Perseverance is overrated

"Pushing through it" as a barrier to continuous improvement

Author

Alec Jacobson
March 15, 2023

A massive barrier to continuous improvement is perseverance.

We’ve been socialized to “push through” when things get tough.

“The parts don’t fit…I can deburr them before I assemble.”

“The harness connectors aren’t crimped…I’ll use pliers to fix it.”

“There’s a new protective film…I’ll remove it.”

“This scanner isn't working…I’ll re-scan as needed.”

This mentality makes for difficult, frustrating work and hides problems that can have greater implications for safety, quality, delivery, or cost.

Leaders must give their teams psychological safety to speak up when something isn't working right.

Toyota institutionalized this with their famous andon cords.

These cords are pulled hundreds of times per day when starting a new production line.

Scale diagram of the world-famous andon cord

I once argued that the fancy cords aren't needed.

That leaders simply need to:

  1. Show up

  2. Listen

  3. Act on the opportunity to improve

But I was wrong.

The purpose of the andon cord is to notify the appropriate person that something isn’t working correctly.

But the meaning attached to the andon cord is of far greater significance:

This isn’t your fault

You won’t face retaliation for bringing this up.

There is an issue with something in the system.

With the andon cord, there is implicit trust that a team member will get assistance instead of “just pushing through” the problem.

The andon for administrative or knowledge workers presents itself in a different way than it does for production team members.

The easiest to spot is the complaint.

To some, the complaint masquerades as an unhappy employee.

“Buyer Bob is muttering about our ERP system again.”

“Sales Sarah just doesn't like the new VoIP integration.”

“Planner Pete is whining about the new workflow.”

Good leaders recognize the complaint as a notification of a problem - the andon.

But exceptional leaders recognize that the complaint is often someone asking permission to work on a problem.

Working with the ERP consultant is typically outside Buyer Bob’s scope of work.

Sales Sarah knows there is a better API to use.

Planner Pete created a better workflow, but needs some IT assistance to make it work.

Managers of administrative staff/knowledge workers are uniquely positioned to enable their reports to solve problems and give them ownership over the solutions.

Front line/production team members may be able to quickly spot problems and offer solutions, but aren’t typically the ones to develop & implement them. As much as possible, it’s vital to give all team members an opportunity to work on the solution.

Put it into action:

  1. Formalize the andon

    • Lights, buzzers, or electronic notification for production environments

    • Clever solutions such as a red or green block on a desk for office workers

  2. Provide psychological safety

    • A leader’s response to an andon or a complaint dictates how, when, or even if issues will be brought up in the future

  3. Let team members work on solutions when possible

    • …and only if they want to

  4. Never tell a team member to “just push through it”