Best Practices Thinking Scott Burr burrs@asme

1. Best Practices Thinking Scott Burr burrs@asme.org

2. Session Objectives Be able to state why you need the Best Practices Thinking Process Understand Psychological Inertia and how it creates your Current Situation Understand how Ideal Solutions make you relevant Know the most important behavior that makes Best Practices real

3. Session Outline Why ASME Needs Best Practices Are Best Practices Really the Best? Mindsets & Behaviors of Great Problem Solvers Best Practices Thinking Process • Basic Innovation Skills • Psychological Inertia • Ideality • Best Practices and Resource Profiling • Secondary Problems Summary

4. Table Stakes • Participation • Session is interactive • Cell Phones – Data Devices on “silent” • Answer mobile communications outside the room • Your inputs to enhance the group interaction?

5. Why ASME Cares About Best Practices • ASME’s Mission & Vision • To serve diverse global communities by advancing, disseminating and applying engineering knowledge for improving the quality of life; and communicating the excitement of engineering. • To be the essential resource for mechanical engineers and other technical professionals throughout the world for solutions that benefit humankind. • To Be Effective ASME Must • Develop highly effective & successful leaders and volunteers • Facilitate the development, dissemination and application of engineering knowledge • Promote the benefits of engineering education • Respect and document engineering history while continually embracing change • ASME Leaders and Volunteers • ASME leaders are effective in managing continuous change. • ASME volunteer leaders are successfully recruited and properly trained

6. Best Practices & You within ASME Community with Needs Unit Leader Volunteers What is our job as Leaders? Why do we need best practices? ASME Vision and Mission

7. Are Best Practices Really the Best? Do best practices deliver on their promise?

8. A Serious Best Practices Challenge • Units face risk of shaky finances • Unit’s face the risk that events may not break-even • Canceling events undermines ASME volunteer and member confidence • Transient leadership makes knowledge transfer and unit continuity tougher • Challenge to store physical items, documents, equipment • Unit leaders are unsure which events will provide the best service to members • Members’ needs are not well understood • Members need more service from units • Members live in other countries, states or communities making it tough for face-to-face events to occur let alone break even • Volunteers seem to be hard to recruit • The solution must apply and be implemented at the unit level through local leadership

9. A Serious Best Practices Challenge • Units face risk of shaky finances • Unit’s face the risk that events may not break-even • Canceling events undermines ASME volunteer and member confidence • Transient leadership makes knowledge transfer and unit continuity tougher • Challenge to store physical items, documents, equipment • Unit leaders are unsure which events will provide the best service to members • Members’ needs are not well understood • Members need more service from units • Some units have large geographic areas and driving distance makes it tough for face-to-face events to occur let alone break even • Volunteers seem to be hard to recruit • The solution must apply and be implemented at the unit level through local leadership How would you solve this problem?

10. Application to YOUR situation • Identify a problem area or program that needs improvement • List one or two ASME best practices you may like to implement. • REPORT OUT

11. Contradictions & Problems Community with Needs Unit Leader Volunteers The Reality: it takes work to make a best practice effective ASME Vision and Mission

12. Best Practices = PROBLEM SOLVING To make a best practice “the Best” …. You Must Solve Problems

13. Best Practices = PROBLEM SOLVING In Teams

14. The Best Practice Challenge

15. Mindsets, Beliefs and Behaviorsof Great Problem Solvers • Responsibility for the Current Situation • Pursue the Most Ideal Solution • Problem Solving Courage and Will Power • Problem Solving Persistence • The Power of Mindset • Seek Advanced Resource Productivity • Systems View • Leverages Expertise of Teams

16. Best Practices Thinking Process • Assess your current situation • System’s View • Psych Inertia • Define Success • Future Ideal Reality • Align with ASME • Be Relevant to Members • Identify best practices & resources you will need • Identify secondary problems • Problem solve and take deliberate steps toward your Future Ideal Reality

17. Assess Your Current Situation Tool #1: System View • Think about your current system’s problems & opportunities and document them System’s View is a Questioning Tool for Quickly understanding a system and its problems

