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Yesterday, I had a scheduled flight at 18:15 from Barcelona back home.

I got to the airport in good time. No rushing around… calmly made my way through security, managed to pick up a cup of tea in the waiting area and made my way to the gate when it was announced.

Only thing – the flight was cancelled.

You can imagine the calmness went out of the window and years of doing FMEA’s (Failure Mode Effect Analysis) in my head of these type of situations made me prepared.

So walks out the pilot…

Along the lines of… “Ladies and Gentleman, we have just inspected the plane, and noticed there was something not right – by that I mean there was some damage. I’ve just sent the information to Heathrow – and they’ll get back to me”

Questions from the public were – “how long do we wait? what are the alternatives? how bad is the damage?, etc…

The Pilot’s phone rings – and then he shares some more information..

“Okay.. Heathrow have said it’s not safe to fly with that damage. I do apologise. I know you all want to get home, and we’ll ensure everyone is taken care off – there’s a few folk at the desk that will help you either catch a later flight and or look at other options”

The possibility of staying in the airport begins to dawn on me.

As the pilot is walking away, a number of folk are asking all sorts of questions to him…

“I know it’s not something you wanted to hear. But some news is better than no news”.

Totally agree.

Imagine being stood there for hours, and not knowing what is going on. We were originally informed the flight was delayed.

To a) receive this information – that the plane is damaged and unable to fly – we straight away have a clear reason immediately to why it’s cancelled (and safety first – I want to get home… alive), and b) we have people to help re-arrange flights, and ensure that everyone, at some point, will be on a flight home – therefore we have options. 

I liked the way this was handled by the Pilot – not sure if this is British Airways policy, that the Pilot comes and talks to the passengers or it was this individual that took on the accountability and responsibility to inform passengers.

Either way – Many of the passengers felt slightly better because they knew why it was cancelled and they knew they had options.

And that’s what we needed, to allow us, move quickly through the change curve…

It’s these stages that can sometimes not appear… take too long… or not be handled correctly, that allow us to stay in either Denial or Anger… the quicker we get to exploring options and acceptance, the better.

Things will go wrong… I believe we all know that… and from time to time, something can happen out of our control… but ensuring we have 1. Information and 2. Support – then we can start to look to the future, quicker.

 

You may have just heard in the news… the toy retailer, known as Toys R Us has just filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in the USA and Canada.

The giant… has over $5bn in long term debts.

That is not good.

So they’re going to re-structure their debts and work out how they can move forward with their business.

And that’s my question… how can you move forward?

When I first found this out… I immediately thought of Kodak.

We all know the fate and how it turned out for Kodak (for those who are unaware, they do still operate as I still receive information about my pension… which I won’t be receiving for a long time yet…!)

Let’s be honest – most purchases are made through a handful of on-line retailers. Yes – for particular items you’ll go to specific stores, you may have discount codes, loyalty scheme, etc.. And you’re probably right in guessing who the big players are.. or who the biggest player is… yep… Amazon.

It started with books…. then Electronic items… and now, you can buy virtually everything on-line through Amazon.

But is it all their fault? … I don’t think so. Have they had a part to play… yes, but then there’s other factors to take into account.

Competitors, marketing strategy, etc… there’ll be a number of factors. But let’s be honest. The biggest factor has to be the move from physical store to on-line stores.

We’re all busy. we’re all doing something or other.. and when we realize there’s a birthday, function, Christmas, etc.. we need a toy… we’re more likely to grab our phone and have a look on-line rather than drive down to the local store to have a browse.

Will toy stores completely disappear from the high street? I think yes… eventually, and not too far in the future, items you don’t need to ‘try on for size’, feel, hold, taste, etc… will be purchased more on-line rather then people buying them in store.

To be fair, even the items we need to ‘try on for size’, feel, hold, etc… we are buying more and more on-line…. as the returns process is simple and moreso, we have the information we need to make a more educated assumption that the item we are purchasing is fit for purpose.

