Small Innovations

Jenny (my wife) and I just landed in Boston for the marathon on Monday. It was interesting hearing different stories on proven training techniques. All stories having the same theme of discipline, focus and the drive for continuous improvement. It was enjoyable to watch these collaborations among runners and supporters. On a similar improvement note, Jenny let me know that at Hen House, a Kansas City grocery chain, they changed their deli flow after years of the same process. Customers value their time and cost. Hen House values its customers. A simple innovation took place...bringing the scale to the carving machine, the employees weigh the meat/cheese as they are cutting it ensuring minimal waste, less travel time back and forth to the scale and getting customers the exact amount the customer wanted. Driving value to their customers by improving quality and service also helps the company improve employee engagement, safety (less back and forth action), quality (less waste due to unwanted product). These improvements lead to better financial benefits for customers and the company. Small innovations are happening everywhere and make huge cumulative advancements for an organization.