Simplification is the most complicated process(TM)

It is easy to design a product or a process that works, at least in relative terms.  The same goes for writing almost anything.

But the real trick is to make it simple and still have full functionality and effectiveness.  In short, simplification is the most complicated (part of the) process.

For some people it comes more easily than for others.  Training and experience usually improve a person's ability to make things simple.

Whether you are writing advertising copy or designing a new product, making it simple is important.  Rachel was VP (& Director of Sales & Marketing) at Richway for a number of years and would sometimes spend literally hours getting just the right words in the proper places for a media ad or a brochure.  (Other times things flowed pretty easily, but she always spent time over several days to perfect her "copy")   I often told people that they need to have the same level of concern whether they are writing advertising or a letter to a customer.  

The same thing applies to product design.  A number of times we designed a product and put it into production, only to decide later that we could make it more simple without compromising performance.  We are not alone.  I often see the same thing as new models of a product emerge.

Simplicity is elegant!!      Simplification is the most complicated process.

I wrote this piece pretty quickly.  It will probably have a few changes made after I hit  "publish".

changes ..2



BTW, I trademarked this phrase a number of years ago when I made a wall sign that said just that. In writing this post I "googled" the phrase and guess what----  Somebody named "San Pedro" decided to use it as his own in August of 2012.  click here to go to the website    See below.

global.zinio.com/sitemap/Men-magazines/Metro...2012/.../pg-147
“One of the things I've learned from my mentors is that simplification is the most complicated process,” says San Pedro. “You can make a piece so bongga, but ...


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What They Don't See Counts

In the early 1980's, Mike Pint served as our service manager on a part time basis.  He was a full time firefighter in a nearby city, with a rotating shift.

Most of our products had a switchbox with a cover attached with four screws.  Every time Mike had a switchbox apart for service he would make sure the slots of the four screws were exactly aligned horizontally.  He would tell everyone nearby that "the customer may not see that the screws are lined up, but he will know it."  Mike would remind us that those little things tell a customer that he is getting a quality product and that we care about him.

I learned a lot from Mike and he helped shape our quality conscious culture.

Squarely aligning shipping labels and carefulness of sealing tape application can telegraph some notion of product quality even before the customer opens a box. Then the proper alingment of decals on the product itself sends another message.  The customer may not really "see" it, but "it counts."

The John Deere tractor manufacturing factory is only a few miles from us.  In the early 1980's I was told by a supplier to both Deere and some of the car manufacturers that Deere was more concerned about fit and finish than US car makers.  This became obvious in the reputation for quality (or non-quality) both had over the next twenty or more years, when "Detroit" began to catch up to their Japanese competitors (and Deere) in quality.


You can apply the concept of "what they don't see"  to anything.

My friend Paul is an executive chef and consultant in the restaurant industry in Florida.  He points out that the little things that you may not actively see in a restaurant can shape your opinion as much as the taste of the food itself.  Incidently he confirms that whatever you do see in the restroom is usually what you would see if you got to look in the kitchen. (If the restroom is dirty, Paul suggests that you may not want to eat in that restaurant.)

Nobody Ever Taught Me That

There are lots of things that nobody ever teaches you.  Instead you just have to be smart enough to learn them yourself.  Probably all the signals are there, but it is up to you to organize them and teach yourself whatever it is the signals are telling you.

This requires not just intelligence, but also a desire to learn about something or another.  You have to stop and think and want to make sense of  your world, to organize it and recognize a pattern so that next time you see or experience a similar pattern you can have some idea of what is coming next. 

It is like riding a bicycle,  only by doing can you know when you are in danger of tipping over.  Only then can you know where "the edge" is at.

Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great  and numerous other books, once said: "The right people don't need to be managed.  If you need to tightly manage someone, you've made a hiring mistake."  In the same vein, if someone needs to be taught everything, you have the wrong person.

Time and time again I have seen the people who were most successful at Richway constantly "teaching themselves" something new on an almost daily basis.  I always talked about giving people a "long rope" at Richway.  They could either "hang themselves" or have a great time and "swing high".  Being able to teach themselves was an important part of using the long rope to their advantage.


