Friday Nights
Friday nights at my house consist of pizza, salad it is the be lazy and relax night. Last Friday mom was out running errands so dad and I had a dinner date at the kitchen counter. We talked about my sisters, work, graduate school, and his job. We catch up on everything that is going on before going off on an education tangent. (Which I love)
Background
My father has been working in the oil and energy industry since before I was born, over 24 years. He started at the bottom, managing gas stations and climbed his way in to a Vice President position. Since then he has retired and now works for a well-known consulting firm in the oil and energy sector. He has both a Bachelors and Masters degree and attended additional programs at an Ivy League school. Basically, he is a dork. But he is a fun, sporty, happy dork, who loves to educate and pass on all the knowledge he has gained over the years.
Listen Up
Dinnertime with dad is always the best, one on one. It turns in to a fun info session about his job and projects. Everything I have learned in regards to Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and re-structuring manufacturing plants from floor employees to executives comes from him. We review past projects (but he never tells me the names of the companies) and talk about what he does when he first walks into a clients office, plant, or building. Observe, listen, say hello to everyone, and remember that you are all people; titles mean nothing.
Question & Listen
“Does your office and manufacturing plant workers all walk into work through the same door?” Do they all enter through the manufacturing floor’s entrance?” Yes? Than that is great, it symbolizes a unity among all employees from floor to executive. No? Then you have a lot of work ahead of you. Something as simple as what door you enter can send the message, “We are different.” It has a subtle way of saying we enter through this door and sit in these fancy offices because we are not equal. (Please note this has nothing to do with race, sex, age etc.)
The important thing to remember for any job is that you are all on the same team. You each have a role in the company that helps keep the ball rolling. No single person closes the deal, the team does. So next time you walk into work go through the common door (mainly for manufacturing facilities) smile and say hello to everyone, because you are all apart of the same production line.
Filed under: Business, communicatioin, LIfe after College, Real World Tagged: bottleneck, bottlenecks, consulting, Conversation, employees, equal, lean manufacturing, lean process, management, manufacturing, office, production, production line, same level, six sigma, work
