its a great way to build a connection or build a personal brand, by setting yourself apart from those that send computer letters or don't send letters at all. Its a simple strategy for business owners, job seekers or anyone receiving a service or gift. It's also a great technique to teach your children in an age when this practice is becoming a lost art.
It's not that complicated in the electronic age we live in to do this. Simply have a supply of thank you notes, stamps and return address labels and away you go with your thank yous to anyone who did something nice to you, whether it was a birthday or holiday gift or a gesture by someone who interviewed you or better yet, the secretary who organized the interview for you. Anyone who has helped you along the way, or has purchased your services will remember your sincere thank you note and may even refer you because you stood out. Its a great way to build a connection or build a personal brand, by setting yourself apart from those that send computer letters or don't send letters at all. Its a simple strategy for business owners, job seekers or anyone receiving a service or gift. It's also a great technique to teach your children in an age when this practice is becoming a lost art.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Purging and Simplifying
No matter where you are in life, regular purging and organizing is necessary to reducing clutter and more importantly stress! All of us have things in our home that we no longer use or want. Purging these items on a regular basis will keep you organized and stress free. The areas that have the most potential for purging are toys, closets, drawers and cabinets. If you get overwhelmed at the thought of all this, take it one step at a time, or one drawer at a time.
When purging toys, get your children involved. Tell them you need their help on which unused toys you should give to charity to help other children who don't have as many. They will love to help with this fun project and they learn to give at the same time.
When purging in your closets, use a 12 month rule. If you haven't worn it in the last 12 months or it hasn't fit you in the last 24 months, purge it! Only keep items that fit this rule if they are unique and special items that you want to keep for a wedding, special occasion, etc. The purged clothes can be given to consignment stores, charitable organizations or someone you know who needs them. It will make you feel good when you see how much they appreciate it.
Purging cabinets for medicines and canned or packaged pantry goods not used in 12 to 24 months is often needed too. Look for unused items in your kitchen cabinets like sippy cups or baby bottles when the youngest child in your house is far beyond that stage. Review plastic cups and storage containers to see if you can get by with less.
Another great way to handle your purged items it to have a garage sale. Garage sales are great ways to make some extra spending money. Getting the kids involved to help with the sale teaches them about organization and the value of money.
If you get in the habit of purging on a regular basis, you will be amazed at how much more space you have. Now you can find the things you often couldn't locate in all the clutter!
When purging toys, get your children involved. Tell them you need their help on which unused toys you should give to charity to help other children who don't have as many. They will love to help with this fun project and they learn to give at the same time.
When purging in your closets, use a 12 month rule. If you haven't worn it in the last 12 months or it hasn't fit you in the last 24 months, purge it! Only keep items that fit this rule if they are unique and special items that you want to keep for a wedding, special occasion, etc. The purged clothes can be given to consignment stores, charitable organizations or someone you know who needs them. It will make you feel good when you see how much they appreciate it.
Purging cabinets for medicines and canned or packaged pantry goods not used in 12 to 24 months is often needed too. Look for unused items in your kitchen cabinets like sippy cups or baby bottles when the youngest child in your house is far beyond that stage. Review plastic cups and storage containers to see if you can get by with less.
Another great way to handle your purged items it to have a garage sale. Garage sales are great ways to make some extra spending money. Getting the kids involved to help with the sale teaches them about organization and the value of money.
If you get in the habit of purging on a regular basis, you will be amazed at how much more space you have. Now you can find the things you often couldn't locate in all the clutter!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A Great Value for Wine Lovers!
I’m all about value these days as so many of us are and I’m happy to share with my fellow wine lovers a great wine for an incredible value. The wine is called Oak Leaf. And for the price of $3.00 a bottle, it tastes pretty good and has even won some awards. For example, it won a gold medal at the prestigious Florida State International Wine Competition and Silver and Bronze at the 2008 San Francisco Wine Competition. It was also rated the steal of the season this Summer by O magazine. The only place I have found you can purchase this wine is at Walmart. I was so skeptical about the taste of a $3.00 bottle of wine but was pleasantly surprised at the great taste!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
How to Save on your Printing Costs
Paper is not cheap. And there are a few ways homes and businesses can save on printing costs. Fine Print (http://www.fineprint.com/) is a licensed software program that you can install on your computer and save on printing costs by up to 30%. It allows you to print multiple pages on one sheet, delete unwanted pages, combine multiple print jobs into one and much more.
Printing on both sides of the paper is also a good way to save on printing costs. when applicable.
Another way to save on printing costs is to buy recycled printer cartridges which is less than half the price of buying a new cartridge.
Printing on both sides of the paper is also a good way to save on printing costs. when applicable.
Another way to save on printing costs is to buy recycled printer cartridges which is less than half the price of buying a new cartridge.