So, back to Toys R Us… it’s unfortunate… I hope they are able to re-structure their debts and keep going. Maybe they need to have a re-design… rather then selling toys, open Toy Centres… where you charge $x to bring your children in, play with the toys, then leave… (without the toys) and if they do want to play with the toys at home, then you hand an iPad device to the parents to make the purchase on-line and it’s delivered home by the time they get there…

Glad this is well in advance of Christmas… then again, i’m sure Amazon or other on-line retailers would have them in stock ready for next day delivery… thanks to me being a Prime customer.

So, as promised from my Lean Thinking facebook page, here is my blog post and thoughts about the event from yesterday by Apple.

We all knew it was coming.

To be fair, we kind of knew what was coming.

And now it starts… people waiting for their new iPhones and watches… let’s be honest, we watch it on the news – remember the time when the person in Australia got their new phone and the news reporter said, let’s have a look and as he was taking it out, it fell on the floor!!

Well…. i’m not going to review everything that was mentioned. Neither am I going to tell you to go and buy the iPhone X (which is actually 10) or the iPhone 8. That decision is yours – based on what you got now, how much money you got to burn and if you really need the additional features right now.

And that’s the thing. A lot of tech is great. And we’re using our phones more and more rather than making calls!

It’s true.

A recent study showed that we tend to message, take photo’s, videos, etc.. more than actually make phone calls on our devices. So is it right to still call it a phone? Is it not a multi-media, multi-operational, multi-everything i want it to do, type of device?

And believe you me, i’m all up for carrying less devices. But then it’s the cost.

$999 for a phone is a lot of money.

I’m sure you could go out and buy a car for that much!

In fact, you can….

To be fair, there’s a lot of technology stacked into that little device. We’ve now got Augmented Reality, facial recognition, and much more…

There’s a lot more you can do. And if you are spending that sum of money, then you’d want to spend that amount of time on it!

There’ll be plenty of people ‘needing’ a device like that for hobbies and activities, such as film making – that’s right, you could film and edit a whole film on the phone – would it be good as the traditional camera’s that are out there, no. But then, they cost a lot more money than the phone. Device.

But it’s the whole eco-system that Apple have created which works so well.

You have the watch – which is fantastic. I got one of the first ones, and absolutely love it.

Then there’s the operating system. Which for me, seems to be going from strength to strength each time they release a new version.

And so we now have it. A phone, that costs the same as a second hand BMW with beige interior.

To be fair, that’s like comparing Apples to Banana’s.

You can’t compare an old car to the latest, technology filled mobile phone. Device.

The less you can carry, the more you can do, and the fun you can have… may be worth the price you’re going to pay. As the saying goes, you do get what you pay for – and yes, you’re paying a lot of money for the phone, (device) but then you are getting a lot.

So, did you watch the whole event? It was a couple hours long, and there’s various links available where you can go and watch it. But I found a 12minute video (and that, Ladies and Gentlemen is why this blog is called Lean Thinking….) 2 hours into 12 minutes, which does a good job of telling you what you need to know from yesterday’s event.

For those who follow me on instagram (@mrbalbansal) you may have noticed in my one of my stories earlier this week, I posted an image of my car.. which was plugged in.

That’s right… battery was low, I had an opportunity to plug it in… so I did.

Got me thinking… we’re going to need some more of these charging points at work. At home. At… well, everywhere.

And whilst we’re talking about needing more charging points in the UK… Jaguar made the announcement they will stop production of petrol or diesel only cars.

That’s right – from 2020… all Jaguar cars will be electrified. Either hybrid or all electric models will be available.

Right now… Jaguar don’t produce any electric cars. This will be a big step for them. They’ve shared concept cars and ideas, but are well behind the likes of Tesla.. BMW… and other car manufacturers in terms of development and knowledge.

Not saying they can’t do it. They sure can… they have the know how, the expertise, willpower and more importantly.. the objectives (which have now been set) to do it.

How do I know they can do it?

It’s simple… they’ve done it. Just got to scale it.

How have they done it?

Well… they’ve taken a classic… and electrified it.

How can you electrify a classic?

Easy… you take a classic model and then redesign it for the future.

What a great idea – whilst this will help the brand.. and sell a few cars, we need to think on a larger scale.

