Comments on: How to Motivate Others to Change

By: Ruzanne

Ruzanne — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:48:40 +0000

@Bruce Wilkinson You're right. Just wanted you to know that :)

By: Craig Gauvreau

Craig Gauvreau — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:39:17 +0000

Identify and brag about what is working. We were certain that there were many near miss incidents on our work site that were not getting reported. Near miss cases are often considered negitive. While we identified the safe guards that did not work or did not work as intended, in our presentations and reports, we started to identify the safe guards in place that did work that kept the incidents as near miss & not actual incidents in that no one was injured or no equipment was damage. This has created a bit of social motivation. We obtain better information and can manage the site with more effective safety for the people. We are still working on improving the reporting but there has been great improvements in regards to the reporting by recognizing what is also working well.

By: Andrea Gordon

Andrea Gordon — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:22:38 +0000

Great post, David. I agree that the best way to influence others to change is to show that you’re motivated and willing to take the initiative to change too. Being active in the process makes others feel more comfortable instead of feeling targeted or criticized. Thanks for the insights!

By: David Maxfield

David Maxfield — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:31:28 +0000

Yes, Bruce. Your comment is right on target. Systems like Lean, Six Sigma, and the Toyota Method are excellent ways to take the focus off of the “people” and put it on the “system” where it belongs. Giving people a powerful tool that helps them improve their work can be very motivating. Thanks!

By: Bruce Wilkinson

Bruce Wilkinson — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:54:26 +0000

We have introduced a process improvement methodology called, “Lean,” into our organization. It has a toolset for looking at the work and finding waste in the processes. By classifying the different types of waste and introducing tactics for finding it (time and motion, inventory, waiting), and some principles (flow, just in time, visual cues) for reducing it, this methodology can be readily understood and applied. The ultimate goal of “Lean” is to get everyone thinking critically about waste and to give them the tools to eliminate it. The focus is on the process–not the people. So, there is no explicit or implicit assignment of blame for how the waste was introduced. It is just a way of taking a naive look at a process with the goal of finding waste and eliminating it.