Monday, February 9, 2009
What to do with your Magazines
For many of us with little time on our hands, we often find ourselves with lots of magazines around the house, many of which are unread and piling up in several corners. My best advice on this topic is to recycle them if they haven’t been read or touched in 3 or so months. If you can’t find time to read them in 3 months, when will you find time to read them in the near future? One of the principles I try to live by is to touch something once as soon as possible and then put it in its place. Since time is limited, I try to quickly flip through the magazine as soon as possible; tearing out the pages with articles I know I will enjoy reading later. These get filed in a sectioned file folder or equivalent and the rest of the magazine is recycled. Recipes should always be stored in a separate recipe file folder. If the magazine is packed with lots of great articles, I keep it since it has value to me.
We all receive free magazine subscriptions from time to time and we end up not really needing or enjoying it. Don’t waste your time with keeping these magazines around the house hoping you will change your mind some day and enjoy it. Recycle them and don’t renew the subscription. In most neighborhoods, especially if you live near a school, there are paper recycle bins. Bundle up the unread and untouched magazines and take a walk to the school to recycle them. You will feel much better without the clutter of all the magazines lying around the house once you do.
For those that you do enjoy and wish to keep, have a nice tall basket near a sitting chair, or in the bathroom or bedroom to keep the ones that are 3 months old or less. Once you have made time to read them, recycle them to make room for the new ones.
We all receive free magazine subscriptions from time to time and we end up not really needing or enjoying it. Don’t waste your time with keeping these magazines around the house hoping you will change your mind some day and enjoy it. Recycle them and don’t renew the subscription. In most neighborhoods, especially if you live near a school, there are paper recycle bins. Bundle up the unread and untouched magazines and take a walk to the school to recycle them. You will feel much better without the clutter of all the magazines lying around the house once you do.
For those that you do enjoy and wish to keep, have a nice tall basket near a sitting chair, or in the bathroom or bedroom to keep the ones that are 3 months old or less. Once you have made time to read them, recycle them to make room for the new ones.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
How to Simplify the Job Search and more
Since my temporary departure from corporate, I have learned about all sorts of tools available to those in the job seeking market. I found one to be simple and packed with value since it is free. It is a networking website called Linkedin, http://www.linkedin.com/. Set up a profile or outline of your experience, education, and specialties. Once you search for people you know and invite them to join your network, you are now capable of networking with others who are only "six degrees of separation" from you. You can also set up a group of individuals in your network with like minds and network with them for opportunities.
The tool will automatically provide companies and jobs that "match" your profile. As you start learning about companies you want to work for, you can search the company name and pull up a list of linkedin users who work for that company. Now here's the power...find someone who has a title at your target company that closely aligns with your experience or the job title you are interested in. You may directly ask to network with them or ask someone to introduce you to them through the "introduction" tool. Everyone on linkedin is there to network, so a blind e:mail (in-mail) or introduction by someone else asking to network with them is expected and understood. Find out when you can call them for a brief chat. Ask them to provide information about the company culture, the issues and challenges, and maybe the hiring manager's name for the job you want. Use all this information to to gain a better understanding of the target company and to make more networking contacts. When looking for a job, it's all about the networking! And linkedin makes it simple!
Linkedin has jobs you can search, or it has jobs that it will recommend for you based on your profile. Based on it's intelligence and it's ability to read your profile, it will recommended books, networking groups and professional development events just for you. Sales people should use this to find customers, homemakers should use this to find services, job seekers should use this to find jobs, and recruiters should use this to find talent. Anyone providing a service that wants additional exposure and business should be on Linkedin to promote their business. It's a powerful tool and its free (for now).
The tool will automatically provide companies and jobs that "match" your profile. As you start learning about companies you want to work for, you can search the company name and pull up a list of linkedin users who work for that company. Now here's the power...find someone who has a title at your target company that closely aligns with your experience or the job title you are interested in. You may directly ask to network with them or ask someone to introduce you to them through the "introduction" tool. Everyone on linkedin is there to network, so a blind e:mail (in-mail) or introduction by someone else asking to network with them is expected and understood. Find out when you can call them for a brief chat. Ask them to provide information about the company culture, the issues and challenges, and maybe the hiring manager's name for the job you want. Use all this information to to gain a better understanding of the target company and to make more networking contacts. When looking for a job, it's all about the networking! And linkedin makes it simple!
Linkedin has jobs you can search, or it has jobs that it will recommend for you based on your profile. Based on it's intelligence and it's ability to read your profile, it will recommended books, networking groups and professional development events just for you. Sales people should use this to find customers, homemakers should use this to find services, job seekers should use this to find jobs, and recruiters should use this to find talent. Anyone providing a service that wants additional exposure and business should be on Linkedin to promote their business. It's a powerful tool and its free (for now).
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