The material was prepared for a strategic planning and management class some years ago but its still relevant. The questions are meant to be read and answered at a boot camp. But who says you cant have your own boot camp? Try it today!
Optimum
Performance
Questions that would help improve your (Know-How and do now)
performance potential!
If
you take the pain to go through these questions I gaurantee that you
will be spurred to do something to improve the situation you currently
find yourself in, in your business. Read and do now!
1. What do you want to improve (self, product.
service?)
2. What is the
problem, objective, goal?
3. What is the
present condition, situation?
4. Who or what
caused it? Why, when, where, how?
5. What may
can or should be done about it?(Make a list)
6. Who should
do it? You alone? OR should you enlist others to join you, to help you?
7. Why is an
improvement needed? When?
8. How do you
think the object, product, plan, method-anything should be improved?
9. Write down your own idea for improvement, then
consider the following:
10.
Can whatever you want to improve be made better or
more desirable by making it bigger? Enlargement has greatly improved many
things (Food packages, buildings, machinery, ships and countless items) Think
big!
11.
Can whatever you want to improve be made better or
more desirable by making it smaller? Compactness is increasingly important as
our world and our lives become more crowded. Miniaturization has made much of
modern technology possible. Think Small!
12.
Can you make improvements by increasing numbers?
Elections are won by increasing numbers of voters. Organizations expand and
become more powerful by increasing the number of members. Six packs (canned/packaged
soft drinks or foods) increase beverage and food sales. Military superiority
often depends upon increased numbers of men and weapons. Advertising success
depends upon increased number of viewers or readers who will see the ad and buy
the product or service!
13.
Can you make improvements by decreasing numbers? By
decreasing numbers, you can often improve quality eliminate waste, improve
efficiency, reduce costs. Consider simplifying things by decreasing numbers.(Numbers
of parts, movements, packages, operations, etc.
14.
Can what you want to improve benefit by being combined
with something else? The opportunities are endless for improving by combining.
The washer-drier laundry unit and the refrigerator/freezer are obvious
combinations and there are thousands more.
15.
What can you add which will improve value?
16.
What can you eliminate to improve efficiency:
(decrease costs, time, increase quality or simplify?)
17.
Can you improve by increasing speed? An increase in
speed often leads to an higher productivity level and possibly decrease costs.
18.
Can you improve quality, safety and decrease rejects
or employees stress by reducing speed?
19.
Can you reduce boredom by rotating jobs?
20.
How can you improve control? Control technology offers
a lot of opportunities
21.
Could you improve by increasing the softness of the product?
Many goods have been made more desirable by a process that makes them softer,
for instance, fabric and clothing
22.
Can you improve by increasing hardness? Harder tools
or combinations of metals used for cutting or carving are examples of where
hardness is important!
23.
Could you make what you want to improve easier to
obtain, use, apply. Easy access would guarantee more sales or usage. For
instance the Personal Computer you are currently using is easy use and that’s
why a lot of people are using them all around the world.
24.
Can you change and improve the colour? Colours of
products, office environments, office wear attract a psychological benefit that
attracts customers to goods and services.
25.
How can you simplify it? Make it less complicated?
26.
What can you do to make the product service more
desirable and less expensive?
27.
What specific corrections can be made in the product
or service? Most improvements are made by transforming existing conditions.
28.
Can you change or improve the materials used? Materials
for every purpose are so varied and their uses so remarkable that they offer
almost unlimited opportunities for improvement. Begin a search for new
materials and combinations of materials that can lead to improvement of a
product or service or personal ability.
29.
What changes in labour would increase output and
reduce costs, waste, labour. Be the first to suggest production improvements in
your organization.
30.
What changes in personnel are needed in your
organization: few, many, more skilled, what training programmes are required to
bring you and your organization up to date, what motivation methods can you use
for people who work with you?
31.
NOW LOOK AT YOUR PERSONAL PLAN FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ASK
YOURSELF WHAT IMPROVEMENTS CAN BE MADE IN YOUR PLAN? Intensive reviews can
improve plans at least by 10 times their initial worth if they are carried out
properly. CHECK THE FOLLOWING;
32.
What time changes would improve efficiency and
employee relations? Could time changes increase uses of facilities, fixed
overhead? Twenty four hour use plus maintenance constitutes 100 percent use of
a fixed overhead, equipment or property!
33.
How can you better divide time allocations, personnel
functions, operations, workload?
34.
How can you
multiply results? Additions are good, but multiplying will make you better at
the job and you will attract more attention from you bosses!
35.
How can you magnify your desirable qualities to make
them appear even more desirable?
36.