18. Assess Your Current Situation Tool #1: System View - WEBINAR EXAMPLE • Processes & Interactions • Email commitment to attend – Excel spreadsheet of attendees • Collect money at the door – cash and checks • Excel spreadsheet of attendees – check when they arrive • Pay for lunch in advance • Headcount delivered in advance • Lots of no shows • Hardware & Software • Laptop • MS Office • Standards • Advertise 3 months in advance • Speaker gets honorarium • Mail (postal) ad with newsletter • Use Email list • Inputs & Outcomes • Approvals take too long • History – • 1 to 3 PD events per year with breakeven as goal • Key Players • 1 person committee does it all • Known Competencies • ASME has people that know how to do a PD event • Likes and Dislikes • Unit Culture • Ask for permission • No risk taking • Seen as a difficult job • Cause & Effect • The structure creates the problems • System Structures • ASME, Unit , Lead

19. Assess Your Current Situation Tool #1: System View - WEBINAR EXAMPLE • Known Problems • Poor Attendance at events • Hard to recruit volunteers • Difficult to break even on events • Limited financial resources • Post 911 economy • Members leave events early • Scott Burr PD Chair has personal need to move to Oregon to support family • Transient volunteer team to support PD Events • Section is hit with $5000 request for reimbursement from previous Chair • Large geographic areas, driving distance to events, or different countries • Event cancellations undermines ASME member & volunteer confidence • ASME section’s finances are already shaky • PD Events are the main source of revenue • Section leaders are unsure which events provide the best service to members • Members need to get more service from sections

20. A Definition – Psychological Inertia A body at rest tends to stay at rest A body in motion tends to stay in motion Inertia Psychological Inertia A MIND that is complacent tends to stay at rest A MIND in motion tends to stay in motion

21. Conditioning & Psychological Inertia It takes energy to overcome PSYCHOLOGICAL INERTIA “So you think that’s air your breathing now? ….hmmm” Morpheus to Neo in “The Matrix” after asking him to ‘Hit me!’. • The energy of Observation & Awareness… • The energy of Ideal Thinking… Can overcome internal Psychological Inertia

22. Assess Your Current Situation Tool #2: Psychological Inertia creates the Current Situation • Rules & Definitions • Fears • Culture • Assumptions • Problem Statements • Facts • Everything we know • What is it? – The CURRENT PARADIGM • Decisions • Precedent • Traditions • Habits • Standards • History • Ability to fit in A “FACT” is based on our understanding, beliefs and conditioning at a point in time. Opportunities exist for POSTIVE CHANGE when we intelligently challenge assumptions and facts.

23. Assess Your Current Situation Tool #2: Psychological Inertia creates the Current Situation FACT: Our world view creates the current situation. A change in world view creates a new situation. This is how to overcome psychological inertia. Think on this. The Edge of What is Known Problems / Obstacles Expertise, Skills, Knowledge, Beliefs, Success, etc

24. Fears, Pain and Opportunity Pain and Fear usually governs choice-making Articulating the nature of pain or fear IS identifying opportunity Pain and Fear help us define opportunities for innovation Assess Your Current Situation Tool #2: Psychological Inertia creates the Current Situation Innovation Opportunities are hidden in Pain & Fear “Necessity is the mother of Invention.” Plato, The Republic, 360 BCE

25. Assess Your Current Situation Tool #2: Psychological Inertia – WEBINAR EXAMPLE • Pain translated into Insights and Questions • Fixed costs drive the need for a break even point • More people may attend if they don’t have far to travel • Can PD Chair run the events from Oregon? • How can I make a transient team become more stable? • How can I avoid cancellations? • Cancellations hurt ASME’s reputation and volunteers • What is the post 911 Mindset of an engineer? • How can attendance be improved? • What is the Mindset of a volunteer? What do they need? • Can I create a system that assures break even or better on an event? • Why do Members leave events early? • How can we generate funds enough to pay back $5K debt? • How can I make large geographic areas and driving distance an advantage? • Fears • Seems impossible to resolve all of the issues • Problem is highly constrained • People may criticize efforts

26. Yes Yes Yes Yes Assess Your Current Situation Tool #2: Psychological Inertia sometimes creates GroupThink

27. Yes Yes Yes Yes Countermeasures to Groupthink • Ideal Thinking • Diversity of Opinions • Elimination of Fear • Observation & Awareness • Open Minded Thinking • A Structured Process • Reality Based Feedback Assess Your Current Situation Tool #2: Psychological Inertia can overcome GroupThink

28. Assess Your Current Situation • Culture, Groups and People About 1/3 of a population “persuaded” creates a tipping point to adopt new behaviors.

