June 3, 2012

The night before … USS Astoria at Midway ¹

US Navy, World War 2 • Tags: Midway, USS Astoria CA 34

There will be no sleep tonight for the main space sailors on board USS Astoria CA-34.

The eight boilers would be cleared and on line before the expected engagement the next day (June 4th) and the steam turbines driving her four shafts would be preheated and running at daybreak. Even with the forced draft blowers operating, the night time temperatures in the South Pacific would never dip low enough to make the men really comfortable.

The “Nasty Asty": as her crew called her had already seen more action in a six month period than anyone thought they ever would. She had been at sea making emergency deliveries with her assigned flat top Lexington on December 7th and was spared the massive destruction in the narrow confines of Pearl Harbor. Her very existence suddenly took on an entirely new urgency as the US found itself with little surface force left to oppose the still mostly intact Japanese juggernaut.

The cruisers were called “Treaty Cruisers”

They were artificially weakened by an insane attempt to stem the growth of naval forces in the post world war years. The cruisers were limited to an eight inch gun capacity and could only weigh in at ten thousand tons. The United States lived up to her commitment while others found ways to bypass the treaty. By the time the Arizona and her sisters were settling in the mud of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese had long since abandoned any measure of compliance and on this night in June a ship called Yamato and all of her screening escorts were racing towards the small outpost of Midway.

Astoria had already been tested in battle. Less than a month before this day, she had sailed into the Coral Sea and participated in the first major action of the war. As she sailed in support of the Lexington, she received her baptism under fire from the air attacks on the Task Force. Astoria did not get many breaks at all leading up to the Midway operation. Her speed and her crew were key elements in plugging a gaping hole left by the surprise attack.

On this night, six months of hard steaming must have made the night hard work for all of the crew. A cruisers hull cuts through the sea in a way that is different from most other ships. Because of her design required to meet the treaty, she was sometimes unstable and could react to swells in a way that would challenge other ship drivers. But the Nasty Asty had a good reputation and would keep her bow turned towards the fight.

At the Battle of the Coral Sea, she also saw first hand the destruction the Japs could pay out.

She screened both the Lexington and the Yorktown against the many waves of enemy planes that came in to try and destroy the one great weapon left in the Pacific that slowed their march to destiny: The Carriers.

The Lexington had taken too many fatal hits that day and the engineering space fires that spelled her doom were completely out of control by 1630. Astoria could only stand by and take on survivors as did the other screening ships. The realization that we had lost one of our only remaining air craft carriers must have been disheartening. The average sailor would not have known that this action stopped the Japanese forward progress for the first time and prevented the invasion of several critical locations.

As sunrise was approaching, fresh coffee was brewing in the mess decks. Men coming off the early morning watch would not get much sleep this day. Battle Stations and General Quarters would be set in motion and sleep would have to wait until another time. The crew of the Astoria had seen this before. She had wreaked havoc on the Japanese islands and shipping for six months and she was battle tested and proven.

There is nothing in the world like the feel of a ship’s deck under your feet.

Whether you are slicing through powerful swells or just traveling along at a high rate of speed, you and the ship become like one creature. You feel her moves and learn to anticipate her “jumps”. In the engine rooms, you listen for the song of the steam and feel the throbbing rhythm of the giant turbines. Every change of bell brings you back to a full alert position. Every turn of the ship makes you wonder if the attack has begun or is about to. No one gets time to think about anything but fighting their ship.

The crew may not have known how desperate the days activity was to the potential out come of the war. They may not have been told that in a bold move, Nimitz had committed the remaining aircraft carriers and surface ships to the defense of a tiny island knowing that failure could be fatal to the country. The Japanese still had a large force of carriers backed up by fast and powerful battleships. If this gamble failed, the Japanese would have a base within striking distance of Pearl and eventually the west coast. It was a game changer.

What those sailors did know was that they had to give it their all. Protect the carriers at all costs and be prepared to face the powerful ships of line if they failed (assuming they themselves survived.)

There will be many stories told in the days to come about the seventieth anniversary of one of the most important battles of the generation. This vastly outnumbered group of American sailors, soldiers and Marines would do the impossible this day. But it was not just the pilots, as brave as they were.

The heroes of that day must include the average sailor who willingly climbs into a gun turret with armor that is too light. It is the mess cook who carries armloads of ammunition to to his station across an open deck with strafing planes all around. It is the machinist mate and boiler man who lock themselves in the engine rooms and fire rooms knowing that the best way to survive is to keep power to the mains and power to the gunners far above.

Astoria served many roles on June 4th and 5th. Her men were heroes and made sure that the US Navy was able to fight again another day. Many of her men would not survive the war. Most never received anything more than a campaign medal. But in my mind, their bravery and sacrifice in the face of a numerically superior force are in keeping with the highest traditions of the US Navy and the country she served.

God Bless them all

Mister Mac

(There will be a postscript to this story in the coming months. USS Astoria was a fighting man’s ship and would have more stories to tell … http://www.ussastoria.org/Home.php

June 1, 2012

Can you read the writing on the wall? ¹

Leadership, Congress, White House, Gay marriage and the military • Tags: Assad, Pelosi, Daniel, Hand writing on the wall, Belshazzar

How many times have you heard that statement in the past? Do you know where it comes from? Do you know what it really means?

Like so many stories down through the ages, it has taken on different authorship. The most probable original author comes from the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. The Israelites had been in captivity for many generations and by the Fifth Chapter of Daniel, the rulers who had kept them in captivity had defied the God of Abraham one time too many.

