THE 10 SECOND RULE
In effective visual management, anyone should be able to see what is right and what is wrong in under 10 seconds. It is then obvious that the elements of your visual management system should reflect top priorities and be current and clear.
Let's say you lead Finance. What are the top 3 improvement efforts your team should be focused on? Reducing closing time to one day? Reducing Days Outstanding by 1 day per month? Issuing all invoices the same day the receivable is earned?
Can your team see right now how much progress they've made on the top 3 priorities within your department? Are obstacles and opportunities discussed daily? Do others pitch in to help?
Let's say you lead Sales. What are the top 3 improvement efforts your team should be focused on? Talking with the top 20% of clients every two weeks? Identifying and pursuing at least five cross selling opportunities daily? At least monthly visiting 10 customers to see how they use your product and learning what they like and don't like?
Can your team see right now where they are on those top 3 efforts? Are obstacles and opportunities discussed daily? Do others pitch in to help?
Visual management is not just for operations and it is not just for measures like MTD sales or shipping dollars. It is a valuable process for ensuring all employees can see what is important, why it is important, and how they are doing making progress on those priorities.
If an operator walked into finance or sales could she see what your team is working on and how much progress it is making? The same can be asked of every department in your organization.
It's too easy to simply go to work and do the job without giving improvement any real thought. Don't let that happen in your company.
Test the 10 second rule in each department. For those that pass it, ask how you can help them be more successful. For those that fail it, help them understand how to create visual management systems that will make the score obvious.
Office functions can improve greatly also.
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