Making a Picture Worth a 1,000 Words

Community Manager — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:26:00 GMT

We all know the expression: a picture is worth a 1,000 words. At Esselte, where innovation and enhanced efficiency are both company goals and the guiding principles behind the office products we create, we value products and processes that can do more with less.

Whittling down a thousand words to a single crystal image is exactly the type of efficiency we admire. That's why we put great stock in visual management, or the use of visual controls, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our work.

Visual controls circumvent "out of sight, out of mind" and keeps what's important highly visible and top of mind. They also act as a "standard" giving all viewers the same visual cues and vantage point. Visual controls get everyone reading off the same page.

Examples of visual controls include color-coding folders or reminders posted on office cubicles. The cues don't need to be fancy; they just need to clearly communicate information needed to make effective decisions. In short, visual controls are useful for:

Making problems, abnormalities, or deviation from standards visible to everyone so corrective action can be taken
Displaying the operating or progress status in a easy to see format
Providing instruction
Conveying information
Providing immediate feedback to people

Does your office make use of visual controls? Share your thoughts here or at the Beyond Folders Facebook page.

by Bradley Eggers

Beyond Folders : visual controls, lean

Making a Picture Worth a 1,000 Words