The Babylonian leaders had understood something was different about these “People of the One God” from earlier generations. But they had never embraced that God and instead fell into the habit of mocking Him and defying His very being. After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came another king even more profane. The backdrop of the story was that the Persians were slowly encircling his forces and he was running out of time and options. From Daniel 5:

“King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.

While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.”

This was utterly profane in the eyes of even their enemies. These goblets were stolen from the Temple of Solomon and had been used to worship the God of Abraham for generations in ceremonies. For the leader of the most powerful country on earth to sink to such open defiance of another’s God was too much for his his enemies to suffer.

For me, it would be like someone who was the leader of a nation that had once claimed to be “One Nation Under God” celebrating the desecration of that nation’s firmly held beliefs

Sodomy would no longer be an abomination. Marriage as defined by God would no longer be sacred. Children that had been formed and known by God in their Mother’s Wombs would no longer be recognized as a sacred life and even the matter of death because of their sex would be protected by the new Belshazzar. Money would be spent from the treasuries of children not yet born in order to maintain his selfish position.

While some children suffered with not enough to eat, the Queen and her concubines hold grand parties and travel to all the corners of the earth. While some lose their houses, she spends their money on wild entertainment, exclusive rooms and resorts and endless meals of lobster and the finest foods. Their wine glasses would never be empty while others had to rob and steal to pay for their daily bread. She would dress in the finest raiments and her adoring followers would fawn over her both day and night while others shivered in makeshift shelters down by the rivers. Advice would flow from her lips like water only to become bitter and full of bile in their hypocrisy.

None of this is done in secrecy. Her slavish, adoring, and fawning followers celebrate her lavish defiance of those who pay for her greed and avarice. While preaching piety and suffering, she and her court suffer themselves nothing.

Countries that had been friends in the past would be insulted and denigrated by this stiff necked new “ruler”. His closest allies, including the Children of Israel would be counted amongst his enemies as he curried favor with those who joined him in denying the One True God. But Belshazzar would find that there was an eternal price for betraying that One True God.

A mysterious hand writes the following words on the wall where the revelers, drunk on their own self importance are able to watch:

מנא ,מנא, תקל, ופרסין

Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Pharsin

Of course, seeing the power of one greater than oneself in action and in the company of all the rulers cronies must have been earthshattering. None of Belshazzar’s magicians of agnostic followers could make and sense. So Daniel was sent for. In his ignorance, Belshazzar thought he could bribe Daniel for the interpretation.

Rejecting offers of reward, Daniel warns the king of the danger of his arrogant blasphemy before reading the text. The meaning that Daniel deciphers from these words is based on passive verbs corresponding to the measure names, “numbered, weighed, divided.”

And this is the writing that was inscribed: mina, mina, shekel, half-mina. This is the interpretation of the matter: mina, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; shekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; half-mina, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.- Daniel 5:25-28

That very night, Belshazzar receives his eternal reward and the kingdom is no more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are we in yet another generation where we will see the hand writing on the wall?

Has the modern day Belshazzar who has openly defied God and the “One Nation Under God” done so long enough for the One True God to have had enough?

“You have been weighed, you have been measured and you have been found wanting”

To the nation: Will you allow the Hand writing on the wall bring you low as well?

Mister Mac

Unrelated to the article but I was just curious… has anyone apologized to the People of Syria yet of our unquestionable support of the regime killing their children???

June 1, 2012

(There’s) Always something there to remind me… ^Reply

Uncategorized

Reblogged from theleansubmariner:

“I walk along the city streets You used to walk along with me, And every step I take reminds me Of just how we used to be. Oh, how can I forget you, girl When there is always something there to remind me Always something there to remind me”

The Sunday after Easter is always one of the poorest attended Sunday’s in the year.

(There’s) Always something there to remind me… ¹

American History, Congress, Leadership, Service and Sacrifice, White House • Tags: Homeless Veterans, Memorial Day, POW/MIA, White House

“I walk along the city streets
You used to walk along with me,
And every step I take reminds me
Of just how we used to be.
Oh, how can I forget you, girl
When there is always something there to remind me
Always something there to remind me”

The Sunday after Easter is always one of the poorest attended Sunday’s in the year. Even ministers often take the weekend off and hand their pulpit over to someone who they are not afraid of making too much of a mess of things. Only the most faithful are there and they spend their afternoon chatting about how empty the place was.

For me, two of the loneliest days are the day after Memorial Day and the day after Veteran’s Day.

The parades are all over, the speeches have been tucked away for another year, and the warm embracing feelings of the community are checked off of the “things to do” list. Time to get back into the old routines and close the cabinet where we keep the banners, faded old pictures and what passes for compassion.

There are two groups of people who become invisible again on days like today.

The first set is the ever growing population of warriors who have found the transition back into the world a bit more difficult than others. You see them on off ramps near the interstate highways. They also show up on inner city streets and food kitchens. A few weeks ago I was coming back across the Ben Franklin from New Jersey into Philly. The roads and interchanges down there are maddening to say the least. Getting back to the turnpike forces you through a maze of traffic, all of whom need to be in some other lane.

That’s where I saw him.

He had a cardboard sign that simply said “Help me I’m Hungry … Iraq war vet”. He couldn’t have been more than 25 or 26. His face was sunken in, hair shaggy, olive green t-shirt and definitely looking like he had seen better days. I normally donate through the mail to agencies that are purpose filled and resource centered. That’s the excuse I use anyway. Anonymous means I don’t have to look at them too often.

I rolled down the window and gave him a five. The light changed and he became invisible again as I drove off.

There are others too. Many have jobs but still have the nightmares. Some drink and some do drugs but have built up enough defenses that keep you from seeing them in pain. They see each other though. There is a look that is only shared between brothers (and more often now sisters).

