"Respect for People" is a Pillar of Lean- so DON'T WATERBOARD THE EMPLOYEES!

A foundational pillar of Lean is "respect for people" or "respect for humanity."
If a company has product flow, but treats employees poorly- it has fake flow, becasue it does not respect people.
Have you ever heard of the 7 deadly forms of waste?

1. Overproduction
2. Waiting
3. Transportation
4. Over-Processing
5. Inventory
6. Motion
7. Defects

Actually, that list of 7 is an Americanized version of Toyota's definition of wastes.

Toyota considers waste in 3 categories

• Muda - activity that adds no value to the customer (the 7 deadly forms of waste)
• Mura - Unevenness in activity (not driven by the customer)
• Muri - Undue stress on People and Machines

Can you imagine- a form a waste that focuses exclusively on the impact on employees! Employees have the process knowledge. They are the ones that have the answers to all the process problems a company has.

Here's an idea you may want to put on your checklist in order to show your respect for humanity- Don't waterboard the employees!

Check out this article in the Salt Lake Tribune:

The suit claims that Hudgens' team leader, Joshua Christopherson, asked for volunteers in May for "a new motivational exercise," which he did not describe. Hudgens, who was 26 at the time, volunteered in order to "prove his loyalty and determination," the suit claims. Christopherson led the sales team to the top of a hill near the office and told Hudgens to lie down with his head downhill, the suit claims. Christopherson then told the rest of the team to hold Hudgens by the arms and legs. Christopherson poured water from a gallon jug over Hudgens' mouth and nostrils - like the interrogation strategy known as "waterboarding" - and told the team members to hold Hudgens down as he struggled, the suit alleges. "At the conclusion of his abusive demonstration, Christopherson told the team that he wanted them to work as hard on making sales as Chad had worked to breathe while he was being waterboarded," the suit alleges.

Ha! What a hoot. The suit also claims this employee was singled out for not meeting Sales performance goals (I never knew the Sales Team could have it so rough!)

This is one reason I'm glad to be in the Horticulture industry. As a whole our industry was built on values you would find on a family farm, and has a high degree of respect for others. I've not heard of any greenhouses waterboarding their employees!