29. Ideal Solution #1 Ideal Solution #2 Ideal Solution #3 Ideal Solution #4 “Begin with the end in mind.” Dr. Stephen Covey Decide Where Your Going Future Ideal Reality Ideal Thinking Occurs Beyond the Current Paradigm • Think: increasing benefits • Think: reducing costs • A different set of solutions Current Paradigm “Thinking inside the box” “You cannot solve a problem with the same mindset that created it.” A. Einstein

30. Decide Where Your Going Future Ideal Reality Ideality = Useful Functions, Event, Conditions Harmful Functions, Events, Conditions IDEALITY is a form of resource efficiency

31. Decide Where Your Going Future Ideal Reality Relevance = The Ideal = Solution Things you want (Benefits) Things you don’t want (Costs) • The best solution we can imagine – not necessarily practical at first glance • Biggest obstacle is believing an ideal solution is possible • Goal is to improve the ratio • Innovate to create more benefits - Problem solve to reduce costs • Align with ASME’s Strategic Priorities

32. Relevance “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” One of the most difficult problems in human experience is how to see things from another person’s point of view. (Paraphrased) - Dale Carnegie

33. Motivations • Self-fulfillment • Psychological • Survival Self- Actualization Esteem & Competence Needs Community & Relationship Needs Safety Needs Body Needs Relevance Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs organizes the natural flow of human motivation proposed in his 1943 paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation.”

34. Issue #1 –Example & Case Study Challenge: • ASME Unit finances can be very shaky • Units often want to produce events but are not sure it will break even • We always produce a surplus on the event even if it is only $1 or even if we have one paying attendee IDEALITY CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION • Eliminate our fixed costs • The room is donated • The speaker donates their time • Our sponsors receive value in return for their donations so they want to continue to work with us (Win-Win) • We either own the infrastructure to produce the event or we get it donated • Soda tub, serving trays, pitchers • Microphones, audio mixer, Webinar software • Participants pay in advance

35. Issue #2 - Example & Case Study Challenge: • Unit’s often want to produce events that may not break even • This undermines ASME member confidence if an event is canceled • We never cancel an event once it is advertised so members have confidence in our professionalism IDEALITY CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION • With financial risk mitigated, we never need to cancel an event due to risk of not breaking even • Select highly motivated speakers • Speakers that need exposure • Speakers with demonstrated reliability • Have an alternate speaker as backup

36. Issue #3 - Example & Case Study Challenge: • Unit leaders are unsure which events provide the best service to members • ASME members enjoy the event and feel they received good value • Events are not canceled due to financial risk IDEALITY CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION • Price events to be affordable • Provide value-add benefits • Free snacks, lunch & drinks • High value seminar content • Poster size speaker Bios • Speaker Introduction • Ending Appreciation • Use financial risk mitigation solution stated previously • Survey members after an event about what they liked & did not like

37. Issue #4 - Example & Case Study Challenge: • Members need to get more service from sections • Members live in other countries, states or communities making it tough for face-to-face events to occur let alone break even • We serve as many ASME members as is possible • A program delivered by a local section is available to all other sections • We serve as many members of the engineering community as possible • We reach the largest audience possible IDEALITY CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION • Use webinar and webinar recording technology to make programs widely available to local sections. • Expand email list. • Use recorded webinars as a way to communicate to sections the “how-to” of producing events. • Use web based meetings to improve attendance or to even make meetings possible

38. Issue #5 - Example & Case Study Challenge: • Volunteers seem to be hard to recruit to produce programs • The benefits of volunteering will far exceed the costs • It is worth someone’s time to volunteer IDEALITY CONCEPTUAL SOLUTION • Identify benefits volunteers want (WIIFM) • Deliver those benefits through the events: Improve career position & opportunities; Enhance leadership & networking skills, speaking etc • Help volunteers see the value they bring to the big picture of the section & the engineering community • Frame and think of our roles in the most positive sense.