Truly, there is always something there to remind them.

The second group that become invisible again after Memorial Day even have their own flag.

Once the ceremonies are over and the wreaths have been laid, the whole notion of POW/MIAs becomes wholly owned by activists and families who still have no answers about their loved ones. The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel (DPMO) is the focal point within DOD for conducting Prisoner of War Missing person reports.

From their web site: http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/vietnam/

“Immediately after the Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 27, 1973, Operation HOMECOMING returned the 590 POWs captured in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (two POWs from Vietnam and a Cold War POW were released from China). The MIA families and some government officials, however, expected a greater number of returnees, giving rise to concerns that POWs had been withheld. This gave rise to the urgency of the accounting mission. Although Article Eight of the Accord called for mutual assistance among the parties in accounting for the missing, in the immediate postwar period, continuing hostilities precluded access to many sites. After the POWs came home, the U.S. still listed some 2,646 Americans as unaccounted-for, with roughly equal numbers of those missing in action, or killed in action/body not recovered”

There have been some success stories.

Air Force Colonel Robert M. Elliot of Springfield, Massachusetts

On February 14, 1968, Elliot was flying his F-105D Thunderchief on a strike mission over Hanoi, North Vietnam, when he was hit by a surface-to-air missile. He radioed to the other pilots in the flight that he had been hit and they witnessed his crash. None of the other pilots saw any ejection attempt nor heard any emergency beeper signals, but one reported seeing a streaming (unopened) parachute at approximately 3,000 feet.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/rmelliot.htm

Between 1968 and 1999, Elliot’s status was a subject of near misses, rumors, missed identifications and more rumors. His family had to have gone through some kind of hell while all the drama carried out. In the end, investigators were able to determine the real story and aided by his daughter, his remains were returned. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day 2000.

Yesterday the Commander in Chief placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. It is a traditional role of the CinC to pay homage to our lost service members and remind us about the sacrifices made in freedoms name. I turned the sound down and within a few minutes had to switch over to another station.

I can almost hear some people saying in their minds right now, “Bob, what a partisan thing to say… can’t you leave the man alone on Memorial Day?”

Well, maybe I could have if I hadn’t read an article written by Adrian Cronauer in the American Legion magazine the night before. Adrian was an Air Force veteran and the man behind the famous character in the movie “Good Morning Vietnam”. Adrian also served as special Assistant to the Director of DPMO from September 2001 – March 2009.

In the June 2012 issue of the Legion Magazine, Adrian brings to light two things in his article “The Deepest Cut” that make Obama’s words and actions less than meaningful.

First, the Obama White House has nearly abandoned a commission established by President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin to help account for U.S. personnel who disappeared behind the Iron Curtain. Was that part of the behind the scenes agreements between Obama and his new friend Vladimir Putin (the former head of the KGB)?

In 2011, the Obama administration questioned the scope and budget for the DPMO group. Failing to achieve a budget (again) the deep and draconian cuts will directly impact the office and support structure needed to continue the work that has been done to restore our brothers in arms to their families. While this is just as much about Congress failing to act, it also lays directly at the White House’s feet.

Words are cheap. Actions speak volumes.

It is long past time for the “Leader” of the free world to stop campaigning long enough to actually solve some of the problems he said he was going to address. All the new found love for those of us who served in the Vietnam era seems kind of hollow once you know what’s going on in the background.

Seeing those homeless vets growing in number and knowing that most of our missing will remain missing for a much longer time makes it hard for me to forget that we have not done enough… there is always something there to remind me.

Mister Mac

Update for June 1

Apparently Democratic Mayor Nutter from Philadelphia must read my blog.

The men who beg near the Franklin Parkway are being given notice that compassion is no longer welcome.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/06/01/city-begins-enforcement-of-ban-on-outdoor-feeding-programs/

May 27, 2012

Services For the Dead ⁵

American History, Civil War History, Freedom, Service and Sacrifice • Tags: Grand Army of the Republic. Memorial Day Service

The War Between the States had ended in April 1865, 58 years before the Service manual I have in my collection was printed. May of 1927 (four years later) the roll call was getting smaller and smaller. Just as they had for every year since 1874, The Post Adjutant was tasked with calling that roll as part of his official duties at all Memorial Day events.

In May of 1927, my Grandfather (John. C. McPherson) was the adjutant who read the roll. His Father, John Culbert McPherson had passed on to his great reward on the third of January 1927. This was the first roll call that Pvt. McPherson had missed since Mustering out in Vienna Virginia in 1865.

(Grandpa Mac was the adjutant in 1927. He was a World War 1 Veteran and a member of the Sons of the GAR)

To all whom it may concern:

Know ye, that John McPherson, a private of Captain Joseph Anderson’s Company, E Fifth Regiment of Heavy Arty, Pennsylvania Volunteers, who was enrolled on the fifth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and fifty four to serve one year or during the war, is hereby discharged from the service of the United States this thirtieth day of June, 1865, at Vienna, Virginia by reason G.O. No 94 A.G.O. dated May 15th 1865, (no objection to his being re-enlisted is known to exist.)
Said John McPherson was born in Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania, is eighteen years of age, five feet five inches high, fair complexion, blue eyes, auburn hair, and by occupation, when enrolled, a laborer, given at Vienna, Va this thirtieth day of June 1865.
Singed by Joseph Anderson, Capt.
Marked as "Paid in full- July 4, 1865 P.P.Y Hall, P.M."

