Business Problems Solved Podcast

In this episode of Business Problem Solved, Lee chats with Steve Rames, a global director of a Fortune 100 American corporate. Steve shares his journey from a YTS scheme to a corporate director, his passion for Lean, and the importance of honesty and hard work. Lee and Steve discuss Steve's journey from a production line to a global director, his experience with Lean and Six Sigma, and the importance of honesty and hard work in his career. They also discuss the challenges of leadership, the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, and the future of Lean. In addition, Steve shares some insights on his experience with plant closures and lean implementation, and the importance of connecting with people through humor. BEST MOMENTS "Leadership is all about making other people successful."  "If you concentrate on what is within your sphere of influence, then your sphere influence grows." "A quarter of an hour without laughter is a quarter of an hour, Tyneside is a jolly place."  "I was just dropped into many, many troubling situations, which were a whole lot of fun and total adrenaline maximizing the comedy."  "Truth is the thing we've got to get truth from. The truth, from the guys on the tools, has got to be the same truth spoken in the boardroom, Alight, you're having different conversations, but they've got to be based on the same truth."     VALUABLE RESOURCESBusiness Problems Solved Podcast          CONTACT METHODYou can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/ ABOUT THE HOSTFor the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

One measure of a successful meeting can be the amount and share of vocal engagement experienced during the discussion. However, this is far from being an absolute requirement and there are exceptions as Lee explains in this episode.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Sometimes people are fully engaged when they are thinking.  People often fill space vocally as this is often rewarded. Silence is necessary. Silence occurs when people are fully considering what they have heard and working on solutions. Encourage relevant silence.   BEST MOMENTS‘It’s not just about filling all of the spaces. Success in a meeting doesn’t have to be measured by output and voices because silence is also ok.’’One skill for a leader is not to break that silence.’‘The more comfortable we can all become with silence and getting lost in our thoughts, building on each other’s thoughts and sharing them openly and safely the better the solutions, answers and the resolutions.’  VALUABLE RESOURCESBusiness Problems Solved Podcast          CONTACT METHODYou can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/ ABOUT THE HOSTFor the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.

In this episode, Lee chats with James Edmondson, an experienced and results-oriented Agile leader and systemic team coach, with a reputation for working collaboratively with senior teams in both operational and head office environments. He is a people focussed leader with highly attuned emotional intelligence that enables strong relationships at all levels and also a veteran with over 20 years of experience working collaboratively under pressure and with a character that inspires the very best out of high-performing teams. Lee and James discuss his ‘water-based’ career, his adaptation of military ‘cell’ structures as a form of team management, the meaning of ‘agile’ in a team context, moving from military to civilian life, and the lessons he has learned in teams and leadership.  KEY TAKEAWAYS From 20 years in the Navy to his current career with Anglian Water, James has always specialised in team focus.  One of James’ first tasks was dealing with the COVID response which gave him invaluable experience in change management. James uses a ‘cell’ system model which he learned from the Navy in his team-leading strategy.  James is now a certified team coach after training in the field. The idea of an all-powerful, super-efficient, singular leader is a myth. Get rid of the ego, be humble, ask questions and know that you do not know all the answers. BEST MOMENTS‘I remember looking into the Navy as a teenager and thinking, goodness me, it’s just like a really good rugby team or really good football team or really good cricket team. They’re always playing together and got focus on an outcome.’-James ‘That cell structure gave us a really cohesive unit. It decentralised leadership to a certain extent. With the way we connected it all together it allowed people to have shared awareness and real clarity on what we were trying to achieve.’-James‘I started to dig into what ‘agile’ meant and I did a couple of courses.’-James ‘You’ve used the word ‘teams’ a lot and you’ve also used ‘team of teams’. What is it about teams that make you feel the way you do and what is it that makes a great team?’-Lee‘The notion of a heroic leader or a superman or supergirl just getting things done on their own is nonsense.’-James‘What makes a great leader? There’s so much to go into here but straight away it’s humility and trust.’-James VALUABLE RESOURCESBusiness Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOSTFor the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses.In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material.Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHODYou can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee rounds off his 3 Things series with 3 more important, thought-provoking points highlighted throughout the past few weeks. Here is a reflective summary of the choosing and honing of the ten topics covered. KEY TAKEAWAYS Thinking about the ten most valuable areas to discuss has been a worthwhile, constructive task. Having to narrow down to 3 most important points forces focus and clarity on all the chosen topics. This series has facilitated thinking, feeling and doing on each of the topics covered efficiently. BEST MOMENTS ‘Just narrowing it down to the 10 things that I believed would add the greatest amount of value to you has been just a great reflective space and a great reflective opportunity for me to really consider these things.’ ‘When you are given a topic to think about and forced to identify the 3 things that you believe are the most important of that really forces the thinking and I had some great moments sat by myself identifying the 3 things for each different topic as well.’ ‘This mini-series has allowed me to think feel and do about each of these different things and it’s an amazing reflective space for me. I don’t think people take the necessary amount of time to actually reflect.’ VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.   CONTACT METHOD   You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