Mass production – as Mr Henry Ford brought to us, from the traditional craft production, is what helped the motor car to be owned by more people. Build and stock them high… sell them low…

Thankfully, the Japanese taught us about inventory and stock control… therefore we now are able to have more varieties… of what we want (not just a stock car from the inventory list of a dealer) and most importantly.. keeping the cost down.

So whilst i’m confident that Jaguar can actually do this… like most, i’m guessing, there are a few concerns which i’ve discussed previously about charging stations/points… and let’s be honest, 2020 is not that far away.

Including this year – that’s 3 X-Factor winners! – and just to think… Little Mix were crowned winners in 2011!!

I’m hoping the winner in 2017 has the same luck and progression as Little Mix.. and i’m hoping Jaguar can achieve their goals… espeically, if they’re experimenting and building cars like this…

 

I’ve recently been looking in more detail at technology embedded within wearables, or as they’re known… Smart Wearables.

Smart Wearables are devices, you can wear, which are smart. For example, smart watches, smart glasses, etc… you could call them smart accessories. There’s even smart rings… and clothing that is getting smart, such as smart shoes, and t-shirts being wired to transmit information to your phone…. which i’m guessing, will have to be a smart-phone.

There’s news and rumours of the next generation iWatch – which will have more capabilities, for example…you don’t need to sync with your iPhone, etc..

And lets be honest. This is happening very quickly.

It only seems like a few years ago the iWatch came out…. in fact it was, April 2015 it was released. And the number of improvements and advancements that have been made are phenomenal.

It can take calls, it can show you messages, it can alert you when your Uber is arriving, you can connect several apps to it… and it can tell you when you have to get up and walk around.

Which is great! – but what about those fitness trackers? – you know, like Fitbit and Jawbone.

Well… I paused and thought, I know Fitbit have several devices but haven’t heard from Jawbone.

Well, there’s a reason behind that. The company that had raised $590m through various rounds of fundraising and was valued at $3bn, is no longer as we know them.

That’s right – they’ve gone off the radar… not responding to messages… and are in liquidation.

I agree – feeling great is a very good look. But unfortunately, it’s not gone according to plan for the company. They had a great strategy…

But people want more.

More than just telling me about my fitness. Why can’t I wear something that will tell me more than the number of steps. Why can’t I have a device that will send messages, or show me my instagram feed… or even link with my Philips hue and turn the lights on?

As technology advances, our needs do to.

We want the technology to do more. To deliver more. To make tasks easier and simpler for us.

And to be fair, it’s doing it. The Smartwatch is doing that for us. Technology is enabling it.

And companies have to keep up. It’s sad for Jawbone… but I can see, others still doing really well, such as Fitbit and Garmin – who have recently added the ability to make contactless payments from their wearable devices.

It’s that kind of thinking that enables us customers to do more… with less.

Yesterday, I was talking to a colleague. He was telling me about his daily struggle. Or more, how the job he loves… sorry, that should’ve been loved, has become his daily struggle. To the point now, he doesn’t look forward to it.

It instantly reminded me of a scene from the short film – Inner Workings by Disney.

Inner Workings came out last year, but it was only recently I had the chance to watch it.

Best short film. Ever.

If you’ve not had the opportunity to watch it, you must! – available to watch on Sky Movies, iTunes, etc… (all good available digital outlets!).

It made me think…. we always say, how life is short, and how we should be sensible when it comes to certain things. You know what I mean, when eating food – leave off the sugar and take it easy on the carbs. Then there’s things we do… we often delay or do a ‘mental’ risk assessment and the outcome is usually… don’t do it otherwise something ‘may’ happen.

And to answer the question, do you follow your heart… or your head?

There’s many entrepreneurs who follow their heart. They’ll set up what they want. Do what they want. Not successful all the time, but have the will and desire to succeed.

Yes, there will be times when they follow their head – espeically when it comes to making certain business decisions. But early on, it’s very much about heart… I believe. You could call it risk taking… or just enjoying it and seeing what happens.

I’ve taken risks – calculated risks, in my career. Sometimes things work out… sometimes they don’t.