John Culbert McPherson was born in Aug 1847, but enlisted in August of 1864, only 17 years old at the time. Grand-daughter Isabel MacPherson Patrick maintained that he put a piece of paper in his shoe with the number "18" on it, so that when asked if he was over 18, he could truthfully reply "yes"! (Unsubstantiated family lore says that he actually tried to enlist when he was fifteen and was sent home when found out). He was the first generation of his family born in the United States. His family has gone on to serve in both World Wars, the Vietnam Era conflict, Gulf 1 and 2 and still serve to this day (Army and Navy).

For the use of the Grand Army of the Republic

Headquarters , Grand Army of the Republic, April 1923

Chaplain’s Prayer from the Service Manual:

“Almighty Father! humbly we bow before Thee, Our Creator, Preserver, Guide and Protector. We thank Thee for our lives; for the mercy which has kept us until this hour; for Thy guidance on land and sea, by day and by night; for Thy constant care in the hour of danger; and for the preservation of our national integrity and unity. Be graciously near to our comrades who suffer from disease and wounds, and to the widows and orphans of those who fell in our holy cause; in all distress comfort them. and grant us ready hands to supply their needs. Grant that the memory of our noble dead, who freely gave their lives for the land they loved, may dwell ever in our hearts. Bless our country; Bless our Order; make it an instrument of great good. Keep our names on the roll of Thy servants, and at last receive us into that Grand Army above, where Thou O God, art the Supreme Commander.”

From the Commander: “The cares of business, the pursuits of pleasure, the usual common concerns are put aside, while we bring flowers and wreaths of evergreen with which to decorate the graves of the men who sacrificed on the alter of patriotic devotion everything that men hold dear, in order to preserve the integrity and unity, and to perpetuate the power and glory of the American republic.”

The final questions from the Post Commander and instructions for the Post in 1927:

Senior Vice Commander, how shall all men live?

SVP: With Trust in God and in love for one another

Commander: The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death

Comrades: We thank God who gave us the victory through Jesus Christ Our Lord

Commander: May the Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, keep us by His gracious presence amid the conflicts of our mortal life, and at last receive us into everlasting peace.

Comrades: Amen

^{(The service was originally created in 1874 and remained in place until the GAR faded into obscurity)}

God Bless America

Mister Mac

May 24, 2012

Searching for Superman – why CI/Lean initiatives often fail (Part 2) ^Reply

Change, Continuous Improvement, Leadership, Lean, Production Systems • Tags: CI. Lean, Continuous Improvement, Lean Initiatives, Six Sigma, TPS

Failure is not an option… but most of the time it is assured

One common set of factors that can affect success or failure for a Continuous Improvement/Lean Initiative is the recruitment, selection process, and use of a CI/Lean leader. Leadership at all levels has an impact on every initiative but this becomes more critical during a cultural change initiative like CI/Lean. Selecting the wrong CI/Lean leader can set the organization up for failure. Worse yet, a poor start can actually make it harder for the next time when it is even more important for success.

From Part 1, its not hard to imagine the scene in HR when the company decides to move forward with its CI/Lean Program. This is how I imagine it looks like:

“Lois, get in here and bring your stenography pad”

“Yes Chief, what’s up?”

Chomping on his unlit cigar “Lois, the big office has ordered us to find a Lean Leader. Get on the internet and find out what that is. Get back to me before close of business. The BIG Kahuna himself is hot on this one so we have to execute quickly”

“Alright Chief, I’ll get on it right away”. She leaves his office and jumps on a search engine to find out what a Lean Leader is supposed to look like. The good news is that there are only 6,700,000 pages about lean leadership. The bad news is, there are none of them which really tell you what an individual company needs in the way of lean leader competencies.

Lois found out that there were CI Leaders, Lean Leaders, Lean Six Sigma Leaders, Black Belts, Green Belts, no belts, Mentors, Coaches, Master Black Belts, TPS Trained, Lean Change experts and on and on. There were more competencies listed than for any other position she had ever encountered.

In the end, she went back to the Chief and said “Chief, we need Superlean-man”.

“Great Lois, get him on the phone right away. What’s it gonna cost us?”

“Its not that bad Chief, 250 a year”

“Holy smokes Lois, we can’t afford that much. Hey listen, what about that kid in the mailroom, Jimmy something or other…”

“Jimmy Wholesome? Why Chief, he doesn’t have any of the super-competencies of Superlean- man.”

“No Lois, but he has been hanging out with him so he probably knows just as much. Plus, if he fails, we won’t take the blame… get him up here this afternoon.”

Based on the research I have been doing, the poor HR community has been using a number of cobbled together job descriptions. There are some that look like they may have had some input from an engineering manager or existing lean guy. But most are so broad and far reaching, it is no surprise that CI/Lean leaders are passed over in exchange for a candidate that looks better on paper. Here are some of the CI/Lean Leaders that actually show up.

Flat Leanly

Flat Leanly is normally a recent college graduate with an engineering or technical degree. (His cousin Stanley was the basis for a popular children’s story back in the sixties). Flat Leanly doesn’t have a great range of actual experience but he looks like everyone’s mental model of a bright young engineer.

His enthusiastic appearance hides his lack of any actual experience and he travels well. You can find Flat Leanly all over the factory or office. The workplaces are organized and clean and all of the bosses are initially pleased with Flat Leanly’s influence. As time progresses though, Flat Leanly starts to show the scars from being moved all over the shop. No longer fresh and vital, Flat Leanly ends up being shuffled off to more and more obscure locations and finally discarded all together.

Don’t cry for Flat Leanly. Every year, new ones are produced by the schools of the country. There are never any shortages of replacements for Flat Leanly. Doesn’t it seem funny though that almost every lean leader job description requires some kind of coaching and mentoring experience. Yet the required years experience in over 80 percent of the job advertisements I have read is 1-3 years. Really? 1-3 years???

