by Lee Fried, on 15 Nov 2006 09:50 am
The Journey
Time for Reflection
I am ready for a needed break and so is the leadership team that I am working with. On Friday I am going to get that break as I venture back home to the woods of northern Vermont for a week with my family. I hope most of the Model Line leadership team also gets some Thanksgiving time off. For our Hoshin planning we have clearly separated improvement work (strategic) from maintenance work (day-to-day). Being the benchmark for the organization has given us ambition and optimism, which in turn has led us to take on a lot of improvement work. At the same time we have not yet had the opportunity to standardize all of our core processes leading to instability in our maintenance areas. This combination has been tough on the leadership team, but they are doing great. Yet, again it is obvious that we need a break.
I plan on spending this time away from the internet and the noise of the city. From a work stand point I plan on doing a lot of reflecting and refreshing. For the last year we have pushed hard for change in the organization and we have made great strides. This often does not seem like the case as we run into challenges and setbacks, but when I think back of where we were a year ago the progress is impressive. Writing in this blog has been incredibly helpful for me on this journey. I have never been a good writer and when Ted approached me with the idea it took some persuasion (which he is very good at by the way). Sitting down a couple of times a week to write entries and to reflect has allowed me to make corrections and get better at what I do. So for the next ten days I will be dormant, but I will make a promise to all the readers out there. When I get back I will be energized and will bring some excellent content to these pages. Take care, happy Thanksgiving and keep up the good work!