I remember speaking to a Vice President within the company once, and he said – you have to take risks to be successful. Calculate them, and take them. If you don’t, you’ll be too comfortable. And when you’re thrown out of your comfort zone, it’s more difficult to change. The circumstances around you will change, but can you change?

We’re living in a world of constant change.

But more importantly… we are living.

But are we living to the fullest?

What’s the worst that could happen?

You won’t know, unless you try…. Go and try something new, different… anything, that puts a smile on your face and gets your heart going – even if it’s in small tiny steps… and the only way you can do that, is by understanding your inner workings.

Here’s a clip/trailer to the short movie…

Firstly, I’d like to take a moment and congratulate the Transport Minister, Paul Maynard.

Now, I’ve never met Paul, don’t know about his past (the work he did with the rail)… in fact, had to google him this morning to learn a little more about him – but one thing I do know is, he’s speaking the language and putting into place what we should be doing – and that is understanding, learning and exploring new technology.

In the news, it was announced that the UK will start to test Self-Driving Lorries (Trucks) next year.

To add a little more context to this – there will be a convoy of up to 3 lorries, with the lead lorry having control of acceleration and braking of all 3 lorries.

There will be a driver in the first lorry, who’ll be doing all the accelerating and braking, with the rear lorries mirroring this (though there will be someone to do the steering in the rear lorries – so the announcement says), but i’m sure, it’s a matter of time that the steering will also be mirrored.

Now, why did I take a moment to congratulate Mr. Maynard?

Because this is new technology – that’s having a POC in the UK.

What does POC stand for? – Apologies, I should have shared this earlier in the post – POC stands for Proof of Concept.

It’s when you have a new technology, idea, thought, anything new… and you want to understand, how will it work. It’s to prove that the concept you have, works (or not). Either way, it’s a great learning on what your idea is.

All companies who have ideas will run a POC  – mainly to understand and learn more about the idea.

All startups, innovation labs, incubators will encourage folk to do POC’s to really get more data. Data is then transformed into stories. Stories which you can then understand. Understand if your idea is working to how you want it to, or do you need to modify/change it.

You could also call it a ‘test’. We’re going to test and learn.

The key thing here is that we’re learning. We’re using technology, new technology and we’re learning.

And the UK Government are not doing it by themselves. They’re collaborating!! – did someone read my last blog post?!

And they have the ‘mix’ right! – they’re collaborating with a Truck Company (which makes sense as this is to do with Trucks), a Ricardo (which is a smart British tech firm) and a German logistics company (DHL). Look at that for diversity!

Now, with all ideas – there’ll be some folk coming out with comments and saying, it’s a terrible idea… don’t do it… etc…

I’m just going to highlight one. From the AA (Automobile Association founded in 1905).

The comment was along the lines of – with 3 lorries close to each other, other drivers will not be able to see some of the road signs.

Valid point, I thought at first. On the side of the road, we have signs indicating what the next junction off the motorway (highway) is… service stations, etc…

Then I thought… Why not just move them and have them at the top (like the picture below)

But this is the reason why you do a POC.

To learn. To figure out – hold on.. we might have an issue with something – then you can work on that and understand it further.

The important thing is the benefits. And there are benefits to this concept. With the first truck/lorry, pushing air out of the way, it makes the lorries more fuel efficient and lowering their emissions.

More fuel efficiency, lower transportation costs… which could result to lower cost of goods – now, who’d argue with that?

We’re going to be hearing more and more about electric vehicles on the road – I should really re-phrase that, to… you’ll be reading more about electric cars, because a) i’m getting one soon, and b) i’ll be reviewing it here!

But in all seriousness, you might have read the news about Royal Mail and their new electric vehicles…

If not, here’s a link to the article on the BBC Website…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-41025771

A couple of things with this…

Don’t the vans look really smart! – I mean, when they started with the first electric cars like the Nissan Leaf and the Prius, let’s be honest – they were not the most good looking cars. But this van…

Then, the progress being made… okay, there’s various other delivery companies around the world who are exploring, and even, using electric vehicles extensively in their fleet, which is great news. But it’s always seemed that Royal Mail were a little behind… let’s be honest, they have recently picked up speed in terms of using latest technology not just in delivering letters… but in the whole value stream.