Attila the Implementer

Attila the Implementer will leave a lasting effect on the business whether they are successful or not. Attila believes that culture change comes at the business end of an audit. Shove them through and they will change regardless of their personal needs or preferences. Mass training events that measure success by the number of butts in seats. Chart after Chart showing progress regardless if there is any linkage to the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s).

Other leaders run from or stop taking meetings with Attila forcing him (or her) to start sending emails to their sponsors asking for help. Attila only lasts a few quarters. No one misses him/her when they are gone.

The Green Intern

The Green Intern was a High Potential internal engineering candidate and ended up being selected as a cost avoidance measure (not having to hire a new “Expert” not only gives the Chief Engineer resource he can trust, but allows him to hire a new engineer as a replacement). Traditionally trained in Frederick Taylor’s Scientific management theories, the Green Intern and his mentors agree to give this “Lean stuff” a try as long as it doesn’t upset the status quo.

The Green Intern is well managed by his mentors and while the plant does look a little sharper, no revolutions will occur on their watch. After punching their ticket, they plan on continuing their rise in the company so no real waves will be created.

Plant managers like the Green Intern. The really bad ones see an opportunity to deflect personal responsibility for the lean initiative since:

a. They supported lean by appointing this go getter. They can say their plan was to succeed by this person’s success.

b. They can set arbitrary KPIs and the CI/Lean leader has no choice but to try and meet them

c. Failure to meet the KPI’s allow the plant manager to remain free from blame since the CI/Leader works directly for HR, Engineering, Continuous Improvement sections. Their department heads need to fix “their” problems.

Superlean-man

Superlean-man seems on the outside to be the perfect choice. This person has a mastery of every single tool and theory in the CI/Lean box. They are everywhere and create the best projects they are directly associated with. They speak with authority, influence with ease, impress the leadership and save everyone. The problem with this candidate is that they are so good on their own, they never feel the need to develop anyone else. Its easier to simply do everything by themselves. In time, everyone lets them.

Then one day, someone finds a box of kryptonite and Superlean-man fails. As he lays on the boardroom floor slowly wilting away, no one thinks seriously about closing the kryptonite box. Chances are, they never heard of kryptonite. He was so busy, he neglected to tell them about it.

Captain Ameri-lean

Probably the best choice for a chance at success. Brings a strong balance of knowledge, skills, and experience. Coaching and mentoring have been gained through many years of experience. Team builder and great team member. Training and facilitation skills. Cultural awareness is a high point but it has been bought and paid for with a lot of mixed experiences.

This person has a fair amount of failures in addition to a fair amount of successes. They may not have a traditional engineering degree but they have a broad range of experience with engineers. Leadership is a critical factor in everything they do.

I think the point is clear. Who you choose for your CI/Lean Leader is one of your most critical decisions as you decide to enter or continue on a CI/Lean Journey.

Here are some things to consider:

1. Get rid of any preconceived notions about what they should look like. Youth and unbounded energy may be great if you are putting together a touch football game. But there may be a better case for experience and developed skills if you want to successfully implement and influence change.

2. What are your real needs and motivations for implementing a CI/Lean initiative? Make sure there is a careful review of the current and anticipated competencies. Match those against the master plan and prioritize.

3. Considering the importance of the cultural change to success, make sure the CI/Lean leader is placed in the proper place within your organization. The members of the organization will treat the CI/Lean leader exactly the same as the leadership does: If they report to the assistant training manager attached to the HR department, everyone in the organization will measure their importance by that position. If they are speaking with the plant or business manager daily, that too sends a message.

I am continuing my work on competency mapping for an ideal CI/Lean leader. I would welcome comments on this article and your thoughts on what you have seen in this role.

Thanks

Mister Mac (Lean)

May 24, 2012

Searching for Superman – why CI/Lean initiatives often fail (Part 1) ¹

Change, Continuous Improvement, Leadership, Lean • Tags: CI, Continuous Improvement, cultural influences, Lean Initiatives, Root Cause

Starting a Continuous Improvement (CI)/Lean Journey

I have been working on a project for a few weeks that categorizes what companies are looking for when they seek a lean or continuous improvement leader candidate. While that sounds rather boring on the face of it, the project has actually been a very interesting look at why so many companies still don’t get it when it comes to continuous improvement (CI), lean and six sigma. For the purposes of this article, I am going to use CI/Lean as an all encompassing term. (Sigma is fast being absorbed into a quasi-lean mode anyway and that is a story for another day.)

Why does a company decide that it wants to enter into a CI/Lean journey in the first place?

Based on fifteen years of experience with a large number of companies, the answers are pretty straightforward

It seems to be the right thing to do
Everyone else is doing it
The CEO/CFO/Board/Guiding Coalition said so
We have no other choice

Besides the last one, the list isn’t exactly a compelling case for a successful cultural change initiative. The unfortunate thing is that once a company does reach the point where there is no other choice, they will probably fall into the traps that help to ensure their failure. While reaching for the bottom, they will actually accelerate their progress.

Looking at why: The Root Cause

In CI/Lean, we spend a lot of time on root cause analysis. The goal is to make sure we understand why something really happened and hopefully build up a defense for it not to do so again. The first real problem I have seen is that the very people who are supposed to initiate the initiative have no experience actually using the very tools that could keep them from making mistakes.

1. “It seems to be the right thing to do”

In most cases, companies who use this approach are moderately successful and have fairly good cash flow. Besides some minor structural issues they are cruising along and have their share of the market. CI/Lean is something they have heard about but since it was an important part of their DNA, selecting candidates prior to this has not included seeking out specific competencies related to it.