39. Define Ideality for your project/unit • Note alignment of ideality with ASME • Document any good ideas you have • Challenge the psychological inertia of the current situation

40. Best Practices • What Best Practices will get you there • What resources will you need • Finding Best Practices • Who knows how to perform this function “the best” within my industry? • Who knows how to perform this function “the best” outside of my industry?

41. Resource Profiling What resources must I have to create a fire? I want to start a fire FR1 > Ignition Source FR2 > Fuel FR3 > Oxidizer FR4 > Co-location of FR1-FR3 FR5 > Transfer to point of use DP1 > 500 °C Temperature DP2 > Propane DP3 > Air DP4 > Combustion Chamber DP5 > Flame tube and outlet

42. Resource Profiling Functional Requirements are a Resource Profile I want to collect funds using an automated web service FR1 > Bank account FR2 > ASME Non-Profit ID # FR3 > Event Setup Interface FR4 > Event Details FR5 > Transfer Information DP1 > Hometown Credit Union DP2 > 501-c3- #XXYYWWW DP3 > Acteva DP4 > XVC Company Tour DP5 > Contact District Leader

43. Secondary Problems

44. Secondary ProblemsProblem Solving Persistence Secondary Problem 1 Secondary Problem 2 Secondary Problem 3 Secondary Problem 4 Secondary Problem 5 Secondary Problem 6 Secondary Problem 7 Secondary Problem 8 SUCCESS IDEA GOOD IDEA Road Kill Zone Motivation Time

45. Secondary ProblemsProblem Solving Persistence Secondary Problem 1 Secondary Problem 2 Secondary Problem 3 Secondary Problem 4 Secondary Problem 5 Secondary Problem 6 Secondary Problem 7 Secondary Problem 8 SUCCESS Career Tips: Develop the belief in your self and the passion to solve tough problems. Also develop and evolve ways to influence others to persist In solving worthy problems. Best Practices is a Team Sport & is Engineering Leadership in action. IDEA GOOD IDEA Road Kill Zone Motivation Time

46. Secondary ProblemsProblem Solving Persistence Secondary Problem 1 Secondary Problem 2 Secondary Problem 3 Secondary Problem 4 Secondary Problem 5 Secondary Problem 6 Secondary Problem 7 Secondary Problem 8 SUCCESS Business Tips: You must learn to manage and lead the persistence to solve problems in your organization to have an edge. It only takes one leader to break Group Think and positively influence others to deliver results. IDEA GOOD IDEA Road Kill Zone Motivation Time

47. Secondary ProblemsProblem Solving Persistence Secondary Problem 1 Secondary Problem 2 Secondary Problem 3 Secondary Problem 4 Secondary Problem 5 Secondary Problem 6 Secondary Problem 7 Secondary Problem 8 SUCCESS Best Practices Tip: Problem Solving Persistence is a critical skill in making best practices practical and implementable. ASME leaders must embody this skill to make a real difference in the engineering community. IDEA GOOD IDEA Road Kill Zone Motivation Time

48. The Special Rule in Brainstorming No Criticism of Ideas That won’t work … our members dislike long events That won’t work! You’re a fool to try ! Maybe its boring… ..not enough participation

49. Best Practice for Brainstorming Productive Criticism Enhances Real-life Problem Solving

50. Predictability of a Positive Outcome 2. Evolve to here 1. Focus here first Project Types and the Predictability of Positive Outcome Business / Markets Technology Business Processes Government / Politics Technology Processes Science INCREASING PREDICTABILITY OF POSITIVE OUTCOME Power, Money, Values, Religion, Politics, Self-Esteem, Fear of Loss, Potential for gain More Human Involvement Less Human Involvement High Situational Complexity Less Situational Complexity FACTORS