As attendees of my courses know, I like to use the Penny Game.
Rules:
1.
Say: "We are about to see who is the best penny processor in all of
[city] today. And the winner, with the best single round, will win
$20."
2. Select 4 players (4 departments).
3. Select 4
managers, one for each Dept. Make sure the managers each have a stop
watch. Also, we need a one or two special managers, for the 'first
penny' and the 'last penny'. Also with stopwatches. (Get inventive if
you don't have enough people.)
4. Give Dept 1 a bunch of pennies (any kind) and say: "Please get 20 pennies ready, all face up, or face down."
4b. Optionally, ask the managers how they will motivate their worker. Some good laughs.
5.
Round 1: The managers time how long it takes to flip each penny, one at
a time. Only using one hand. And pass the FULL batch of 20 to the next
Dept without errors. (May use 2 hands to pass.)
6. Write up the
times for each Dept, and the times for the 'first penny' (to reach the
customer) and for the last penny (to reach the customer).
7. Round
2: Each Dept must process 20 pennies, but in 2 batches of 10. As soon
as the first 10 are flipped, they must be passed. Each manager measures
the full 20, until fully delivered. Again, we write up the scores in
public. Including the timing for the first and last penny (the last
penny is in the last batch).
8. Round 3: Each Dept must process 20
pennies, but in 4 batches of 5. As soon as the first 5 are flipped,
they must be passed, and so on. Each manager measures the full 20, until
fully delivered. Again, we write up the scores in public. Including
the timing for the first and last penny.
9. Round 4: Each Dept
must process 20 pennies, but in batches of 1. Flipping must be separate
from passing. As soon as the first penny is flipped, it must be
passed, and so on. Each manager measures the full 20, until fully
delivered. Again, we write up the scores in public. Including the
timing for the first and last penny.
The Dept with the lowest single score 'wins' the $20. Hand the money to the manager.
10.
You ask the participants: 'Did we do this game to find out that
[George] is the best penny processor in [city] today?' They say No.
11.
Ask the people, "So, the numbers are talking to you. What are they
saying?" If you have experience with the game, you might comment on how
'normal' the numbers are. Typically most numbers are quite normal, but
a few are 'off'.
Usually the will come up with some very good, counter-intuitive Lean insights.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
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