It is always important to recognize people’s efforts and to strengthen team building.  One way to achieve this is through the inclusion of memorabilia that states the purpose of a certain project or cross functional team, or even a company wide goal that may span years.  Here are a couple of examples of a button and a mug that were handed out during my days at General Cable.  The button, which lists the plant’s Lean Sigma goals of reductions in Scrap, Rejections and Inventory, were handed out to all associates working in the plant. 

The mug, which simply states “General Cable Lean Associate”, was given to anyone who participated in any Kaizen event.  Several other items were used for motivational purposes and to show the company’s gratitude.  I still have several golf shirts and a jacket that say similar things to these on them.

The main point is to allow every associate and every team member to feel that they are part of something bigger – something worth working towards.  Along the way, each one of these buttons, mugs, etc. remind you of the task at hand.  General Cable’s Lean Sigma program has worked well for the company since its launch back in 2002 (BGC).

Go here to see the original: Matt Hrivnak