This quote popped up on my Twitter feed recently:
“Take Initiative — Every Day. In the absence of orders, figure out what they should have been, and execute aggressively.”
One of the factors that contribute to waste in our operations is waiting.
A clear priority is to make sure every person knows what is expected, has the tools to do their job, and has the ability to act.
Occasionally, we can miss the boat. If you find yourself sitting and waiting to learn what you do next, let me encourage the quote above.
Take initiative. Please know we don’t want you waiting around. The initiative says you will keep busy when it isn’t apparent what the assignment is.
The initiative says you can use your best judgment and knowledge to contribute to the cause.
The initiative says when to work out, you will ask what to do next.
Initiative compels you to take advantage of rare idle time and make use of it. Maybe you clean up an area near you. Maybe you move to an adjacent workstation to learn extra skills and help out.
Maybe you consider what will need to happen next and you do something to prepare.
Whatever you do, know that initiative reflects your will. When you have a choice of waiting or initiating action, you can’t go wrong initiating.