Can what you want to improve be made even better by
changing its shape or form which will lead to increased demand?
37.
What qualities and characteristics should be retained?
Often eagerness to make changes sacrifices qualities which should be retained.
There is danger in being suddenly too new and too different so change when
total should be gradual.
38.
What can be discarded advantageously? You will be
surprised at the number of needless things and methods which you can get rid of
and streamline your methods of operation.
Would clearing your desk out in the office and arranging the table,
having a draw or specific place for different things you use make you more
efficient? Work faster? More comfortable in the office environment?
39.
Would setting a definite limit or restriction on
certain personal habits increase your productivity or of those around you? For
instance amount of time spent sharing stories at work, browsing the internet
during work hours, watching the television in the reception, attending to
personal visitors, taking personal phone calls. Kill a bad habit and it helps
improve your output!
40.
How can what you want to improve be modified? Often
drastic changes are neither necessary nor desirable, but some simple modifications may produce
magnificent results.
41.
How can you diminish danger and increase safety? And
appeal to one of the most powerful human desires: security.
42.
How can what you want to improve be related to and or
associated with something of established desirability? Would starting a cooperative at your work
place, at your organization or society meet some desirable requests if
management can not? Buying a house, land, a car, starting an investment
account?
43.
How can you improve appearance? People, organizations,
products and things are judged by appearance. Appearance often affects judgment;
disregard this fact to your disadvantage.
44.
How can you activate? What should you do to increase
activity at your workplace, shop or business? Shoprite has one attractive
venture that makes it different from other shops in Ghana. It sells fresh
bread this known fact attracts more people to this department
store than any other. A lot of people go there just because of fresh bread and
buy other things along side. Remember, activity attracts attention.
45.
Can you offer or improve upon a guarantee, insure
against defects or loss, eliminate or minimize liability? Can you emphasize
your guarantee through testimonials?
46.
Can what you want to improve benefit from increased
purity (Pure water, bottled water, juice, honey, palm kernel oil, coconut drink
etc) or Sanitation: (Hotel premises, hospital environment etc and other public
places) or by reducing pollution ,(what energy process are into: diesel, gas,
coal, firewood, kerosene.)
47.
Consider the following changes in your work space or
personal environment would they help you increase or improve? Will your productivity increase if
you….Elevate, lower, stiffen, make more flexible, reinforce, strengthen,
refine, invert, reverse, rotate, recycle, condense, expand, superimpose,
oscillate, vibrate, whirl, swivel, insulate, tighten, loosen, make more quiet,
streamline, automate, self regulate, computerize.
48.
Would what you want to improve be better by being made
lighter or heavier?
49.
Can you make your product/service more convenient? Can
you improve distribution, supply, location, simplicity etc?
50.
Can you increase happiness, enjoyment, fun? Can you
increase comfort, well being, relaxation?
51.
Are there possibilities in syndicating, franchising,
serialization ….etc
52.
Can time frames and quality of service, maintenance,
repairing be improved? Made easier, faster, less costly?
53.
Can you make it more fashionable? If you keep ahead
with styles and designs will it help your business, personality at work etc?
54.
Can you make it more impressive?
55.
Are there possibilities in easier terms or simpler
financing? Discount for cash, quantity, related purchase, immediate purchase?
Aerocontractor Airline charges lesser for its flights compared to other
airlines and relies on turnover to succeed.
56.
Can you identify what you want to improve with a
favourable, easy to remember symbol. A major memory factor is association.
57.
Can you make improvements in: name, label, trademark,
package, design of any of the foregoing?
58.
Can what you want to improve be recommended by
accredited testing and convincing testimonials? Backed by guarantee?
59.
Can it be made more time saving, more money saving,
more labour saving?
60.
Can samples or testing be more effectively used, what
about bonuses, action oriented incentives and inducements…
61.
Can you profitably add an extra value, extra feature,
extra ingredient to the product or service or to your person for promotion or
higher pay?
62.
Will the improvements you suggest increase production,
reduce costs, improve quality, increase sales, increase income, increase
profits, provide security or safety?
63.
Will your improvement: Give people more of what they
want, less of what they don’t want, a better feeling about themselves?
64.
What additional learning, knowledge, training,
workshop or association you engage in will help take you to the next level of
management/profit/wealth or riches?
65.
Whose success can you model? Who inspires you in life?
Seek him or her out and try and find out how he or she did it and see if you can
emulate.
If you have taken the pain to read all of this it means you
are really serious about improving upon what you do. Please remember that no
matter what you do or who you are there is room for improvement. Continuous
improvement will guarantee that you make it to the top. If you have questions
please don’t hesitate to mail them to me.
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