Summary
"Take a look around your workplace and try to find the following items:
A statement of business objectives. I think it's in that pile by the copy machine.
A schedule of divisional goals. Everyone got that e-mail last year.
Clear performance standards. They're in the employee handbook.
Team workflow documents. On the bulletin board, sticking out from under the first aid sign.
Regular communication and motivation from management to employees. We have the quarterly meeting, and we send out memos.
Stop. Is the information your employees need every day truly accessible? Just because it's there doesn't mean it's present. When information is hard to find, outdated, nebulous, or incomplete, the effect is profound. If they can't see it, it's as good as nonexistent.
The fact is, the visual elements in a workplace have a tremendous impact on execution, morale, and productivity. And it's not just about information access. A visually dynamic workplace energizes employees, builds pride and ownership, and conveys the strength and currency of the organization. Design and graphics, art and color, sculpture and dimension -- all have profound effects. Far from simply prettying up the office, your organization needs to create an environment of visual stimuli that convey goals and expectations, that engender a collaborative attitude, and most important, that cannot be ignored.
This book represents a milestone in the science of workplace design. Whereas there are countless approaches for improving the comfort factor of work environments through color, lighting, furniture, and spatial flow, Seeing Is Believing is the first book to link visual elements directly to specific organizational objectives and individual tasks.
The authors have created a step-by-step plan for creating and implementing a Visual Management program in any environment. You'll learn how to create a dynamic VM system that:
Replaces information overload with information sharing and dramatically improved workflow
Seamlessly incorporates clear information exchange into an aesthetically pleasing and energizing workplace that will make people want to come to work
Resonates with workers of every generation, whether they identify with Life magazine or MTV
Enhances relationships not only among employees, but also with customers, business partners, investors, and the public
Ensures uniform understanding of crucial requirements and desired outcomes
Seeing Is Believing features many examples of how VM has improved performance in corporations, government offices, schools, and other organizations. The dozens of photographs and illustrations not only show the theory in action, they also show the many different approaches and alternatives you can consider in creating a VM program that's perfect for your workplace.
Somewhere buried in the piles of paper and the daily torrent of e-mail, your organization does have great ideas, worthy goals, talented employees -- and a lot of potential. Bring them all together with Visual Management. Because seeing is believing."