As always, Lee encourages you to think, feel and do in depth about the 3 things about Coaching. Take a close look at Coaching and it’s importance as a skill in all workplaces in all its variations as a method for developing people towards desirable goals. KEY TAKEAWAYS Clarity of intent and destination. Coaching can only be attempted with a clear and definable goal to move towards. Prioritise questions and the thinking space rather than answers. It is a scale from consulting and providing answers through to creating a space to think. BEST MOMENTS ‘I believe we can only and should only coach when we have clarity of that destination. You need to truly have clarity of your intent in each of your interactions with your coachee and other people on the team.’ ’The more that you can make somebody think the more that they are developing their own thinking and their own answers to help them get to where they are trying to get to.’ ‘I don’t think our default as a coach is to provide options. It might be in the moment the thing that you think about to help the coachee move  past whatever it is hinders them.’ VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOST   For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.   CONTACT METHOD   You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In various situations, our standards differ and in terms of change, improvement and problem solving it can be difficult to decide where to set expectations to regard goals and targets as being met. Lee defines the 3 things that need to be considered when setting standards.   KEY TAKEAWAYS The standards need to be in line and support the reason why you are there.  They need to be visible and reviewable at the point of work, action or function.  They need to be simple, clear and address the operation required.   BEST MOMENTS ‘It should be an expectation set on an outcome from a leader in line with the purpose of the team, the function, the department, the business and also in line with the direction that you’re heading.’  ‘I often see standards in lever arch folders in cupboards and the cupboards are not actually in the place of the work they’re in an office somewhere.’ ‘Standards are a mechanism to solve the problem between what we say and what everybody hears.’   VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.  CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

In this ‘3 Things’ episode, Lee talks about the tools we all need to use to identify quantitively if our changes and improvements are successful, our chosen measures and metrics. What 3 things do we need to bear in mind to use these tools effectively?   KEY TAKEAWAYS Aligned to purpose. Ensure the chosen metric is the exact measure of the team’s success. Meaningful to each layer. The figures should be comprehensible and meaningful to all levels within the organisation.  To be actionable and solvable. The metric chosen should be affected by the actions and decisions of the change team.  BEST MOMENTS‘They should be aligned to a particular purpose, to a purpose of the team and that team’s purpose is to be aligned to that overall business purpose as well.’   ’Does every person on every team resonate with the measure or metric and the reason why they are there?’ ‘Can you go away and understand where and why the gap exists? Are you empowered to actually resolve or close that gap with you and your team?’ VALUABLE RESOURCESBusiness Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOSTFor the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHODYou can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

The creation of this mini-series has forced Lee to distil the complications of his chosen topics down to 3 easy to understand, most important points and in this episode, he is concentrating on Leadership. This time our 3 are Vision, Communication and Teamwork. KEY TAKEAWAYS Set a clear understandable direction. This creates motivation, passion and a shared target. The importance that people are clear on the messages that you deliver. Just because your team ‘works’ doesn’t mean you’ve got teamwork. BEST MOMENTS ‘Your ability to set a clear direction, one that is engaging, one that is motivating, and fundamentally one that people can resonate with.’   ‘Truly, the art of communication is what’s been heard, not what’s been said, and I think what we need to do as leaders is truly understand what has been heard not just what we have said.’ ‘How effective are you at creating teamwork? Encouraging and helping people to sacrifice their own personal goals for those of the team?’    VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker.   CONTACT METHOD   You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Problem Solving can be a highly discussed topic with many differing opinions on methods. However, at this mid-point in his ‘3 Things’ series of episodes, rather than concentrating on method, Lee explains the 3 blocks that he feels you will encounter during your Problem Solving approach.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Finding problems, not solving them. Often locating the problems can be more difficult than solving them. Solving at the right levels, little and often. If you can solve problems with the people that actually work with them and do it often enough you also empower the people at that level. It’s everybody’s job. It’s not a specialist role to solve problems. BEST MOMENTS ‘We are not very good at finding problems because very often we just accept whatever we see, whatever we hear and whatever we feel because it’s always been that way.’ ‘Some problems may need to be escalated through the line to more senior people but only if the people escalate it’s not within their gift to solve.’  ’Is problem solving, moving forward, is identifying and overcoming opportunities actually part of everybody’s job, of everybody’s role to help everybody make today better than tomorrow?’  VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/

Lee introduces 3 important things that will make you think, feel and act differently concerning Visual Management. The fourth episode in the ‘3 things’ will explain how you can cue actions or activities based on the visuals and other sensory input that you share with your team.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Visual Management should provide focus and clarity for everybody on the important points.  It provides an opportunity for increased support and teamwork. It incorporates all sensory management to tap into the senses of all of the people that we are working with.   BEST MOMENTS ‘What is it that you are looking to control and how can you prompt or trigger or cue a particular activity or action or thought in somebody based on what they can see?’ ‘You can use Visual Management to help people see whether we are winning or losing today.’ ‘You want people to understand where we are, where we are trying to get to, whether someone is overloaded, underworked and how we can support each other to get to where we want to get to.’ ‘We need to consider how we can actually be more inclusive of peers, colleagues and friends and actually try to utilise more sensory management.’   VALUABLE RESOURCES Business Problems Solved Podcast          ABOUT THE HOST For the last 15 years, I have been a multi-sector internal or external business improvement consultant, building the improved capability of individuals, teams and businesses. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my two young children Jack & India. I also enjoy listening to and reading business & personal development material. Lee Houghton is “THE Business Problem Solver”, a Management Consultant, CX Specialist and Keynote Speaker. CONTACT METHOD You can contact Lee Houghton on 07813342194 Lee@leehoughton.com  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhoughton/