Mike's Repost of Past Evergreen Team Concepts News

The Four Dimensions of Successful Leadership

2009-10-27T06:53:00.001-07:00

The Four Dimensions of Successful Leadership

Henry Beeland

Leadership has become one of those terms that takes on various meanings. To one it means the ability to motivate people, to another it represents the ability to have profound insight and vision for an organization, and to still another it means that a person is capable of organizing efforts of a team for consistent results. None of these meanings is wrong. They are, in fact, exactly right – all of them. Leadership is not an action, a skill, or merely a position; it is much more visceral than that. Leadership, at its core, is a way of thinking, a way of responding, a way of believing, and a way of being.

True leadership cannot be defined in a simple form or a one-dimensional narrow view. Leadership, when practiced fully, is four-dimensional. That is, it encompasses several areas of a person’s life, their thought patterns, and their influence with others. When someone raises to the level of a four-dimensional leader they no longer view leadership as a function of any particular area of their life – such as work. They, instead, see leadership as an extension of who they are. They seek opportunities to lead others in all areas of their life – home, social, professional, and personal. In doing so, the four-dimensional leader develops a keen sense of service to others, an astute sense of personal responsibility, and a drive for greater discipline and vision in his or her life.

Leadership for this person becomes the “what” that they do. Their job, for example, is no longer defined by the function of their position, but by the end result of their influence as a leader in the organization. By assuming this philosophical stance, the leader accepts certain obligations and commitments within his or her group. This is the essence of Four-Dimensional Leadership – leaders practicing with consistency obligatory service and fulfilling commitments within their groups, their teams and their organization. They practice engaging, successful leadership in each of the four dimensions –people, places, processes, and performance as regularly as they practice the routine tasks their job position requires. Their leadership actions become habitual until they move to the ultimate display of leadership - that is they walk the walk and begin to lead with fifth dimension purpose.

Four-dimensional leadership creates an evolving leadership process. Often, we think of leadership as some goal or objective that we have reached. The best leaders, however, understand that leadership, for both the leader and the team, is constantly evolving. It is a learning processing scattered with feeling, doing, thinking, and seeing – and the dynamics of these characteristics are always changing and evolving. Thus, true leadership – four-dimensional leadership – could never be a destination that one reaches. It is merely a journey one pursues.

The Four Dimensions

The concept of Four-Dimensional Leadership creates an on-going connection between organizational leaders, the people within the organization, and the people or partners supporting the organization. We often think of tasks and procedures as functional roles within the organizational structure, and then assign these roles to the people responsible for carrying out performance. Four-Dimensional Leadership creates a service-based mentality for leadership. The leader’s role in this model is to assist an organization’s people and partners in understanding the philosophy of the company, its vision for the future, and the mutual efforts and attitudes needed to create, sustain, and transfer this philosophy to others.

The model could also be referred to as Connected Leadership since the leader accesses all areas of the philosophy – people, places, processes, and performance from a central viewpoint that creates greater visibility and participation.

In this paradigm the leader consistently demonstrates a core understanding of the relationship between the leadership mentality, corporate philosophy, individual and group participation and the expected outcomes of the initiative.

To accomplish this, the leader will consistently engage the team from four views: Growth, Order, Strategy, and Vision.

PEOPLE - Growing People and Partners

The primary function of any leader is to grow other leaders in the organization. Individual and group growth is equally important.

To do this, leaders have a core need to understand two primary avenues of personal growth among team members: Motivation and Empowerment.

Motivation is the underlying current that causes individuals, groups, and organizations to develop a consistent desire to move proactively to change. It is not, in and of itself, a simple method of rewarding individuals with financial gains or material wealth. Instead it is the development of attitudinal stances that create a philosophical shift causing individuals to care about each other’s successes in regards to the team’s goals. The leader is the catalyst for this transformation.

Empowerment involves developing among the team three elements of engaging progress: Attitude, Aptitude, and Available Resources. In this way, people are empowered to follow strategic plans and methods for consistent performance and processes, while constantly “thinking” about what they are “doing”.

PLACES - Creating Organization and Flow

It is estimated that the average employee wastes 30 – 40% of their “productivity time” because work areas, meeting facilities, meeting agendas, virtual work areas, and workplace flow is disorganized, chaotic, or ill-planned. As Four-Dimensional Leaders our goal is to create a highly visual workplace where anomalies are immediately recognized. Tools, materials, and equipment are easily accessible and are close to the task for which they are needed. Greater ergonomics is created by arranging work cells to eliminate or greatly decrease unnecessary bending, reaching, or stooping. Wasted motion is also eliminated as team members are not constantly “looking” for the resources they need to accomplish their goals or objectives.

When we meet, we focus on real information for real decisions. We avoid the three evils of meetings and develop more productive time with our teams that lead to greater solutions for our problems. The flow of work has a greater efficiency to it, so that our actual “productivity time” increases.

By practicing this dimension, leaders are more capable of creating improved morale, increased safety awareness, higher performance standards with fewer quality defects, and sustained improvements that lead to greater job satisfaction and team pride.

PROCESSES - Process Improvement Strategies

Many leaders seek to give their teams the answers to their problems, the changes to their methods, or the improvements to their processes. The Four-Dimensional Leader works with the people involved in the process to create methodology improvements by empowering individuals to develop creative solutions to problems as soon as they are made visible.

Since many teams have operated in the dependent mode with their leadership, a cultural shift is sometimes needed. To accomplish this, Leaders encourage creative and innovative thinking, as well as active participation on all levels, throughout the organization.

We might use tools, concepts, and most importantly proactive change philosophy to encourage total team participation in the improvement of processes and reduction of waste. At its core, it is solution-based thinking that drives greater efficiencies in our processes producing increased productivity and higher performance standards.

The leadership role in this model is to guide the team through problem solving for solutions instead of merely providing answers. By doing this, leaders are more capable of developing the fourth goal of Four-Dimensional Leadership: improved and sustainable quality performance.

PERFORMANCE - Vision for Performance

Once leaders have motivated and empowered the people to action, our work areas and meeting areas are organized for increase productivity and more efficient flow, and teams begin to actively improve processes through creative and innovative involvement, the final goal of Four-Dimensional Leadership is to create the vision of the future performance desired.

People will need a clear path to the target that is set. The leadership goal is to create that path, and then guide the team to complete the goal.

This is accomplished by understanding our metrics for improvement from three aspects: historical, current, and future goals. The leader’s role is to coach and mentor his/her team so that metrics match our vision, and process improvements match our metrics.

From this, we can then establish Baselines, Benchmarks, and Best Practices. In this way, we can, through the accumulation of data, consistent measurements, and ongoing review and analysis, determine that we have established standardization of our processes so that duplication of effort is consistently achieved.

PURPOSE – The Fifth Dimension

People, places, processes and performance – four words taken independently that represent high characteristic obligations within any organization; when combined as a competent leadership philosophy, these words create sustainable successful organizations driven by dynamic people who thrive regardless of the situation, the economy, obstacles, or changes.

Nothing will assist a company more during these uncertain times than developing people in their organizations who lead with purpose. Simply put we need…

…Leaders who understand the value of motivating and empowering their people for greater growth.

…Leaders who recognize the need for increased organization and more efficient flow in all of our work places.

…Leaders constantly striving to develop creative and innovative teams using solution-based thinking to continuously improve our processes.

…Leaders with a concrete vision of high quality performance with definable metrics enabling us to create and meet our benchmarks, baselines, and best practices.

Four-Dimensional Leadership provides our leaders a well-rounded way to understand, practice, and sustain all of these areas to ensure we are always leading with purpose.

Henry Beeland is Founder and CEO of Evergreen Team Concepts and author of Four-Dimensional Leadership Corporate Training Program.

For more information on Four-Dimensional Leadership Corporate Training Program and the many customized programs deliverable to your team, contact:

Evergreen Team Concepts

3600 Meridian Street

Bellingham, WA 98225

Phone - (360) 647-6922

Email - info@etcwa.com

This Place is a Zoo!

2009-10-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

This Place is a Zoo!

Henry Beeland

It’s true. Sometimes our work places seem more like the zoo than an efficient office or organization. It can seem like everyone is speaking different languages, operating with different agendas, and working in completely different directions. The “give me results now” lions may be running rampant and frustrating the “we need more data” owls; the “where’s the safety and security” lambs may be aggravating the “big picture” weasels; and the “I can please everyone” dog is driving the “we need to get more done” ant absolutely nuts!

At times this overactive zoo can really frustrate us and cause us to question the motivations, determination, and even the abilities of our team members. There is a deeper truth to what we sometimes see on the surface. All of these “animals” as well as the other animals in our zoo, such as the dolphin, chameleon, and fox are really looking for the same thing: effective communications and team success. We all have this idea of where we need to be collectively, but we may not understand the path we need to take to arrive at our goals or objectives. We might mean to communicate and we might honestly believe that understanding exists, even though others are wondering why we are not communicating with THEM at all.

We need to develop a few Dr. Doolittle traits. We need to understand the value each of the animals brings to the zoo, and we need to develop a thorough understanding of the language each animal speaks, and therefore hears. By doing this, we are more capable of establishing effective communications that lead to greater results and increased performance. Additionally, we can allow team members to thrive where they are best suited for maximum productivity and personal as well as team motivation.

Imagine that – productivity and performance increases because we learn to talk to the animals! It really is that simple. Here are a few examples of the communication styles and motivators for the animals in our zoo.

ANIMAL
COMMUNICATION STYLE
MOTIVATOR

Lion
Results driven; Bullet points only
Bottom-line results

Lamb
Security driven; Often and much
Safety and security

Weasel
Results driven; Bullet points mostly
Big picture thinking

Dolphin
Likes the whole story with background
People driven

Owl
Data and facts; More, more, more…
Information

Ant
Need to know info only
Productivity and tasks

Chameleon
Bullet points mostly, but check back later
Adaptability

Fox
Small amounts when necessary
Self accomplishment

Dog
Whatever it takes; all forms accepted
Approval

Learning to communicate with each animal based upon their communication style ensures greater understanding and less conflict. Of course, increased understanding and decreased conflicts helps our organization create improved productivity and performance. By understanding and responding to each animal’s primary motivators we are able to assign responsibilities and tasks that compliment their views about themselves. This ensures happier employees with a higher degree of job satisfaction.

Beware, though, there lurks in practically every zoo a few very negative animals that we need to become conscious of and capable of dealing with. There’s the quick and decisive vulture, the threatening rattlesnake, the battle-scarred triceratops, the disinterested sloth, and the “me-me-me” X-breed. These animals have a great deal of ability to harm the flow of the other animals in the zoo, and if left unchecked, they can utterly destroy any sort of harmony in our group.

Remember, each of these negative animals was at one time one of the previously mentioned positive contributors to our zoo. Over time and under the right circumstances they have become jaded and disillusioned to the point of rust-out or burn-out. By understanding them better we are more capable of helping them return to the positive zoo, and once again enjoy the beauty of all of our “animals”, the value we each possess, and the increased abilities we own as a team when we embrace our differences.

How do we do this? By learning about the ultimate leadership exhibit always featured at our zoo. You already know the two participants in the ultimate leadership exhibit: the eagle and the unicorn.

The eagle is that leader who is inspirational, strong, focused, confident, positive, and caring. We see them soaring above the fray and frustration, tackling stress, dealing with success and failure with the same zest, and always working to care for the others. In short, eagles create high-performing, high-impact teams.

The unicorn, on the other hand, is that mythical perfect leader, often arrogant and aloof, with just the right amount of insecurity that causes both the unicorn and the rest of us frustration and doubt. You’ve seen them right? No? Of course not – that’s the point - you can never find them. You hear about them, but you never really see them. That’s why they often create politically divided teams and workplaces.

Don’t be frustrated by your zoo. Embrace it! Celebrate the unique qualities each of the animals brings to work with them every day, and then work to help them maximize these qualities for the company, the team, and themselves.

Henry Beeland is Founder and CEO of Evergreen Team Concepts and author of This Place is a Zoo! Corporate training program.

For more information on This Place is a Zoo! Corporate training program and the many customized programs deliverable to your team, contact:

Evergreen Team Concepts

3600 Meridian Street

Bellingham, WA 98225

Phone - (360) 647-6922

Email - info@etcwa.com

HAMFLAP donates to Brigid Collins center

2009-10-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

HAMFLAP, a company created to bring fun, laughter and their benefits into workplaces, recently donated $6,166 to the Brigid Collins Family Support Center in Bellingham.

HAMFLAP stands for "Have As Much Fun & Laughter As Possible." It offers onsite education and online community involvement. It also designs and distributes games, puzzles, activities and toys to help team building, employee appreciation and fun.

HAMFLAP is a subsidiary of Bellingham-based Evergreen Team Concepts, 3600 Meridian St. For more information, call (360) 647-6922 or go online to www.hamflap.com.

New Bellingham company aims to bring fun to workplace

2009-10-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

HAMFLAP, a Bellingham company created to bring fun, laughter and their benefits into workplaces, will be introduced to the public with a community event Wednesday, Aug. 20 as part of the 2010 Service Initiative networking luncheon.

HAMFLAP, a subsidiary of Evergreen Team Concepts, stands for "Have As Much Fun & Laughter As Possible."

The Aug. 20 luncheon will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Hampton Inn's Fox Hall, 3985 Bennett Drive. Presentations will be given by internationally renowned motivational speaker Bonnie Dean, Northwest Business Monthly owner Tony Larson and Henry Beeland, founder and CEO of Evergreen Team Concepts.

The luncheon also features a silent auction that will raise funds for the Brigid Collins Family Support Center in Bellingham, which serves victims of child abuse and supports the development of healthy families.

HAMFLAP and Evergreen Team Concepts are located at 3600 Meridian St. For more information, call 647-6922 or visit www.hamflap.com.

Service Initiative Lifts Whatcom County and Northwest Washington State and its Surrounding Area Businesses through Training and Visibility

2008-11-14T10:17:00.001-08:00

The 2010 Service Initiative was created by Evergreen Team Concepts to prepare businesses for the accompanying traffic expected from the Winter Olympic Games through high quality training in subjects ranging from image management, customer service, leadership and marketing.

Evergreen Team Concepts specifically designed the 2010 Service Initiative to raise the skill levels of business owners, leaders and all employees throughout Whatcom County and its surrounding areas with the intention to gear up businesses for the expected surge of traffic accompanying the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Whatcom County is virtually halfway between Vancouver, BC and Seattle.

Henry Beeland, founder and CEO of Evergreen Team Concepts states, "Consumers, whether area residents, regional visitors, or international tourists are all looking for the same things; high quality products and services, ready availability of these products and services, and competitive costs to maximize their value. The 2010 Service Initiative (http://www.servinit.com) offers all of these key factors to its members, which allows the membership to do the same for their customers. In today's marketplace, we need always remember that consumers look to us for a value-based experience. Through our cooperative effort, we can show business leaders how to make value a central part of this common culture."

2010 Service Initiative Membership includes:

Attendance in four 3-hour training workshops each year. Topics include customer service, leadership, marketing, image management, human resources, computer skills and team building.
Participation in web forums facilitated by national experts.
Subscription and inclusion in quarterly e-newsletters covering Winter Olympics related and business interest topics.
Business logos and website links included in each newsletter
Additionally marketing, networking, and promotional events for all members
Evergreen Team Concepts found, with close to 150 memberships, that businesses were joining the 2010 Service Initiative for the high quality training at a low price. Participants such as Sterling Health Plans, Alcoa and others not directly affected by the Olympics traffic joined primarily for the high quality training. The 2010 Service Initiative is subsidized for the business community through its sponsors: DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen, Hardware Sales, Hilltop Restaurant & Catering, Northwest Business Monthly and OfficeMax. The list of sponsors is growing as other businesses see the value of both participating in and supporting the 2010 Service Initiative.

Mike Ridpath, Senior Manager Products and Services with Evergreen Team Concepts says, "The 2010 Service Initiative is starting to transform businesses throughout Northwest Washington. Without the 2010 Service Initiative sponsors none of this would have been possible, our gratitude goes out to all of our sponsors."

The Winter Olympics will have an impact on Whatcom County and its surrounding areas. What we do with this opportunity is up to us. The 2010 Service Initiative equips you and your teams with the knowledge and competencies needed to operate your organization in a highly visible and efficient manner. With its rare, premium training available through the 2010 Service Initiative for only $149, members can now go to 4 workshops and receive additional online visibility thanks to the 2010 Service Initiative Sponsors.

To learn more about the 2010 Service Initiative visit www.servinit.com. To view who is currently participating and raising their service and staff competencies view our member section. For more information call (866) 559-9222.

Need a Company Culture Facelift?

2008-06-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

Need a Company Culture Facelift? Evergreen Team Concepts Announces New Business Workshop *HAMFLAP* to Bring to Your Site

Evergreen Team

Training conglomerate Evergreen Team Concepts is taking the training world by storm with their continuous innovation. Evergreen Team Concepts’ new release of HAMFLAP (acronym for Have As Much Fun & Laughter As Possible) is bringing the principles of fun and laughter into the workplace.

This new training workshop will be customized to your organization’s needs. HAMFLAP promises to increase creativity, employee morale, performance and productivity. Program writer Henry Beeland states, “This program is unique. It is designed in a format that makes it a tailored workshop to your organization that teaches companies how to increase performance, increase morale, and increase productivity with the promotion of fun and laughter; which allows for greater creativity and more innovation within the organization. Most importantly this program fosters the creation of an environment that your employees want to be in, which leads to greater retention and numerous other measurable benefits.”

HAMFLAP’s new workshop rolls out in three phases. First, there is the consulting phase. Evergreen Team Concepts trainers and consultants conduct a professional pre-assessment of your organization’s performance and productivity goals. This will include analysis of current team dynamics and company culture as well as the leadership's vision for the company's culture. Evergreen Team Concepts staff will make recommendations to assist the organization in finding enjoyment, excitement and fun within their corporate environment.

Second phase. Evergreen Team Concepts professionals will prepare a customized program designed to enhance your team's ability to find simple ways to effectively communicate with other team members and to learn and lead where they are within your organization, as well as promoting activities and newly agreed upon tactics to increase your HAMFLAP culture while promoting the principles of fun and laughter. A HAMFLAP workshop is guaranteed to be a fun-packed, content-rich, practical and immediately applicable workshop.

The third phase of the HAMFLAP program is support for those who want to join a fun-filled community that is promoting greater growth and enhanced workplace cultures at www.hamflap.com. This is a community of supervisors, leaders, CEOs, trainers, consultants and educators of practically every sector who are currently applying the principles of fun and laughter within their organization. The forum allows you to ask questions to trainers, consultants, educators and others who are applying the HAMFLAP principles within their work environment.

The HAMFLAP site will also be used by your leadership team as a resource for team-building activities, icebreakers, workshop games, many meeting tips. The HAMFLAP community allows you the ability to post your own blog to share with others what is happening within your organization and allows you to post pictures of you and your coworkers HAMFLAPping.

Videos will also be posted that are theme-based to be used for promoting ideas and subjects when giving speeches or doing meetings.

Mike Ridpath manager of Evergreen Team Concepts products states, “HAMFLAP was developed for one purpose-to convey the principles of fun and laughter into the workplace through onsite education and online community involvement. HAMFLAP is fun, it’s motivating, it raises awareness, it’s practical, it leaves a positive change. I personally believe this will be a world class business workshop with participation similar to the demand for our Lean Leadership Certification that is sponsored by the Lean Leadership Institute (multiple classes filled up monthly).”

Evergreen Team Concepts’ HAMFLAP event guarantees increased employee morale and participation, increased employee productivity and performance, as well as workplace environment and culture enhancement. Call one of Evergreen Team Concepts’ training consultants today to bring a HAMFLAP event to your workplace (866) 559-9222. Join the HAMFLAP community at www.hamflap.com and give your corporate culture a literal facelift and start reaping the benefits of a culture that Has As Much Fun & Laughter As Possible.

Joel Baker chief operating officer for Evergreen

2008-06-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Joel Baker has been appointed chief operating officer of Evergreen Team Concepts, which specializes in training, consulting and staff development for companies.
Baker has more than 30 years of experience in operations management, sales, marketing and financial management. He also founded three high-tech companies. Baker came to Whatcom County as president and COO of Ferndale- based PRWeb from 2005 through the end of 2007.

“My biggest task at Evergreen Team Concepts is installing organizational structures and systems that can handle rapid business growth,” Baker said. “I believe we're poised for tremendous achievements at regional and national levels and may be doubling or even tripling our staff in 2008.”

Evergreen Team Concepts offers seminars and Web forums led by professionals from throughout the country, as well as onsite training and online consulting. Its Bellingham Team Development Center is at 3600 Meridian St. For more information, call 647- 6922 or visit http://www.etcwa.com/

Evergreen Team Concepts Business Startup of the Year

2008-06-24T13:36:00.001-07:00

Being named a finalist for Startup Business of the Year after being open just a few months would seem to confirm that statement. The Bellingham-based company specializes in on-site trainings, consulting, Web-based forums, training DVDs, and an assortment of innovative tools for assisting business clients with their staff development needs. Since opening in September 2007, ETC has made quite a mark. According to Beeland, the company – whose motto is “building teams outside the box” – has worked with more than 500 students and 50 different businesses.

By partnering with the National Seminars Group in Kansas City, ETC is bringing nationally known business speakers to Bellingham to present all-day workshops at greatly reduced costs. Already, Beeland said, folks have come from Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Vancouver, B.C., as well as Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane to attend ETC’s on-site seminars. By offering attractive packages that include two days of training, hotel, meals and airport shuttle service, ETC is attempting to make Bellingham one of the Northwest’s premier business training destinations. Recognizing the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver, B.C., as a golden opportunity for local businesses, ETC kicked off a campaign on February 21 with the tagline: “Is your business ready for the 2010 Olympics?”

ETC has also developed its own “Lean 5S Leadership Certification” program to assist businesses in reducing waste and increasing efficiency. Based on Toyota’s famous principles of business organization, ETC has added its own signature features to the model, Beeland said. The first group to take ETC’s six-day training last fall immediately implemented cost-saving projects at their home companies. Within just four months time, Beeland boasted, those projects saved their organizations a combined $1.2 million.

ETC is also patenting a new tool called “Team Growth Matrix.” This Web-based application, according to Beeland, will allow human resource managers to accurately track and assess staff training needs and follow each employee’s progress. By entering an employee’s zip code, the system will list all upcoming national level trainings offered in that area for which participants can register directly via the Web site. This young startup is already working to make an impact in the community as well. Among its good works, team members donate a minimum of 40 personal hours per year to assist charities or community organizations, and donates its interactive computer lab to local school groups for tutorial assistance in preparing students for college level work.

With growth taking off, ETC expects to increase its current staff of nine by 50 percent in 2008, and to open a second office location (probably in Seattle) within the next three years. Always thinking big, Beeland said his dream is to have more than 20 ETC facilities up and running across the United States and Canada in the next 10 years.

But no matter how big ETC grows over the coming years, he promised, “Bellingham will always stay our corporate office.”

HAMFLAP - The Principles of Fun and Laughter

2008-06-10T11:24:00.001-07:00

Join the HAMFLAP community today at www.hamflap.com and start learning techniques and principles to enhance your workplace and get your company culture facelift!

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Powerful Personal Energy- Affirmations not enough

2008-03-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Powerful Personal Energy - Colonel Sanders

2008-03-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

Powerful Personal Energy - Live in the Moment

2008-03-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Powerful Personal Energy - Passion

2008-03-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Lean, Mean Business Machine -by Mike Ridpath

2008-02-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

Lean manufacturing focuses primarily on eliminating the seven major wastes, which are waiting time, motion, scrap, inventory, over-production, transportation and over-processing. Lean manufacturing's main keys are the following:
Perfect first-time quality - quest for zero defects, revealing & solving problems at the source, waste minimization - eliminating all non value adding activities & safety nets, maximize use of scarce resources (capital, people and space), continuous improvement - reducing costs, improving quality, increasing productivity and information sharing, pull processing: products are pulled from the consumer end, not pushed from the production end, flexibility - producing different mixes or greater diversity of products quickly, without sacrificing efficiency at lower volumes of production, building and maintaining a long term relationship with suppliers through collaborative risk sharing, cost sharing and information sharing arrangements.
The economy in the world today is always changing and more competitive than ever. There are new companies created everyday and old ones tightening their grip on their thrifty empires. For any of these companies to remain successful or become successful, they must find a way to stay on top of their game and please the customer better than ever before. Increasingly, successful companies are turning to lean manufacturing as the answer to staying on top of their industry. Lean manufacturing is not necessarily a particular way of producing a product. It is instead a philosophical way of thinking.
McDonald's can be said to have recently implemented a lean technique. McDonald's no longer makes an abundance of food to wait in holding bins in anticipation of a meal time rush. If a rush does not happen, then there is an obvious waste of food as well as labor. Instead, McDonald's has focused on making the food when the customer orders to provide a fresher and hotter meal. A focus on consistent labor training and improvement is the key to keeping this service speedy and reliable. By implementing this new "leaner" way of thinking, waste of food and labor has been minimized, which is the main goal of the lean process.
Lean manufacturing was actually born in 1914 with Henry Ford and the mass production moving assembly line. Lean relies on keeping a steady flow of product out the door to the customer. Ford's system did exactly that, though it was missing some of the most important and common factors in today's lean philosophy. The original Ford assembly line was putting out thousands of Model-T cars at a vast rate. The problem was that it did not matter what the customer demand or requests were; there was a base black Model-T available. They didn't worry about customer satisfaction or demand whatsoever. The Ford motor company stuck with mass production and had a large stock of inventory (waste) just sitting around. Although Toyota is credited with beginning Lean Production with their Toyota Production System, the roots of "lean" date back as far as the 16th century. In 1570, King Henry III of France watched in amazement as the Venice Arsenal built galley ships in less than an hour using continuous flow process.
Later in the 1940's The Toyota Loom Company had problems of its own. After World War II when Japanese industry was decimated, the Toyota family decided to extend Toyota Automatic Loom Company to start an automotive company. They had some cash but did not have the infrastructure. They certainly could not compete directly with the established companies like Ford. Therefore, their sole demand was in Japan, which meant supplying small quantities, with high variety while Ford was selling any color Model-T you wanted as long as it was black. Toyota also had to rely on outside supplier partners to make the capital investment needed to get in business. Taiichi Ohno, leader of the Toyota manufacturing enterprise, came up with a system now called the 'Toyota Production System' or TPS. He did not do this alone though. Ohno diligently studied Henry Ford and his companies' philosophies on manufacturing. Toyota and Japan had the problems of not enough space, resources, or demand to compete with the larger automobile manufacturers of America. By assessing and solving these problems, Ohno began the Toyota Production System, and the manufacturing revolution known today as Lean Manufacturing.
After WWII, Ford was ten times more productive than Toyota, but between 1945 and 1970, Ohno's Toyota Production System was revolutionizing the Japanese automobile industry. It was during this time the rest of the world and particularly the United States started realizing the overwhelming benefits of lean manufacturing. The U.S. auto industry paid particular notice when The Machine that Changed the World was published highlighting the great accomplishments of Toyota and the huge gap between Japanese quality and productivity and auto companies in the West. Many differences were factors of ten - like the original gap between Ford and Toyota, but reversed. That book coined the term "lean manufacturing" because Toyota was doing more with less of everything - less space, less people, less capital and less inventory.
As said before, lean manufacturing's main goal is to eliminate or at least minimize waste. Lean manufacturing also seeks to streamline the flow of production material throughout the process. By eliminating waste, a lean system eliminates variability in the process itself and in the cycle time of materials. The cycle time is the length of time production materials spend in the factory, while processing time is the length of time required to process any particular item at any given workstation. By eliminating variability within these two lean concepts, companies become more efficient, and are able to reduce the final costs of producing a customer-demanded quality product. Reducing variability is a core objective of lean manufacturing. In fact, variability reduction could be defined as lean manufacturing in action. Some of the benefits of reducing variability or practicing lean principles are shorter cycle times, shorter lead times, faster response times to customer demands, lower costs, greater flexibility, higher quality, better customer service, and higher revenue. Certainly, these are all elements of creating a successful company, capable of meeting the changing demands of a highly-competitive marketplace.
The International Society of SixSigma provides the acronym DOTWIMP for recalling the seven wastes associated with lean manufacturing.
Defects: A defect is defined as anything produced through the process that the customer is not satisfied with or is unwilling to pay for. Usually referred to as errors, defects disrupt the production process, and require a greater final investment to produce a product for profit. Initially, most defects require less production time to produce than the intended high-quality product. This is because most defects occur because at least some facet of the production process was skipped or missed. In the end, however, defects are cost nightmares for companies. The additional steps they add to the production process are exponential, since most steps in the process are repeated. In addition, the intrinsic costs are immeasurable. Lack of customer confidence, added customer operating costs, and dissatisfaction with the purchased products are all end costs of defects that destroy company profits and longevity in the marketplace.
Overproduction: Think back to the Ford model of production in the early 1900's.
What value did the hundreds of excess Model-Ts create? In essence, they only created greater expenses for the company. Valuable resources were tied up in goods that could not be readily sold. This creates wasted time, labor and resources that could be allocated to other areas, such as customer needs, process improvement, or business growth.
Transportation: This deals with the movement of raw materials from vendors, to parts through the production process, to the finished goods reaching the end user. Lean manufacturing seeks to streamline this movement so that unnecessary handling of raw materials, excess movement of parts, and increased steps in the distribution process are eliminated.
Waiting: One of the major problems with the Ford assembly line approach is that not all steps are in synchronization with each other. One step might require five minutes of labor to complete, while the following step might require only two minutes to complete. Obviously, when this is the case a disruption of movement will occur, and the process will be in a "waiting" mode. Lean manufacturing works to eliminate or minimize this waiting period by combining some steps and separating others, so that each step is more closely matched to the ones before and after. This reduces the amount of time an employee has to sit idle while being paid.
Inventory: When Toyota began developing into an automobile manufacturing facility, they were forced to eliminate as many additional costs as possible. One way they did this was to eliminate capital resources sitting unused in their parts warehouse. They realized that if their revenue was tied up into parts that could not be turned around into saleable goods in an efficient manner, then they would most likely not survive as a young company. Instead, they worked closely with there supply partners to receive inventory that was needed to manufacture goods in accordance with customer demand. The goods were then sold more quickly, and greater cash flow was created to purchase the next order of parts from suppliers.
Motion: Hours and hours of production are wasted seconds at a time. Lean addresses this problem by streamlining the production process at the workstation itself. If a worker takes minutes to find the parts needed to complete their step in the process, Lean finds a way to make the parts more accessible, thereby reducing the minutes to seconds. This might not seem like much of a waste reduction, but consider this model. One worker uses one screw per product in their step in the process. The same worker produces one hundred of these products each workday. The worker must stoop down below the work table each time the screw is needed. This step takes thirty seconds, or 3000 seconds per 100 products. By placing the screw bin in front of the worker at shoulder height, the worker can retrieve the screw with less effort and in only ten seconds. This motion reduction has saved 2000 seconds per 100 products. When calculating the end cost of this reduction annually, it becomes obvious how reduced motion saves money as well as time. This simple example can save a company as much as 137 production hours over the course of a year. These costs really start to add up when one considers that there are several production steps involved in creating a product for sale.
Process Flaws: This concept can take on several dynamics. It can be simplified to say that any flaw in the process, which creates a slow down in production, a disruption of the process flow, or an increase in needed labor greatly increases a company's initial investment to create a desired result. This, of course, creates a greater cost, which hinders a company's ability to remain competitive in the marketplace.
Go Lean or Go Home
Lean is currently a hot topic in most major industries and is coming to an industry near you. Practically every type of industry is currently using lean manufacturing: Distribution centers, electrical, government agencies, manufacturing, mechanical, and software and system companies. I'm personally in the process of implementing lean principles at a staffing and recruitment firm. The current big players in lean manufacturing are Cascade Engineering, DsMax, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle and Toyota. The use of lean thinking has for decades been applied to improve competitiveness and accelerate a company's growth by managers and CEOs alike. Perhaps, the most interesting aspect of lean manufacturing is that it does not stop with upper management. Instead, lean is a philosophy that embraces the worker who actually produces the product or service being bought and sold. Today the leader in manufacturing is the United States, due at least in part to the implementation of lean principles in so many of our industries.
Other businesses have taken notice and are now applying lean principles to compete. Channel 9 Billionaire James Packer had this to say about lean, "New management at Channel 9 has launched a concerted attack on its cost base in order to restore margins through eliminating waste, improving efficiency and lowering programming costs."
Companies, no matter how big or small, are switching practices over to lean methods. Many companies that implemented lean practices such as General Electric and Hewlett Packard cut their overhead operations by 30% or more, sales doubled, more profits and they've continued to grow at an accelerated rate. Companies have experienced this growth and success without cutting jobs, which seems to have been the primary solution used to cut cost in the past.
In the article "Achieving the Lean Dream", By Nelson Teed he discussed a book by Dr. Edward W. Deming written in the early 1980s trying to explain the downfall of America's business. According to Deming United States businesses have been too focused on numbers without implementing proper methodology. The differences in cultural management styles from the United States to Japan were significant and have a huge difference in performance. MIT did a study for five years on the automotive industry, which found out that plants implementing lean or at the time noted as Toyota Method, were overall more productive. Deming reported, "The key concepts to work on are teamwork, employee involvement, continuous improvement, communication, and self-direction: all the key elements of cultural change. However, unlike the failed activity-based programs of 10 years ago, this is "on demand" cultural change. The need for it is obvious, even pressing. It is immediately applicable to supporting change on the shop floor. Staff positions and management levels are reduced, authority and responsibility are driven down to the plant floor, barriers fall, communication improves."
With such overwhelming evidence, and such compelling arguments, it would seem reasonable that all companies would embrace lean manufacturing concepts. This is not always the case. There are two primary reasons some companies are not implementing lean. Some companies are simply ignorant to lean methodology and clearly do not understand what is involved in process improvement. Since they are ignorant of these practices, they tend to use older methods with which they are more comfortable. Lean manufacturing cannot and will not happen overnight. Converting to a lean system takes time and effort, and results driven people want immediate results. The other primary reason companies fail to implement lean practices is that they see process changes as new investments, which of course equals new cost. They have invested such great sums of time and money in their current process, regardless of inefficiencies, they fail to understand that initial costs of lean processes is simply an investment for future growth and profit.
Lean manufacturing is not a set of isolated techniques. It is a complete business system. By eliminating inherent wastes, lean creates a new way of designing, a new way of selling, a new way of manufacturing, and most importantly, a new way of involving all employees in improving processes, product quality, and customer satisfaction.
Taiichi Ohno was given very demanding marching orders in the 1950's: catch up with Detroit in three years. Faced with a seemingly fruitless situation complicated by little or no money, a small diverse market, and low productivity, Ohno was able to meet and exceed his orders by creating a manufacturing system to reduce costs through eliminating wastes.
It should be recognized and remembered that lean is not a final goal that a company works towards. It is an ever-changing way of thinking to make the company the best it can be at all times. Simply put, lean manufacturing is making the customer happy by getting them their product in the fastest way possible with the highest quality possible while making the largest profit possible. There is no better way to succeed in today's changing business world. Darwin's idea that it wasn't the strongest species, but the most adaptable species that were able to survive and thrive in the changing world, is equally applied to business. Companies who are consistently able to adapt to the changing needs of their customers, and companies who are able to meet these changes with the fewest costs while producing the greatest profits are the companies who will continue to succeed. These companies understand that lean manufacturing is a process, a journey, not an end state.
Lead them over the river of Jordan to the Promise Land!

Mike Ridpath - Evergreen Team Concepts - http://www.etcwa.com

What Is Lean 5S?

2008-02-21T22:13:00.000-08:00

The Development of Lean - Lean History

Lean, like so many innovative ideas, products, or services, was born out of necessity. In post-World War II Japan, the founder of Toyota, Sakichi Toyoda, his son Kiichiro Toyoda, and their chief engineer, Taiichi Ohno, developed the Toyota Production System (TPS). TPS is the philosophy that still organizes manufacturing and logistics at Toyota, including the interaction with suppliers and customers. These three innovative thinkers from Toyota visited the United States and they observed the great manufacturing empire established by Henry Ford. They were, however, unimpressed. They immediately noticed that while Ford had created a monumental manufacturing machine, he had failed to address what they felt was the key issue for them - waste. They noticed that with Ford's assembly line that tasks were not spaced and timed to enhance work flow. Therefore, the process was often waiting on steps to catch up to other steps, and partially completed work often piled up. In addition, the production system in place continually created a great deal of overproduction, which led to routine shut downs and layoffs and regular restarts and rehires.
Although Toyota (Toyoda) was basically unimpressed with Ford's manufacturing plant, he was very impressed with another US business - Piggly Wiggly Supermarket. They saw the benefit of only reordering and restocking goods as they were purchased from the customer. They realized that if they were to compete on the world stage in the automotive industry, they would need to apply these same principles to their operation. Thus, JIT, or just-in-time inventory was developed. To do this, Toyota reduced the amount of inventory they would need to hold only to a level that its employees would need for a small period of time, and then subsequently reorder.
Although Toyota is credited with beginning Lean Production with their Toyota Production System, the roots of "lean" date back as far as the 16th century. In 1570, King Henry III of France watched in amazement as the Venice Arsenal built galley ships in less than an hour using continuous flow process. So, as a conceptual idea, we have known for centuries that continuous flow produces results. Other companies have taken the Toyota Production System even farther. Motorola implemented Lean Production Systems, and almost immediately noticed a decrease in wastes, an increase in productivity and quality, and an increased awareness of safety. Their efforts led to the development of Lean Six Sigma. Six Sigma basically, defines quality in degrees of sigma with six being the highest and defined as no more than 3.4 defects per one million opportunities.

For more information about Lean 5S visit Evergreen Team Concepts on the web at http://www.etcwa.com

Mike Ridpath Evergreen Team Concepts http://www.etcwa.com

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism and Evergreen Team Concepts ask, "Is Your Business Ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics?"

2008-01-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism and Evergreen Team Concepts ask, "Is Your Business Ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics?"
Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism and Evergreen Team Concepts are proud to present the BWCT 2010 Service Initiative in advance of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. In 2010, the world is coming to Whatcom County's doorstep. Is your business ready? Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism and Evergreen Team Concepts are collaborating to present the BWCT 2010 Service Initiative that asks "Is your business ready for the 2010 Olympics?" Beginning with the Kickoff event on Thursday, February 21, 2008, 12-8pm, the Service Initiative strives to make all businesses ready for the Vancouver/Whistler Winter Olympics. All those interested are welcome to attend this event which includes live music, hors d'oeuvres, hourly presentations, networking and thousands of dollars in door prizes.

Is your business ready for the 2010 Olympics? In two short years, the world is coming to the Pacific Northwest to attend the Winter Olympics. Businesses in the area stand to reap a windfall. The best prepared companies stand to gain the most. The BWCT 2010 Service Initiative is vital to that preparation.
Participants commit to four training workshops each year. In addition, the Service Initiative benefits include:
Quarterly Web forums, facilitated by top national figures
Subscription to the quarterly e-newsletter, focused on Olympic news and events of local business interest
Two free marketing ads each year in the quarterly e-newsletter
Four local press releases each year, coordinated with the BWCT 2010 Service Initiative
Three national and international press releases, issued through PRWeb with an explanation of the BWCT 2010 Service Initiative
Four audio conferences with national experts
Annual networking luncheons, designed to bring business leaders together The 2008 events are already scheduled. In March, Henry Beeland will map out "Developing a Plan for Success". June is busy. Frank Keck leads a workshop in "Building Successful Customer Relationships" and on June 4, the networking luncheon, the "HAMFLAP" event, occurs. In the Fall, Evan Glassett presents a workshop in September on "Image Management" and in November, Henrik Rosvall will conclude 2008 with a workshop on "Cultural Diversity and Practices". No business can afford to miss a moment of this valuable experience.
Gold, Silver and Bronze BWCT 2010 Service Initiative sponsorships are available for businesses and organizations to step up and receive exciting premiums such as logo recognition at BWCT 2010 Service Initiative events, additional press coverage, and multiple admissions to training events. Call Evergreen Team Concepts for more information on sponsorships.
The BWCT 2010 Service Initiative will elevate this area's businesses to reach faster, higher and stronger as they prepare for the world in 2010. Register now. If you are in the Service Initiative area - don't let this unique opportunity pass you by.

PRweb President Joel Baker has been appointed chief operating officer of Evergreen Team Concepts

2008-01-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

Joel Baker has been appointed chief operating officer of Evergreen Team Concepts, which specializes in training, consulting and staff development for companies.
Baker has more than 30 years of experience in operations management, sales, marketing and financial management. He also founded three high-tech companies. Baker came to Whatcom County as president and COO of Ferndale- based PRWeb from 2005 through the end of 2007.
“My biggest task at Evergreen Team Concepts is installing organizational structures and systems that can handle rapid business growth,” Baker said. “I believe we're poised for tremendous achievements at regional and national levels and may be doubling or even tripling our staff in 2008.”
Evergreen Team Concepts offers seminars and Web forums led by professionals from throughout the country, as well as onsite training and online consulting. Its Bellingham Team Development Center is at 3600 Meridian St. For more information, call 647- 6922 or visit http://www.etcwa.com/

Preparation for Winter Olympics has begun

2008-01-17T15:40:00.000-08:00

Local businesses can get help on skills, strategies

WHATCOM -- Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism wants to help its business partners prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.
"The Winter Olympics Service Initiative will help any business that wants to further develop its management personnel, improve customer-service skills and learn marketing strategies," said Loni Rahm, president and CEO of BWCT. "It will particularly assist companies that want to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the 2010 Winter Olympics."
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games are scheduled for Feb. 12-28 and will be followed by the Paralympic Winter Games, also in Vancouver, B.C., March 12-21. Approximately 10,000 media representatives will attend and 1.8 million tickets for events will be sold, many of them to tourists from throughout the world.
"When people travel to see the Winter Olympics, they also want to see some of the surrounding sights," said Steve Brenk, board chair of BWCT and general manager of Bellingham's Best Western Lakeway Inn. "Whatcom County is ideally situated because we're between the international airports in Vancouver, B.C., and Seattle that most visitors will use. Also, currency rates are extremely favorable now for Canadian, Asian and European tourists visiting the United States."
Bellingham-based Evergreen Team Concepts is developing the training workshops for business participants. Henry Beeland, president of Evergreen Team Concepts, saw firsthand how some businesses reacted to the opportunities and challenges posed by the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
"If Northwest Washington is prepared to reach out to these visitors and meet their unique needs, this region can reap the benefits of increased tourism for years to come," Beeland said.
BWCT will present four workshops per year in 2008 and 2009 to members participating in the Winter Olympics Service Initiative. Workshops will cover many topics, including customer-service training, team building, telephone skills, marketing strategies, diversity and culture awareness, and understanding the needs of visitors.
Participants also will have access to up to four additional audio and/or Internet training events each year that will be led by national business experts, plus quarterly Internet forums.
Other benefits include a quarterly e-newsletter covering Winter Olympics business topics, plus international marketing efforts in coordination with Ferndale-based PRWeb that highlight participating businesses.
Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism will offer the Winter Olympics Service Initiative to its 400 members at a substantially reduced rate of $149 per year or $249 for two years. BWCT also will make the training program available to its economic development partners on a space-available basis.
For information about participating in the Winter Olympics Service Initiative, call Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism at 671-3990 or (800) 487-2032.

Workshops focus on preparing for Olympics

2008-01-17T15:38:00.002-08:00

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism has launched an initiative to help its business partners prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. The 2010 Winter Olympic Games are scheduled Feb. 12- 28 and will be followed by the Paralympic Winter Games, also in Vancouver, March 12- 21.

Approximately 10,000 media representatives will attend and 1.8 million tickets for events will be sold, many of them to tourists from throughout the world. BWCT will present four workshops per year in 2008 and 2009 to members participating in the Winter Olympics Service Initiative.

Workshops will cover many topics, including customerservice training, team building, telephone skills, marketing strategies, diversity and culture awareness, and understanding the needs of visitors. Participants also will have access to up to four additional audio and/or Internet training events each year that will be led by national business experts, plus quarterly Internet forums.

Other benefits include a quarterly e-newsletter covering business topics for the Olympics, plus international marketing efforts in coordination with Ferndale-based PRWeb.

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism will offer the Winter Olympics Service Initiative to its 400 members at a substantially reduced rate of $149 per year or $249 for two years. BWCT also will make the training program available to its economic development partners from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., on a space-available basis.

For information about participating in the Winter Olympics Service Initiative, call Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism at 671-3990

2 firms donate chairs to tourism agency

2008-01-17T15:38:00.001-08:00

The Bellingham Office Max store recently combined with Evergreen Team Concepts to donate seven executive chairs to Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism. The executive chairs, valued at more than $1,000, help BWCT provide a professional conference room for meetings with members, planners and travel industry writers. Office Max, located in Bellingham's Sunset Square, provides business-to-business office and retail office products. For more information, call the Bellingham store at 738-6606 or visit www.Office-Max.com. Evergreen Team Concepts offers seminars and Web forums led by professionals from throughout the country, as well as onsite training and online consulting. ETC's Bellingham Team Development Center is located at 3600 Meridian St. For more information, call 647-6922 or visit www.etcwa.com.

Evergreen Team Concepts builds ‘teams outside box’

2008-01-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

HENRY BEELAND Title: Founder and CEO. Business: Evergreen Team Concepts. Established: September 2007. Employees: Seven full-time staff, plus various instructors and speakers under contract. Local office: 3600 Meridian St., Suite 100. Information: info@etcwa.com 647-6922 or http://www.etcwa.com/

Henry Beeland says he recognized an unmet need for premier business and professional training and that's why he recently launched Evergreen Team Concepts. He doesn't view his company as competing with local training institutions so much as complementing what's already available. He explains some of the premises behind the business.

What does Evergreen Team Concepts offer?The company provides consulting services, professional training and development in facilities on Meridian Street or will bring a speaker or instructor to an employer's location. Beeland said what sets Evergreen apart is the flexibility to customize training and to offer classes, workshops or seminars at short notice. The training center features classy decor, a 45-seat presentation room and a 30-seat interactive computer lab. The place is designed to motivate visitors to realize the benefits of education. “When you recognize the primary participant in your own failures, you can become the greatest participant in your own success,” he said.

What type of skills do you teach?Classes range from computer training to customer service to high performance sales. Certification courses are available. These include Lean 5S, which focuses on team leadership and operational efficiencies, and Six Sigma, a program that instills continuous quality improvement in the workplace. These certifications are offered by partnering with Kansas Citybased Rockhurst University and its National Seminars Training Program.

Your customers?His years in private industry demonstrated that only mega-size corporations possess the resources to bring in a Fortune 500 consultant or other top-level training. However, costs are affordable when spread among seminar participants. Since opening in September, Evergreen has worked with or trained 50 businesses, brought in experts from four countries, along with 10 published authors. “I'm pleased with our progress and where we are headed,” he said. Obviously, business operators are realizing their staff's assets. “Too often businesses can't define how much they invested in training or on outcomes,” he said.

How did you prepare for your position?He served four years in the U.S. Army as a combat medic before earning an undergraduate degree from Mercer University in Macon, Ga., in human resource administration. He is certified to teach the Six Sigma and Lean 5S certification programs.
He worked seven years in project management for the state of Georgia before leaving for private industry. He spent the next 15 years in various management positions in the grocery, manufacturing, distribution and construction industries in five states.
He met his wife, Brenda, while consulting on a project in Whatcom County in 2003, and then moved here.

What is your business philosophy?The business is based on the idea of “building teams outside the box.” Evergreen strives to do this with techniques that move away from the didactic and linear thinking to innovative ways of presenting information. There's even a laughter workshop to help with communication and lightening the workplace environment.

Growing the business?Evergreen Team Concepts offers a Web-based platform that enables clients to ask unlimited questions on subjects that include safety, human resources, project management, team building, OSHA and WISHA regulations and other topics. Web forums led by top professionals are available online, and resource materials are available for use in the workplace or to augment training.

What's ahead?He plans to have two dozen training facilities established across the country in the next decade or so. He keeps the business plan focused “on discovering new ways to help facilitate success for our business clients.

By Mary Evitt

Evergreen Team Concepts hires office/facilities manager

2008-01-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

Evergreen Team Concepts has promoted Guy Cadden to office/facilities manager.
Cadden, a Whatcom County resident for years, now coordinates scheduling of seminars at Evergreen Team Concepts and rentals of its 50-person presentation room and 30-person computer lab to other businesses and organizations. He also is responsible for accounts payable and receivable. Before joining ETC, Cadden spent more than 20 years in the hospitality industry.
Evergreen Team Concepts specializes in training, consulting and staff development for companies throughout the Pacific Northwest. It offers seminars and Web forums led by professionals from throughout the country, as well as onsite training and online consulting.
ETC's Bellingham center is at 3600 Meridian St., across from the Bellingham Golf & Country Club. For more information, call 647-6922 or visit http://www.etcwa.com/

New Workshop for Restaurant Managers and Servers Announced by Evergreen Team Concepts

2008-01-17T15:31:00.000-08:00

New Workshop for Restaurant Managers and Servers Announced by Evergreen Team Concepts
Creating an Exceptional Service Experience, a workshop ideal for restaurant managers and professional servers, is the latest event from Evergreen Team Concepts. The first showing of the workshop will take place November 12 beginning at 6 p.m. November 8, 2007 -- Creating an Exceptional Service Experience is the latest workshop from Evergreen Team Concepts. This workshop is ideal for restaurant managers, servers or anyone looking to create an environment that keeps customers coming back. “In today’s marketplace, service excellence is your strongest competitive weapon,” says Henry Beeland, founder and CEO of Evergreen Team Concepts and the program’s creator and instructor. “Whether you’re the server looking to increase tips or the restaurant manager planning to impact market share and profitability, Creating an Exceptional Service Experience is for you.”
The three-hour workshop will cover three unique and distinct service excellence modules designed to place your service above the rest. Attendees will learn how to keep customers returning and how to get them to sing your praises to their friends and colleagues.
In Creating an Exceptional Service Experience, managers and professional servers will learn:
How to deliver exceptional service every time
How to handle difficult customers, complaints and situations – fast
How to manage the customer’s experience. Workshop attendees will gain many beneficial tips and skills, including insight into customer expectations, higher self-esteem and confidence, powerful communication skills, winning attitudes, active listening skills and enhanced skills for service excellence.
Creating an Exceptional Service Experience’s first showing will take place Monday, November 12 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Attendance is only $49. Materials and refreshments will be provided. The workshop will be held at 3600 Meridian Street, Suite 100, Bellingham, WA 98225 and DVD soon to be available for purchase online at www.etcwa.com.
For more information on the workshop Creating an Exceptional Service Experience or bringing this event to your area and its benefit to restaurant managers and servers, visit www.etcwa.com, call 360-647-6922 or call toll free 866-559-9222.

New Workshop on Effective Leadership Skills from Evergreen Team Concepts

2008-01-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

Using Personal Energy for Success is Subject of New Workshop From Evergreen Team Concepts
Powerful Personal Energy is the latest workshop from Evergreen Team Concepts. The first showing of the workshop discusses utilizing personal energy for business success, Powerful Personal Energy will take place on November 14 beginning at 6 p.m. Evergreen Team Concepts announces its upcoming leadership workshop, Powerful Personal Energy. The workshop examines the relationship between consistent personal and professional victory and success in maintaining positive, dynamic energy in one’s life. Powerful Personal Energy’s first showing will take place November 14 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“To maintain positive, dynamic energies in our lives, we need our very own Personal Energy Powerplant (PEP),” says Henry Beeland, Founder and CEO of Evergreen Team Concepts. “In this workshop, we will show attendees how following a few simple guidelines can set them on the path to daily energy explosions.”

Beeland, the program’s creator and instructor, will highlight three primary concepts: creating your own driving energy force, sustaining energy regardless of external influences and transferring this energy to everyone you meet.

Powerful Personal Energy will also cover other aspects of personal energy, including the use of energy to create one’s own destiny and for success participation.
“When an individual takes control of his or her own Personal Energy Powerplant, they will begin to impact that environment according to their desires, goals and powerful, personal energy,” Beeland says. “All leaders who want to take success into their own hands should attend this workshop.”

Powerful Personal Energy, presented by Henry Beeland of Evergreen Team Concepts, will take place Wednesday, November 14, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Attendance is only $49 per person. Materials and refreshments will be provided. The workshop will be held at 3600 Meridian Street, Suite 100, Bellingham, WA 98225 and DVD soon to be available for purchase online at www.etcwa.com.

For more information on the Powerful Personal Energy workshop or for information on bringing this event to your area, visit www.etcwa.com or call 360-647-6922 or toll free 866-559-9222.

