Get Smart
20 May, 2009 By: Marty Whitford LM Direct! |
| Jim Paluch |
It’s not often a big, strapping guy admits to considering wearing his wife’s clothes.
Just as strange, the confession of this taboo occurred in front of dozens of attendees of the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association’s (TOCA's) 20th anniversary meeting, held May 12-14 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The cross-dressing topic came up during a TOCA breakout session in which Jim Paluch, Landscape Management’s Working Smarter columnist, asked attendees to partner and process map packing for work trips. “When you process map, it’s important to detail every step — the good, the bad and the ugly,” Paluch urged participants.
Well, here comes the ugly: “We need to add a step where we doublecheck all of the clothes we’ve packed, ensuring they’re really ours,” one editor warned. “I accidentally packed my wife’s black pants instead of mine, once, while preparing for a work trip.”
When asked whether he tried on his wife’s slacks — accidentally or out of sheer desperation — the editor sheepishly admitted to sizing them up. Pointing half-way up his calf, the editor replied with disappointment, “They only came up to here.”
Dressing for success is a lot easier with process maps, Paluch noted. Process maps shed light on myriad opportunities for improved efficiencies and value. They help landscape teams take hard looks in the mirror, get honest, and strip away waste.
“The key to Working Smarter is to be easy on the people and hard on the processes,” Paluch reminded TOCA meeting attendees.
Paluch’s high-energy consultancy, JP Horizons, has helped more than 250 Green Industry companies, on average, save tens of thousands of dollars annually through its Working Smarter Training Challenge (www.jphorizons.com/LM.htm).
“Isn’t it amazing how much we learn when we process map?” Paluch asked attendees. “As soon as I broke out the big white paper and Crayola markers, you guys began sharing and growing like a room full of wide-eyed kindergartners.”
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