The finance folks are traditional financial people with detailed knowledge of traditional financial metrics. Even the engineering folks have been selected because they came from the “right” schools with the training and discipline that matches the existing engineers. All of the management folks are used to traditional methods of measurement and definitions of what success looks like. Their pay and bonuses are built around a certain model and that is just fine with most of them. Even the workforce understands that as long as they do their tasks in the appropriate manor, they get to go home at a certain hour and watch their favorite sports team win (or lose). Life is very pleasant.

2. “Everyone else is doing it”

These companies often look like the first set of companies but they have one difference. They are feeling a bit more pressure from the market place (including their customers and suppliers). The supply chain often provides a stimulus since they are trying to improve in order to compete better. It is literally a chain reaction that impacts even the unsuspecting.

For instance: a customer has implemented a just in time approach based on an a need to improve their product flow reliability to their customer. Once that kicks in, you may start feeling pressure to change the timing, quantity, packaging, unit of issue and so on. That change will also include a request for some pricing differential too.

A company that gets caught in this loop is often forced to change at least part of its process. When Toyota tells you to dance, you dance or else you face the loss of some pretty important business.

3. “The CEO/CFO/Board/Guiding Coalition said so”

This is actually one of the most dangerous reasons to undertake a lean journey. The people in the internal chain of command in most cases do not know the root cause for this “request”. In a traditional company, there will be layers and layers of people who will deflect the answer to the “why” question with many clever corporate responses. That is assuming the corporate culture even allows them to ask the question in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong. There are probably some companies that have visionary CEO’s who honestly see the need to move towards a system that perpetually improves itself. But remember that these are the same people who have had their own mental models of success ingrained into their life’s experiences. My favorite saying about change applies directly to them: Everyone wants change but nobody wants to change. The higher up in the company a person is, the more resolute they are about this maxim. Good luck with changing that culture.

4. “We have no other choice”

Market conditions have finally caught up with the stagnant company. Material prices, labor costs, energy, infrastructure, insurance and so on are all rising with no relief in sight. Business regulations from government are also growing choking off innovation and growth. The only way this company can survive the endless recession is to find ways to drive waste out and develop a culture of continuous improvement.

The main problem these companies will find is that there are three cultural influences at odds.

The first cultural influence is the culture of grief for the way things were.

“We used to be so good. What happened to us?
“If only we could go back to the way things were.”
“Its not fair. Management should have seen this coming and done something sooner.”

The second cultural influence is the culture of survival in the current state.

“I only have three more years until retirement… if we can just last that long.”
“What we have is working, why mess with this and risk screwing it up.”
“Corporate is just looking for another reason to shut us down.”

The third influence will come from trying to implement a culture where change is not only needed, it is required to survive.

“We’ve always done it that way… not anymore.”
“I am the subject matter expert. Improvement is not possible.”
“We innovated this process. No one does it better than us.”

We need to fix this and fix it quick.

Quick, somebody call HR and find us a CI/Lean leader!

See Searching for Superman – why CI/lean initiatives often fail (Part 2)

May 22, 2012

Bluejackets Manual, eighteenth edition, 1968 (Third Printing, September 1969) ^Reply

American History, Submarine, US Navy • Tags: Blue Jackets Manual, Leadership Submarine, submarine, submarines, US Navy, USS George Washington, USS Scorpion, USS Thresher

I’m sure I have mentioned it before but I have a modest collection of Bluejackets Manuals dating back to the early 1900’s.

I started out with my Grandfather Parkin’s manuals from the Second World War. From that time, I have added them as I find them in old book stores, sea ports, and Army Navy stores. There is a very nice one in Palmyra PA if you happen to be driving through town but make sure you don’t park in the “Precious Puppies” parking lot out back. The lady that does the grooming will give you an honest to goodness stink eye.

Today I picked up one that I did not have before, the Eighteenth Edition.

This particular version was one of the light blue hardbacks, large print on page numbering and in remarkably good shape. Most of the manuals I find from places like today have pages that are a bit browned from being stored in a basement somewhere. They ended up in his store after someone passed away or maybe just on a wholesale house cleaning. After all, unless your day to day life involves tying knots or small boat handling, the BJM probably doesn’t have much value for you.

I like the submarine sections of the BJM through the years.

You can really get a feel for submarine development by reading the sections that discuss current and future trends. In 1968, nuclear submarines were the main topic.

“The fleet ballistic missile and nuclear propulsion have given the submarine a new place in the defense of the United States. To help discourage an attempted sneak attack on the country, our FBM submarines are kept constantly on station beneath the sea, ready to answer such an attack with an immediate and devastating counterpunch. Our attack submarines are designed to find and destroy enemy subs or surface ships which might launch missiles against us.”

The memory of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor was engrained in the Navy’s and the country’s DNA.

The generation of leaders in 1968 in many cases were the young Ensigns and Seamen so sneak attacks were a very real threat. With the advent of the Soviet missile fleet, this threat was very real. In many senses of the word, we were still at war.

The Navy was gearing up for the conflict it hoped to never fight.

“By 1970 the Navy expects to have a fleet of of 100 nuclear powered submarines, 41 of which will be armed with Polaris ballistic missiles. However there are still a large number of conventionally powered “fleet types” in the active Navy”

Mention is made of the Barbel class boats as the last conventionally powered submarines added to the fleet at large. The Nautilus is mentioned as the first nuclear powered boat followed by the four ships of the Skate Class and six of the Skipjack class. The last of the Skipjack Class was of course the USS Scorpion. She was launched on 19 December 1959, sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth S. Morrison (daughter of the last commander of the World War II-era USS Scorpion, which had been lost with all hands in 1944), and commissioned on 29 July 1960, Commander Norman B. Bessac in command.