New Workshop on Effective Leadership Skills from Evergreen Team Concepts

2008-01-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

New Workshop on Effective Leadership Skills from Evergreen Team Concepts will Take Place November 19
Evergreen Team Concepts announces its upcoming first showing of its exciting workshop L.E.A.D.E.R.S this will take place November 19. The workshop will address effective leadership skills, covering key concepts as well as ineffective actions that leaders should avoid.
Bellingham, WA (PRWEB) November 8, 2007 -- Core leadership skills for an effective business environment are the focus of an upcoming workshop offered by Evergreen Team Concepts. Presented by Henry Beeland, course creator and Founder/CEO of Evergreen Team Concepts, L.E.A.D.E.R.S. first showing will take place November 19 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

“Individuals that attend the L.E.A.D.E.R.S. workshop will walk away with the insight and ability needed to lead an effective team,” Beeland says. L.E.A.D.E.R.S. is a comprehensive three-hour workshop designed to address the competencies every leadership team needs to create an engaging, effective environment for its team, for its customers and for success in the competitive marketplace.
The leadership skills workshop will cover seven key areas that leaders must understand and/or address:

Leadership – understanding both personal and professional leadership
Energy – using education and experience for motivation and confidence
Attitude – knowing the three attitudinal stances assumed by leaders
Discipline – creating empathy, compassion and fairness
Empowerment – building a culture of diversity, creativity and value
Responsibility – understanding personal and team roles
Succession – understanding the rule of two The L.E.A.D.E.R.S. workshop also includes a discussion of Evergreen Team Concepts’ “Seven-and-a-half Deadly Sins of Ineffective Leadership.” These include: trying to be liked rather than respected, emphasizing rules rather than skills and failing to keep people informed.
“After attending this workshop, leaders will be better equipped to succeed in today’s business environment,” Beeland says.
L.E.A.D.E.R.S. first showing will take place Monday, November 19 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Workshop attendance is $49 per person. Materials and refreshments will be provided. The workshop will be held at 3600 Meridian Street, Suite 100, Bellingham, WA 98225 and DVD soon to be available for purchase online at www.etcwa.com.
For more information on Evergreen Team Concepts and its upcoming workshop or bringing this workshop to your area, visit www.etcwa.com, call 360-647-6922 or call toll free 866-559-9222

New business takes Team Concept to greater heights

2008-01-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

BUSINESS PROFILE
New business takes Team Concept to greater heights
Evergreen Team Concepts shows others how to do the sameBy Elisa Claassen
HOW MANY COMPANIES in Bellingham – or the region – offer unlimited possibilities for education and growth for employees, have an easily accessible CEO, print up a page full of core values developed by the team of nine employees – and offer toys for adults to play with in the workplace?
How many companies have half of their workforce turn in surveys stating how much they enjoy the workplace – when it has only been open less than a month?
Evergreen Team Concepts (ETC), a corporate training and consulting firm, heavily promoted the concept of team building internally before showing others how to do it themselves as a firm specializing in providing training, consulting and seminars. When founder and CEO Henry Beeland established ETC's headquarters on Meridian Street in Bellingham, he found a site with easy access to I-5, adjacent free parking for employees and clients, and found one of his financing partners, Vern Platt.
An initial financial backer wasn't able to get the funding and Beeland found himself telling Platt, his landlord and a retired executive with 37 years at Hughes Aircraft Company, a bit about the situation and his goals and dreams for ETC. Platt decided to extend his role beyond landlord to investing partner. (He has since been joined by Lilly Yang in the ownership team.)
Beeland, whose background includes corporate management and various aspects of human resources and safety oversight, said he had seen things that had worked well and others that hadn't, and knew that a number of small companies couldn't afford internal training. He saw a need to be filled for companies to stay competitive and yet keep their
“We challenge our employees to lead where they are.”Henry Beeland,Evergreen Team Concepts
training at 40- to 50-percent lower than other competitive training programs, which average $150 to $300 a day, amounting to around 20 cents per employee per day.
Training takes various shapes: national on-site training, professional public seminars, Web solutions video and audio training, mini modules customized to business, industry specific programs and interactive computer lab training. Topics include software proficiency, sharpening customer service skills, lean leadership and inspiring the workforce to be more excited and energized.
“We've leveled the playing field,” Beeland said concisely. He said a national trend is for employees to stay less than two years in a job. “It's becoming an epidemic in the U.S. … it takes time and energy to believe in employees.” Yet, he said, employers who invest in their employees can save a tremendous amount of money in the long run. At the core of this is lack of innovation and creativity in the workplace as too many employees and employers exist in a status quo of quietly doing things as they always have.
Beeland has three ways employers can create a positive workplace and retain employees: to motivate by compassion and not just bottom-line figures, show respect and not micromanage competent staff, and to “hamflap.” Hamflapping, something that Beeland said he invented, is to “Have as Much Fun and Laughter as Possible.” He says it is a necessity since employees spend more time at work than they often do at home and that going to work should have more benefits than merely getting a paycheck.
While he explained that he makes time for one-on-one meetings weekly with each employee, even brief ones if time is limited, so that employees can catch him up, tell him new ideas or vent (“We care about them as individuals.”). He also reiterated that he can't separate his employees' personal and professional lives; that if an employee is having a personal problem that is unresolved, it can affect professional performance. If they have an interest in furthering themselves, he encourages his employees to take advantage of their educational programs, whether they pertain directly to the employee's tasks or even topics such as stress management, if they have an interest.
Even making mistakes, which might be cause in many firms for a write-up or dismissal, he said he sees as learning opportunities and as an investment in building a stronger employee.
“Plato says to ‘Be kind,'” he said. “We challenge our employees to lead where they are,” a principle that applies not only to management level staff but to administrative assistants as well. Respect, he says, comes through trust and confidence. He's made a play on words with Einstein's formula and turned it into E2=MC which stands for “Education and Experience equals Motivation and Confidence.”
The amazingly fast-talking Southerner, Beeland, has arranged an office with soothing Northwest colors, abundant fountains, boxes of toys, easy access to boxes of chocolates and various hot and cold beverages for clients and employees. One result is seemingly happy employees.
Employees' comments reflect the 9s and 10s on their score sheets: “unlimited continued education;” “values that you adopt and make your own;” “creative, intelligent, energetic people committed and passionate about our mission;” “the CEO is accessible to everyone and takes an active interest in my position and how I am doing as a person – he wants to facilitate my success;”
“It takes time and energy to believe in employees”Henry Beeland
“Evergreen Team Concepts is a fun and exciting place to work because they really are dedicated to the concept of thinking outside the box;” “our voices as individuals count.”
Recent speaker, author Judi Moreo, president of Turning Point International, a performance improvement company offering training and consulting in leadership fields, was one of the team's first outside speakers with a national reputation to come in September. In an interview with David Wright in “Getting Things Done: Keys to Communication, Sales and Service,” Moreo says, “Routines keep us in our comfort zone. You have to be willing to step out of that comfort zone and do something different every day so that you become comfortable with change and adaptable to changing circumstances. … If you really want to get things done you must be passionate about what it is you want to accomplish.”
Getting outside of ruts and being passionate encompass ETC's philosophy, which lists core values such as innovation, creativity, professionalism, inspiration, compassion, leadership, dedication and commitment.
“We believe everyone is important, unique with special abilities, creative and innovative,” Beeland said.

Open House is a Huge Success

2008-01-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry announced Evergreen Team Concepts'
Open House is a Huge Success
Evergreen Team Concepts' Open House Draws a Crowd

Chamber Members and Ambassadors arrived in great numbers Monday, October 22 to Evergreen Team Concepts Open House and Ribbon Cutting. Congratulations to Evergreen Team Concepts on a successful event.
Thanks for your continued support of theBellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Evergreen Team Concepts Announces Rollout of Coaching, Leadership Training Through its Non-Profit Educational Foundation Lean Leadership Institute

2008-01-17T15:12:00.000-08:00

Evergreen Team Concepts announces the rollout of Lean Leadership Institute, a certifying body and National Association. The Lean Leadership Institute will provide members with ongoing Leadership Training in Lean 5S, discounted coaching opportunities, discounted Lean resource material and free online training modules. Services are located online at etcwa.com.
"We are streamlining the way business is done," says Mike Ridpath, Senior Manager, Products & Services for Evergreen Team Concepts.
Evergreen Team Concepts designed the Lean Leadership Institute to be the certifying body of the Lean Leadership courses offered by Evergreen Team Concepts, as well as their partners, National Seminars Group. The Lean Leadership Institute will be providing Lean 5S Certification, Process Improvement Coaching, Module Based Lean and Kaizen Training, and free resources for members to continue to learn more about increased profits through decreased wastes and costs.
In addition, the Lean Leadership Institute will facilitate web forums, which will allow members of the LLI to ask questions, answer questions, and share successes and challenges to foster a greater learning environment. The Lean Leadership Institute will sponsor special events for its members to participate in free Leadership Training and coaching with industry leaders. In addition, the LLI will be giving scholarships away for Lean 5S and Six Sigma certifications.
About Evergreen Team Concepts: Evergreen Team Concepts is an innovative industry leader in information resources providing leadership training, coaching, consulting and seminars to meet the demand of companies throughout the world. We are dedicated to inspiring individual growth and enabling companies to achieve not only financial growth, through elimination of waste and stronger leadership, but also developing teams outside of the box - empowering creativity to the organization. Through its strategic alliance with industry leader National Seminars, Evergreen Team Concepts helps clients easily and successfully complete all business-training needs. More information can be found online at http://www.etcwa.com

