Articles

Clearing the Management Cache – Daily Work Management

Businesses thrive by growth. Leaders are expected to find innovative  ways to propel the organization in the new direction and to make that  growth vision a reality. In this game, most of us take for granted, the  fact that the processes we own need our attention. I’m not joking. Smart  managers are compelled to delegate the monitoring or upkeep of the  processes to their smartest subordinates; And conveniently focus their  own energy on transforming the business

Unfortunately  Murphy plays havoc, all the time. In reality, time goes in fire  fighting, leaving none or very little for change or transformation  effort. In fact, the more you plan to devote time for transformation,  the more you plough your head into daily issues. The time that you  devote to unplanned daily issues can be equated to a cache, such as the  one in your computer, except that this one is a ‘Management Cache’.

In  Lean management, there is an approach called ‘Nichijo Kanri’ that is  devoted to a set of activities that aim to utilize minimum time of the  manager to upkeep or retain the current performance level of processes.  Thus it aims to systematically establish governance mechanisms that  builds accountability across levels, vertically & horizontally, and  across functions. This empowers the next line of command to take  decisions at minimum risk to the organization. This approach is called  as Daily Work Management System.

It  stitches together a set of simple tools and techniques to put the  concept into action. It takes an integrated approach. In fact, the lack  of an integrated approach to daily work management is often recognized  as the root cause of fire-fighting, because even a manager who is  diligent, soon or later swirls into fire fighting.

Nichijo  Kanri integrates role definition as defined by HR, process  specification and standards as defined by process experts, individual  potential and collaboration efforts. It uses tools such as Managing  Points, Checking Points (MPCP), check sheets, visual management methods,  gemba walks, huddles, accountability circles, kaizen, etc

Whether  you are small business owner or a senior management professional in a  mature corporate set-up, Daily Work Management System can revive &  restart your system that clears the management cache and gives you peace  of mind. It is fuel you to scale up your organization and, in fact,  even fuel your own growth prospects.