The article goes on to report “the largest group of SSNs will eventually be the ships of the Permit (SSN 594) Class, the first of which were completed in 1962. These ships are armed with both torpedoes and SUBROC, an antisubmarine missile which can be fired from a torpedo tube, take to the air in a ballistic trajectory and return to the water miles away to become a submarine hunting torpedo.”

The Scorpion was engaged in submarine warfare development activities in the Atlantic when she was lost.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Scorpion_(SSN-589)

Most boat sailors who know the back stories know that the original Scorpion hull was used for the rapid development of the USS George Washington SSBN 598. The name Scorpion was shifted to the hull which became the boat all of us commemorate each May.

The Eighteenth Edition of the BJM that I have was actually printed in September of 1969. There is no mention of the Scorpion’s loss. While the mix of submarines by the early seventies is covered in great detail in the Nineteenth Edition (mine in boot camp), there is still no mention of the loss of the Scorpion. Maybe they didn’t want to scare us.

The Nineteenth BJM does have an interesting take on submariners though;

“Submarine duty is different than anything else in the Navy; it requires a special temperament which not all possess.”

From my humble experience, I would have to agree.

The Silent Service

The USS Thresher’s loss finally shows up for the first time in the Naval History section in the twentieth edition of the Blue Jacket’s manual. That was the edition published in 1978 which glowingly talked about the Los Angeles Class and Ohio class boats. Fifteen years. Still no mention of the Scorpion.

The latest version of the BJM in my collection is from my nephew EM1/SS. The Scorpion is still not listed in the historical section of the book. I had never even thought about it until today. That’s kind of sad. Maybe someone who has a more current one can check and see if she has shown up yet.

Did you ever forget something after it was too late to do anything about it? Mine is the sound of my Dad’s voice telling me to be a good person. I can hear the words, but I can’t reproduce the sound no matter how hard I try. I also can’t remember what the Scorpion plaque in the forward escape truck looks like on the George Washington. As an A-ganger doing PM’s, I surely must have seen it. But for the life of me, I can’t remember it.

I hope the lost souls of that boat and their families know that even though the Navy’s Blue Jackets Manual doesn’t remember them, most of us still do. God Rest their souls.

Mister Mac

By the way, if for some reason I am mistaken about the BJM not mentioning the loss, I will issue a formal apology. Maybe I just got the only copies of the 18th to the 22nd Editions that cover the years 1969 – 2000 that didn’t mention them.

May 20, 2012

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother ^Reply

Uncategorized

Reblogged from theleansubmariner:

I don’t believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at. ~Maya Angelou

If you are lucky in life, you get to have a real brother. This is no reflection on my actual siblings that I grew up with, but with the exception of my Brother Little Mac, I didn’t find out what “brother” really meant till later in life.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (and they still don’t like him very much!) ¹

American History, Change, Congress, Election 2012, White House, World War 2 • Tags: Congressman Joe Pitts, Its a wonderful life, Jimmy Stewart, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

What is your favorite birthday memory of all time?

Was it a special trip or maybe something you had hoped for all year? I don’t remember the year that I first got my favorite birthday present, but I do remember what is was. It was the year I found out that I shared the same birthday as Jimmy Stewart. Yep, that Jimmy Stewart. Brigadier General James Maitland Stewart if you please. Hero of World War 2 and Vietnam War veteran.

I can’t think of many things I could ever not like about Jimmy (we share the same birthday so I can call him that). He was born in 1908 in Indiana Pennsylvania to parents of good hearty Scottish stock – Presbyterians to boot. That was back in the day when there were real Presbyterians who read the King James and only worshipped one Trinity. He attended Mercersburg Academy and planned on entering the Naval Academy. Fate and his Father intervened and he ended up at Princeton instead.

Like many in his generation, Jimmy answered the call to serve months before Pearl Harbor. He was rejected due to his weight, but he enlisted in the Army as a private. It wasn’t long though before he was off on a lifelong career of service in the air, first as a flyer in the Army Air Corps and later in the Air Force itself. He could have taken the easy road of a Hollywood star but instead forced himself into the role of a combat pilot winning the Distinguished Flying Cross and many more individual and group recognitions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart_(actor)

His career was filled with many successes and some near misses as well. The most famous movie that gave him recognition for the ages was that classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The box office and critics initially panned the movie but it was the leader in something that has since been titled “Going Viral”. The movie, the characters, the message, have all grown into something that couldn’t have been planned by the original producers.

One of Jimmies greatest movies was filmed before he went off to free Europe from the Nazis. That movie was the classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Smith_Goes_to_Washington

This 1939 movie was Frank Capra’s treatment about what could happen when one man goes to Washington and tries to change politics. Mr. Smith is selected by an “old boy network” to replace a Senator who suddenly passed away. Jimmy is picked not because of his brilliance or ability but because he might be easily manipulated by the powers that be. The movie becomes a showcase of the corruption of powerful people in Congress, the insatiable appetite of the press to destroy anything they don’t understand to get higher ratings, and the ease with which the public can be swayed.

When you think about the world as it was in 1939, you can understand how much those same powers that were being portrayed tried to keep it from being shown. From Wikipedia:

“In January 1938, both Paramount Pictures and MGM had submitted Foster’s story to the censors at the Hays Office, probably indicating that both studios had interest in the project before Columbia purchased it. Joseph Breen, the head of that office, warned the studios:

"[W]e would urge most earnestly that you take serious counsel before embarking on the production of any motion picture based on this story. It looks to us like one that might well be loaded with dynamite, both for the motion picture industry, and for the country at large."