Business Births: Evergreen Team Concepts

2008-01-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

Henry Beeland has brought his passion for quality training to Meridian Street in the form of Evergreen Team Concepts. So far, the company has attracted 30 local businesses and government agencies to its first three seminars.
Henry Beeland has a passion for effective training.
Having worked in management positions in the grocery, manufacturing, distribution and construction industries for 15 years, he gathered a collection of training dos and don'ts that propelled him into his current endeavor.
First and foremost, it bothered him that not every company had access to quality seminars and trainings. Colossal companies like Microsoft and Boeing could afford to send groups of workers to topnotch speakers and training events while smaller companies were left in the dust.
At his new business, Evergreen Team Concepts, located on Meridian Street, Beeland focuses on narrowing the training gap by offering high-quality seminars and training events, as well as certification courses, at a reduced fee for local businesses by partnering with Kansas City–based Rockhurst University, which operates the National Seminars Training program.
Upcoming trainings and seminars at Evergreen include “Mastering the Essentials of Microsoft Excel 2007,” “Communication with Tact and Skill,” “Secrets to Creating and Sustaining an Energized and Effective Workplace,” and “High Performance Sales Certification Program.”
Through a special program called Team Development Group, employers can track and measure the progress of their employees' skills acquired through Evergreen functions with an online matrix, as well as have access to Evergreen consultants, a facilitator, and a discounted rate for seminars, training and certification programs. For a one-day seminar or training, Team Development Group Members pay about $99 to $149 a seat, depending on the topic and the trainer.
“Our primary focus is to provide businesses with those intangible things needed to develop stronger teams,” Beeland said.
So far, more than 30 local business and government agencies have attended Evergreen's first three seminars since Sept. 1.
Beeland said it is important for business owners to realize the changing landscape of employee tenure. These days, the average job retention in the United States is two years, he said, and that kind of turnover is killing employers.
While past generations of workers were incentivized by security, contemporary employees want opportunity and growth. Quality training and education, like the kind offered at Evergreen, can play into that need and retain workers, Beeland said.
As for the company's future, Beeland's goal is to open 24 Evergreen Team Concept centers across the country by 2020.

Dr. Joseph Michelli speaking on Evergreen Team Concepts

2008-01-17T15:10:00.000-08:00

Open HouseMonday October 22nd 2007 2 - 8 pm

Best Selling author Dr. Joseph Michelli Invites You to accompany him at Evergreen Team Concepts Open House (Click Here to Listen)The Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting will be at 5:30. Honored Guest Dr. Joseph Michelli, bestselling author of The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principals for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary will be signing books and available to speak to you. Copies of the book will be available for purchase as well as given away in drawings along with over $10,000 in other fabulous door prizes. Live music, hors d'oeuvres, wine and refreshments.

Join Dr. Michelli and see why Evergreen Team Concepts is the innovative industry leader for providing information resources, training, consulting and seminar services meeting the demands of businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest.

2 join Evergreen Team Concepts management Mike Ridpath and Dave Hiller

2008-01-17T15:09:00.002-08:00

Evergreen Team Concepts, specializing in training, consulting and staff development for companies throughout the Pacific Northwest, has appointed Mike Ridpath and Dave Hiller to its management team.
Ridpath, who was raised in Ferndale, was named senior manager for products and services. He is responsible for the development and implementation of multiple projects at Evergreen Team Concepts.
Hiller was appointed enrollment director with a focus on Whatcom County and British Columbia's Lower Mainland. He informs companies and individuals about ETC's programs for developing workplace skills, including leadership, personal motivation, OSHA requirements, computer training and lean 5S certification. A Bellingham native, Hiller earned a bachelor's degree from Western Washington University and a master's degree in Chicago before returning to Bellingham.
The training center is at 3600 Meridian St., across from the Bellingham Golf & Country Club. Information: Call (866) 559-9222 or visit http://www.etcwa.com/.

Evergreen Team Concepts launches training center

2008-01-17T15:09:00.001-08:00

Evergreen Team Concepts, focused on meeting the consulting and development needs of businesses, recently launched a training center in Bellingham.The training center features a 50-person presentation room and a 30-person computer lab. Smaller rooms will be available for executive retreats and customized training. “We've created a warm and inviting facility, contributing to experiences that are enjoyable for participants and productive for their employers,” said Henry Beeland, founder and president of Evergreen Team Concepts. Joseph Michelli, author of “The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary,” will appear for a book signing during an Evergreen Team Concepts open house Oct. 22. Well-known seminar leaders include Judi Moreo, Terry Mayfield, Evan Glassett, Casey McNeal and Kelli Vrla.“Through our strategic alliance with National Seminars Group, an industry leader, we're able to provide the most respected and well-known names in seminar training,” Beeland said.The Web-based platform of Evergreen Team Concepts also will enable clients to ask unlimited questions on various consulting topics, including safety, human resources, project management, team building and regulations.

ETC opens for business

2008-01-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

A new Bellingham company with the acronym ETC is looking to change the way things have been done in consulting, employee training and seminars for the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s an entirely new concept altogether for training and development,” said Henry Beeland, founder and CEO of Evergreen Team Concepts, LLC.
One aspect of the company involves professional training seminars at Evergreen’s 3600 Meridian St. Suite 100 location.
Evergreen Team Concepts also allows for small businesses to get the kind of training and attend seminars typically available only to large corporations.
Part of Evergreen Team Concepts is the Team Development Group, designed to address the basic needs of consulting, training and team growth services for businesses. The web-based platform allows clients to ask unlimited questions on various consulting topics, ranging from safety, OSHA/WISHA, Lean 5S, Six Sigma, leadership, team building, human resources, project management and more.
For more information about Evergreen Team Concepts, visit www.etcwa.com or call 866-559-9222.

Business consulting firm opens Bellingham center

2008-01-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

Evergreen Team Concepts, a business consulting firm, recently launched its Bellingham training center.
The training center features a 50-person presentation room and a 30-person computer lab. Smaller rooms will be available for executive retreats and customized training.
“ We’ve created a warm and inviting facility, contributing to experiences that are enjoyable for participants and productive for their employers,” said Henry Beeland, founder and president of Evergreen Team Concepts.
Joseph Michelli, author of “The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary,” will appear for a book signing during a team concepts open house Oct. 22. Team concepts also hosts several well-known seminar leaders, including Judi Moreo, Terry Mayfield, Evan Glassett, Casey McNeal and Kelli Vrla.
The Web-based platform of team concepts also will enable clients to ask unlimited questions on various consulting topics, including safety, human resources, project management, team building, Kaizen, Lean 5S and OSHA/WISHA regulations.
Certification programs offered at team concepts through Rockhurst University include leadership and management, high-performance sales, Lean 5S leadership, mentoring and professional administrative assistant.
Team concepts also is presenting Web forums, led by professionals from throughout the country, on business and industry-specific topics. Resource materials such as books, CDs and DVDs will be mailed to clients.
Evergreen Team Concepts is located at 3600 Meridian St., Suite 100, across the street from Bellingham Golf & Country Club. For more information, call (866) 559-9222 or visit www.etcwa.com.

Evergreen Team Concepts Announces Rollout of its Web-Based Corporate Training and Consulting Project, Team Development Group

2008-01-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

Evergreen Team Concepts Announces Rollout of its Web-Based Corporate Training and Consulting Project, Team Development Group
Team Development Group, a Web-based corporate training and consulting development project, will soon be launched by Evergreen Team Concepts. Designed to address the basic needs of business consulting, training and team growth, the program includes unlimited online consulting, dynamic Web forums and more. Evergreen Team Concepts announces the rollout of Team Development Group, a Web-based corporate training and consulting development project. Team Development Group will provide clients unlimited online consulting, dynamic web forums and company-tailored training modules. The service will be found online at http://www.etcwa.com, which will also be Evergreen Team Concepts' corporate site. The company has partnered with Net Solutions NA for this project rollout. Team Development Group and the completed etcwa.com Web site are projected to launch by the end of July.
" We are doing whatever we possibly can to serve our customers and rollout this project in a timely fashion," says Mike Ridpath, Senior Manager, Product & Services for Evergreen Team Concepts.
Team Development Group is designed to address the basic needs of consulting, training and team growth services for businesses. The Web-based platform allows clients to ask unlimited questions on various consulting topics, ranging from safety, OSHA/WISHA, Lean 5S, Six Sigma, leadership, team building, human resources, project management and more. Team Development Group will provide world-class unlimited online consulting and professional training seminars for a fraction of the price of other services, offering an affordable solution for real-time business needs.
In addition to unlimited online consulting and professional training seminars, Team Development Group services will include Dynamic Web forums covering pertinent business and/or industry specific topics from leading professionals across the country. Additionally, Resource Spotlight materials, including books, CDs and DVDs, will be mailed directly to clients for personal and business use.

About Evergreen Team Concepts: Evergreen Team Concepts is committed to leadership through its integrity, innovation and client satisfaction. Its strength is generated from commitment to clients, employees and industry. Through its strategic alliance with industry leader National Seminars, Evergreen Team Concepts helps clients easily and successfully complete all business training needs. More information can be found online at http://www.etcwa.com