And that’s how we should all be thinking.

How can we be using, the latest technology, in our whole value stream – not just the core activities we do.

Because there’s so much waste in other areas of the Value Stream that can be tackled using technology or more importantly, collaborating with others who are leading in this area.

I often say, you might not have all the answers… collaborate. Go and talk to people. Read and research what others are working on, what your competition is doing – but more importantly, get access (if you don’t already) to incubators, innovation labs, etc… (plenty of them exist) and see how you can work together with other startups, universities, companies in solving problems that either you’re facing or problems that someone has developed an answer for which in the long run… saves you money!

Back to Postman Pat and his new van… he’ll be happy won’t he?! – well, until it breaks down, or he has problems with it – then how easy will it be to ensure it’s fixed quickly. Not something you could take down to the local garage.

Then, there’s the training – mechanics will need to be trained – or is it a matter of having some computers – you plug in and there’s a ‘do it yourself’ process to fixing the problem. You know, similar to how you get your phone going again when it freezes up! (Okay… vans won’t be that simple, but are we heading in that kind of direction?)

I think, it’s a step in the right direction – and i’m sure, those who may be effected with the introduction of electric vehicles (like the traditional mechanics) will be able to see new opportunities and train to do a new type of servicing… which could be ‘electrifying’.

For those who don’t know who Postman Pat is, here you go… enjoy!

Today, in the UK… (as I have many folk from around the world reading this blog), its A-Level results day. This means, young folk who’ve been studying (hard… maybe?) find out today, if they have got the results they need to get on to the University course of their choice.

 

Sometimes, it goes according to plan. You study hard. You get the results. You get the place at Univeristy and off you go to study a subject of your choice. In which case, you jump around… all happy. (And why not! – you deserve it…)

Sometimes, it doesn’t go according to plan.

Then, it’s Plan B. But for a moment, there’ll be a time when you’re upset. Regretting some of the answers you gave in those final A-Level exams. Thinking, how on Earth did the other person pass and get better grades when they didn’t even study that hard.

That’s Life… it’s just the way it is.

So, what happens now… well, you’ve got options. And that’s the most important thing. You know the drill… you’ve got clearing, there’s jobs you can apply for who are looking for people who have just done A-Levels, etc… there’s options to be explored and then life will be back on track.

But just for a moment, I wanted to share some example of people who didn’t do too well at their A-Levels and went on, to be ok…

First up… Richard Branson.

That’s right. In fact, he dropped out of school when he was 16. But… we know how the story goes… he took some risks and worked hard. Very hard. And in today’s environment, maybe that’s what some younger folk need to be thinking about. Taking risks….

Then there’s Sir Alan Sugar. With only one GCSE and no A-Levels… he’s gone on to do alright.

I’ve picked two of the best… there’s many more like Chris Moyles (the former Radio 1 DJ), John Snow (Channel 4 News), and many others…

The point here is… if you didn’t get the grades you needed – don’t panic.

What you must have is the right attitude. If you want to be successful – you’ll find it one way or another. It’s just a temporary hurdle that’s in your life. Figure out how to jump over it and carry on…

And finally, inspiration from the phenomenal Jeremy Clarkson – if this doesn’t cheer you up, nothing will.

In 2014…

In 2015…

… and then last year,

You may recall, I gave a talk to the lovely folk who attended a Nott Tuesday event a few weeks ago on how Startups, Businesses and Entrepreneurs can pitch to investors and mentors.

I shared the DMAIC process – the well known Lean Six Sigma methodology, on how it can be adapted and used to ensure your pitch follows a process and be successful.

In addition to this, there’s a few softer skills and tips I shared.

Some of these included, making sure you do your homework, understand the person you are pitching to and most important of all… make it memorable. Get creative and have fun… easy to say, little harder to do.

Here’s the video, filmed by the brilliant guys at Shutter Socks. Also Thank you to the Tech Nottingham folk for inviting me.