The seven habits of highly effective foundries.

I attended a personal and professional growth seminar last month, and learned some wisdom that could be applied to our industry. I am worried, however, that from my headline and the "personal and professional growth" comment, you may not be interested.

You probably are saying: "I am tired of thinking outside the box in these times of change in an attempt to be a one-minute manager that practices transactional analysis thinking in search of excellence."

All I am asking is that you approach this "sermon" as I did--with an open mind. I am not hoping to transform your life, but rather to pass along a few tidbits of information that may help later.

The seminar was Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." These habits, which are focused on personal and professional relationships, are a mode of thinking in which the end goal always is in mind. Through this, agreements/solutions can be achieved in our relationships that are better than anyone thought possible.

My message to you focuses on how these seven habits can help your foundry and its workers.

Habit 1: Be Proactive--Your foundry must focus on its Circle of Influence--what it can control, Your foundry doesn't have control over what competing firms bid for casting jobs. Your foundry doesn't have control over customer's yearly price reduction demands. Your foundry has control over relationships with customers, including their design and sourcing choices, Your foundry has control over its cost reduction methods, including training and automation.

Focus on what is in your circle of influence and affect it--don't waste time on anything else.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind--Before an efficient and profitable operation can evolve, a mission must be established (see "Igniting a Turnaround" p. 44 for more details on mission building). The goal is to ensure this end always is steering daily decisions and actions. This way, the foundry won't become lost to its daily obstacles because the mission will guide it.

Habit 3: Put First Things First--This habit builds on the mission and focuses individual workers--from casting grinders to the CEO. Each worker (or department) must determine its job priorities (as aligned with the mission) each week and complete them. While obstacles will attempt to take your eyes off the priorities, it is imperative that your daily actions return to work on the most important things.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win--In all interactions (including those with customers or even molding personnel), the goal is a mutually beneficial agreement! solution that leaves both parties satisfied. For example, instead of internal departments blaming each other for quality problems, a renewed win-win attitude looks at the problems from the other's perspective, and searches for a solution that incorporates all variables.

Habit 5: Think First to Understand, Then to be Understood--Although this habit could relate to numerous daily encounters, it best speaks to foundries' interactions with regulators (OSHA, EPA, etc.).

In many ways, the future of the U.S. foundry industry is in the hands of regulatory agencies. Instead of the antagonistic approach our industry often has taken, let's try a cooperative approach.

Listen to their objectives, and see how the foundry industry can help. Why not provide tours to regulators and lawmakers so they can better understand our industry, and then listen to them about upcoming issues such as MACT and ergonomics in hopes of building a better relationship?

Habit 6: Synergize--In any discussion, synergy is the creation of a third alternative solution that is better than any of the ideas originally offered by the involved parties. It is not compromise--it is a cooperative solution all parties are happy about whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw--Foundries must renew their production capabilities regularly through physical efforts (maintenance, continued automation, etc.) and mental efforts (training, mission building, etc.) to ensure effectiveness.

Reality says that the habits can't possibly be followed every moment. In fact, even the best followers of the habits note they only achieve true effectiveness 30% of the time. The goal is to make them a conscious component in your foundry's daily thoughts. With this mode of thinking, you may create a foundry even better than you could have dreamed.

Alfred T. Spada, Executive Editor