Breen specifically objected to

"the generally unflattering portrayal of our system of Government, which might well lead to such a picture being considered, both here, and more particularly abroad, as a covert attack on the Democratic form of government."

and warned that the film should make clear that

"the Senate is made up of a group of fine, upstanding citizens, who labor long and tirelessly for the best interests of the nation…"

Breen later reversed course and allowed the movie to proceed.

At the initial screening, it was widely criticized by the Washington press, many members of Congress, and politicians of all stripes who said its portrayal of Congress as a corrupt institution was anti-American and even pro-communist. The Democratic Senate Majority Leader called the film “silly and stupid” and said it made them all seem like “a bunch of crooks”.

The movie ended up being banned in some areas and widely supported in others. In the many years since, it has become increasingly more obvious that there is not much difference in the existing group of good old boys (and rarely occasional girls) in the Senate.

It was for that reason alone that many of us applauded the recent defeats of some of the longest standing members of that cozy nook of self adoration and public trough feeding. I hope its just the beginning…

I wonder if Jimmy would have been part of the Tea Party? I suspect he would have been. He spent his real life holding people accountable both in the service and in his later life as a staunch conservative.

The best birthday present I could ask for him today (and for all of us as well) is that out of the chaotic process that lies ahead of us, maybe we will get a real Mr. Smith. Maybe, just maybe, there is a man or woman of principle who will go to Washington and not become corrupted by that cesspool. Maybe there will be a whole group of them that are willing to go there and stand up to the people who have been there so long they have lost touch with the country they were sent to lead.

Fire them all. I think Jimmy would approve.

(Oh, and you can take the main stream media with ya when ya go fellas… anyone who spends that much time swilling at the trough of power with the crooks have become as crooked as the thieves they are protecting.)

Mister Mac

Do you know what would make it “A Wonderful Life” for most of us? If the Republicans who keep calling my house for money would spend just as much time finding more Mr. Smith’s to actually send to Washington. I get really bored with hearing how we have to beat Democrats and then find out they have no real idea what to do once they have done so.

There will be no sleep tonight for the main space sailors on board USS Astoria CA-34.

The cruisers were called “Treaty Cruisers”

At the Battle of the Coral Sea, she also saw first hand the destruction the Japs could pay out.

There is nothing in the world like the feel of a ship’s deck under your feet.

Mister Mac

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“King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.

For me, it would be like someone who was the leader of a nation that had once claimed to be “One Nation Under God” celebrating the desecration of that nation’s firmly held beliefs

A mysterious hand writes the following words on the wall where the revelers, drunk on their own self importance are able to watch:

Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Pharsin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are we in yet another generation where we will see the hand writing on the wall?

“You have been weighed, you have been measured and you have been found wanting”

To the nation: Will you allow the Hand writing on the wall bring you low as well?

Mister Mac

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For me, two of the loneliest days are the day after Memorial Day and the day after Veteran’s Day.

There are two groups of people who become invisible again on days like today.

That’s where I saw him.

Truly, there is always something there to remind them.

The second group that become invisible again after Memorial Day even have their own flag.

There have been some success stories.

In the June 2012 issue of the Legion Magazine, Adrian brings to light two things in his article “The Deepest Cut” that make Obama’s words and actions less than meaningful.

Words are cheap. Actions speak volumes.

Mister Mac

Update for June 1

Apparently Democratic Mayor Nutter from Philadelphia must read my blog.

The men who beg near the Franklin Parkway are being given notice that compassion is no longer welcome.

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To all whom it may concern:

For the use of the Grand Army of the Republic

Chaplain’s Prayer from the Service Manual:

God Bless America

Mister Mac

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Failure is not an option… but most of the time it is assured

“No Lois, but he has been hanging out with him so he probably knows just as much. Plus, if he fails, we won’t take the blame… get him up here this afternoon.”

Flat Leanly

Attila the Implementer

The Green Intern

Superlean-man

Captain Ameri-lean

Here are some things to consider:

I am continuing my work on competency mapping for an ideal CI/Lean leader. I would welcome comments on this article and your thoughts on what you have seen in this role.

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Starting a Continuous Improvement (CI)/Lean Journey

Why does a company decide that it wants to enter into a CI/Lean journey in the first place?

It seems to be the right thing to do

Everyone else is doing it

The CEO/CFO/Board/Guiding Coalition said so

We have no other choice

Looking at why: The Root Cause

1. “It seems to be the right thing to do”

2. “Everyone else is doing it”

3. “The CEO/CFO/Board/Guiding Coalition said so”

4. “We have no other choice”

The main problem these companies will find is that there are three cultural influences at odds.

We need to fix this and fix it quick.

Quick, somebody call HR and find us a CI/Lean leader!

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I’m sure I have mentioned it before but I have a modest collection of Bluejackets Manuals dating back to the early 1900’s.

Today I picked up one that I did not have before, the Eighteenth Edition.

I like the submarine sections of the BJM through the years.

The memory of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor was engrained in the Navy’s and the country’s DNA.

The Navy was gearing up for the conflict it hoped to never fight.

The Scorpion was engaged in submarine warfare development activities in the Atlantic when she was lost.

“Submarine duty is different than anything else in the Navy; it requires a special temperament which not all possess.”

From my humble experience, I would have to agree.

The Silent Service

Mister Mac

By the way, if for some reason I am mistaken about the BJM not mentioning the loss, I will issue a formal apology. Maybe I just got the only copies of the 18th to the 22nd Editions that cover the years 1969 – 2000 that didn’t mention them.

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What is your favorite birthday memory of all time?