Visual Workplace Radio: Let The Workplace Speak

Flow is pull’s foundation. Pull is flow under demand, driven by time. This week we focus on Principle 8/Let The Flow Do the Work in our continuing march through the 14 Smart Placement principles. In 8, we look at the macro-layout in a work area and at its overall flow line. How would you describe that flow? Fluid? Stalled? Using the Could-Be/Dream Map to illuminate motion, we contemplate the placement of what’s easy-to-move and what needs approval before it can be re-located. If you are a regular listener, you know you are in the Land of Big Ideas (yellow post-its)—and they have to be considered carefully. Not handling Big Ideas correctly can cause your smart placement efforts to crash and burn. Do not confuse “I-driven” with open-handed permission. If you do, associates may get the mistaken notion that thinking of a BIG improvement idea is the same as doing it. This is not so. Listen and hear how to handle those decisions and keep the spirit of inventiveness and engagement alive.