It has been said that the class clown can make the best salesman because he learns just how far he can push people .... he learns how to read them  (fellow students and teachers) better than the next guy, because he is always pushing the boundary of humor vs getting in real trouble.  He learns to quickly read where the "edge" is at with a given person in a given situation.   He can put this ability to his advantage in the process of selling.  He has to learn this himself.  Nobody can teach it to him.  The two best salesmen that I know both admit to having been class clowns. 

So it is in life and in business.  Nobody can teach you a lot of things.  You have to find them out for yourself by doing and experiencing.

No One Will Ever Get Out of This World Alive

Dave Kanicki is the Executive Editor of Farm Equipment magazine.  The Farm Equipment weekly newsletter is a must read for me, since it always has something interesting and relevant to our core business.  This week, I followed the link to Dave's blog.  The Resolutions below are good advice for everyone, even though "wise men don't need advice and fools won't heed it."   It is with Dave's permission that I publish this.   ----rich

________________________________________

I’ve never been a big believer in resolutions for the sake of making resolutions, particularly as an old year comes to an end and new year approaches. On the other hand, I came across something in 1975 that has remained in my “Food for Thought” file since then, and which I make a point of reading at least once a year.
It spoke to me then and continues to speak to me about things in life I often forget to remember, and what’s important and what’s not.
It just happens to be called “Resolutions” and was penned by the late newspaper columnist Lloyd Shearer. 
As this is my last editor’s blog for 2012, it seems it would be as good a time as any to share it with you.


Resolutions
No one will ever get out of this world alive.
Resolve therefore to maintain a sense of values.
Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone’s major source of wealth. Without it, happiness is almost impossible.
Resolve to be cheerful and helpful. People will repay you in kind.
Avoid angry, abrasive persons. They are generally vengeful.
Avoid zealots. They are generally humorless.
Resolve to listen more and talk less. No one ever learns anything by talking.
Be chary of giving advice. Wise men don’t need it and fools won’t heed it.
Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all of these.
Do not equate money with success. There are many successful moneymakers who are miserable failures as human beings. What counts most about success is how one achieves it.

Thanks for making 2012 such a great year. There’s no doubt in my mind that 2013 will be even better. 

Dave Kanicki,
Executive Editor
Farm Equipment
dkanicki@lesspub.co

Newtown Aftermath

This post is outside the arena of most of my notes, but because of the information I received from my cousin, I felt it would be of interest to regular readers of "Notes"

Yesterday (Monday) I did a blog post about some of my concerns following the Newtown shootings.  I have had some dialog and email exchanges with some of my friends and relatives as a result.  If you want to read yesterday's post, click on the OneEmptyChair link at the top of the right hand column.

I had long and insightful letter from my cousin overnight.  Her father was a prominent child psychiatrist in a major northwestern US city, her husband was a psychiatrist, her brother was a psychiatrist, and she was a psychiatric social worker.  Lots of experience there!

I am providing a few quotes from her letter.
______________________________________

"I will tell you what I think from a psychiatric perspective which John, my dad, brother and myself have all worked in the field for many years."

She then related that basically, during the 1970's, the medicine and treatment methods advanced to the point where many disturbed people could be effectively treated without being locked up in prisons or security mental institutions.  Families and the legal system could essentially force people to have treatment as a condition for not being incarcerated. 

"This was a very good thing but" (in the 1980's) "the 'advocates' got into the act and sued doctors and specifically the state to say that no one could be forced to take medication as part of their treatment or a condition for living on their own.

 

The legal procedures for anything other than a brief hold are now almost impossible"

  

So, in spite of effective treatment being available, it is often not provided to those who need it the most, because they refuse to be treated  and no one can force them to be treated.

"All of this has resulted in a system which basically doesn't protect or provide a safety net for the people afflicted with mental illness nor does it protect families and communities from those afflicted.

We need a return to common sense and personalized treatment."   With current health care practice regulations  "and what is to come, neither common sense or personalized treatment will be part of the equation.

I feel that early treatment, continuing treatment and continuity of care as well as education to families and community is what will keep people the safest but sadly I see no advocates for returning to some of the things that most helped those ill and protected society when I first entered the scene in the 1970's.

