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The REASON Tracking and Trending
Indicator Grasses
A friend once told
me that he could look out across any land in Texas and tell how alkaline the
soil was without taking any soil samples, without conducting any tests, and
without spending more than a few seconds. He explained that anyone who could
recognize a few weeds and grasses could learn this trick in minutes. It
seems that certain weeds and grasses grow only in alkaline soils, some in
slightly alkaline and some in strongly alkaline. He called them indicator
grasses.
In business and
industry, some of the most common indicator grasses are the things that we
call quality problems: recurring scrap, rework, missed schedules, accidents,
angry customers, downtime, lost sales, and missed goals. So, why is it that
we are continually dealing with counter-quality in our organizations? It
certainly is not because we all cannot recognize when we have scrap product
or an angry customer.
When you come onto a
lush and productive garden, notice that the smiling gardener tending it is
someone who sees the ‘big picture’ of what is going on in his garden.
Instead of trying to
impose unnatural demands upon the plants and environment, he is noticing the
trends in the weather and the effects of his new bug spray on the plants. He
is committed to keeping an eye on the trends and indicators of healthy
growth. He is so attuned to his garden that the slightest trend of decline
in his garden prompts him to take action.
It is not a
revelation to any management team that they too should be looking intensely
at their industry’s ‘indicator grasses’ and be ready to take action to
protect their business. But something that gets in the way of management’s
ability to see the trends and indicators is the sheer size or design of
their organization (A.K.A. garden).
REASON®’s
Trending and Tracking, Lesson Learned system is a state of the art system
that gives management the ability to monitor and measure the trends and
health of their organization. With REASON®’s Tracking and
Trending , management has an early warning system to change, that makes
them aware of the bad business weather coming, or the bad policy that is
causing some of their plants to wither.
Just like when the
gardener sees that the winter’s cold is approaching and starts covering his
cold-susceptible plants, your organization can have the ability of
anticipating changes and cold weather approaching your company so you can
take pre-emptive actions to minimize or prevent loss. |