 

More rules and regulations won't help what I'm talking about. Possibly revisions/improvements will come from individuals in communities that can make changes in their local laws, fight them to the top of the court system and gradually spread the change.

 

Just increasing money to towards mental health programs will be, as Rich said, another bandaid. "

 

We need real change. 


I agree with Jean this should not be a partisan political issue.  These are changes that don't need more money.
______________________________________end of letter.

Note from Rich----

Currently, a huge wave of hysteria seems to be overcoming us.  My wife substitute taught yesterday at our local school, which was all locked except for the front door.  Parents were walking their kids into the school and even to the classroom.  In another area school, individual classroom doors were locked and windows blacked out.  In this emotion charged national atmosphere, there is no telling what “reforms” will be put in place.  I, too, hope this is not politicized. 

Read the comment below for more insight.

Let them keep their dignity

How I learned a life lesson at the expense of Mr. Jones   ---- that is what I will call him here.

Years ago, when we started our business, we were selling some agricultural chemicals as a way to generate additional revenue.  My father was an agronomist and had been involved in such businesses before.

We had a man who owed us perhaps $4000 or $5000 for materials he had purchased from us.  I volunteered to go collect since it was not too far from my home.  He had been putting us off for several months, so I was determined to demonstrate my collection abilities and "bring him to justice".

I stopped at his farm on the way home and found him and his young son in the barn, milking cows.   I marched in and without engaging in very much small talk, told Mr. Jones that I was there to collect the money he owed us.  He said he did not have it right then, so I told him I would be back the next night about the same time to collect.  Then I left.

The next night I stopped, went into the barn and  asked, probably not very politely, for the money.  He said, "It is in the house, on the table, my wife is not home.  Go inside and get it. Goodbye."

I got it and left.  Later and many times since then, I have thought about my actions, and have never been proud.  More than anything else, I robbed Mr. Jones of his dignity in front of his son. 

My friend Dave calls these "life lessons" and I have never forgotten this lesson:
Let them keep their dignity.

I have tried, though not with 100% success, to let people keep their dignity and hold their heads up, even when I wanted to break them down for some reason.  That means trying to not attack them as a person, but rather to keep things behavior focused.  It means that in spite of what wrong they may have committed in my eyes, remembering that they are people with feelings, who do not need their self worth downgraded.  It means not reprimanding people in front of others.  (This has sometimes been hard for me, because of a desire at times to make an example of someone.  Other times my own emotions just would not let me wait until a better time.)  The so-called "hot stove rule" speaks of the need for immediacy in discipline, just as a hot stove burns immediately.  How can you have immediacy and still "wait for a better time" ????

Click to learn about the Hot Stove Rule         I first learned about it in 1967 from Don Sheriff (see right hand column of this blog.


Dignity is one of those words that we all have a concept of its meaning, but yet has a variety of definitions.  In this case such terms as "self respect, self esteem, self worth, personal pride, or being worthy of respect, esteem, and honor" used in some of the on-line dictionaries. You can find a lot more such definitions.

Good customer service is where you find it

Recently I visited the Wickham Road Home Depot store in Melbourne, Florida.  It was raining, with some wind, and temperatures in the low 70's.  Not a bad day, though not exactly pleasant.  We picked out some plants in the outside garden center (during a break in the rain).

At the covered checkout counter area in the garden center there were a few employees who were running the registers, joking among themselves, answering customer questions, and waiting for the brief rain to end so they could again venture out to get their work done.  It was busy, but relaxed, and an atmosphere of fun.  One man in particular stood out.  He was joking with all the customers and fellow staff and doing even more than the other staff members in creating a fun atmosphere.

When I went to get our vehicle, my wife waited for me in the checkout area.

She reported that he suggested to one younger couple that the man go get their car while the wife waited so she could stay dry.  While waiting for her husband, the HD staff member tore open a plastic shopping bag to make her an "umbrella" and then ran their purchase out to the car so she could get in more quickly.

These staff members, and this one man in particular, created a positive shopping experience.

Better, said my wife, than any other "big box" DIY store she had visited.

We will be back the next time we are town!