Hello robotics enthusiasts and Happy New Year
„On this new year, I will consider taking up a new hobby such as procrastination. Or maybe later “.
Do you know jokes like these about making a New Year Resolution? Maybe it has to do with our experience from the past. When we are young, we tend to take such ideas serious, but we somehow struggle implementing them and over the years we eventually forget about even trying it – or get sarcastic if we hear from others that they still make such a resolution.
I personally maybe don’t believe in resolutions, but I do believe in goals. They are typically part of our business life when we do target agreements and if we take it seriously, such agreements bring a whole tool set with them helping you to implement, track and report planned actions.
And maybe this is the biggest difference between a New Year Resolution and a target: while resolutions often tend to be hard to grasp and even harder to implement, a target can be broken down into actions and the progress can be measured.
We just reached a New Year. It most likely will become another challenging one. Thinking about the current pandemic situation in combination with an unprecedented shortage in our supply chain, we need to be crystal clear with our priorities. What do we want to achieve? How do we think that we can break our targets into work packages and actions which can be handled besides our daily routine? I urge you to sit down and think about your goals for a minute – no matter if you are a seasoned expert of just at the beginning of your career. Especially in the current situation I am convinced that also your private life and your personal interests at work deserve a closer look and some strategical planning.
Experience shows that if you don’t do it know, the year will just start off without you making any change. Don’t react, instead make a head start this year!
Did you want to implement your first cobot application in 2021 but it was way too a crazy year to get started? Have you always talked about picking up a new (programming) language but didn’t know where to start? Did you want to grow your knowledge in robotics, but you felt in 2021 you just had not enough energy to do so? Or are you looking for a way to balance your life at home between the office downstairs and your kids screaming upstairs?
Take a step back, sit down and plan for 2022!
But how can you make a difference? I will show you in 4 easy steps how to become more successful in setting your goals. Of course, there are many guides and probably with a lot more steps and detail out there, but I like to keep things simple, so that I rather have time to do something than just thinking about doing something. So, I use a simple 4 step concept which is in my opinion bullet proof as it is widely being used in quality management for implementing new processes in organisations around the globe. The catch is, that you are working in cycles:
P(lan) – D(o) – C(heck) – A(act)
1. Plan
First things first: the moment you start accepting you must do something differently is already a first step. But be careful that it doesn’t become a resolution 😉 Set clear and understandable targets which can be broken down into actions. Same time analyse the current situation and write it down.
I give you an example:
Don’t say: „This year I want to start with sports again and change my diet“
If you start like this, I guarantee you that by February you are back to normal and you probably don’t want to talk about targets anymore for years.
Instead, define specific goals.
Coming back to the simple example above, it’s better to sit down with your schedule and say: „I start with sports again and my goal is to increase my fitness. Therefore, the next two months, I squeeze 3 units of biking into my schedule with a duration of 30 – 45 mins each. I will get on my bike on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7.30 a.m. If the weather is too bad, I will do bodyweight units in the basement instead. My current weight is xx kg and I can do my typical training round of 13 km in 45 mins.“
I am sure by now you got the idea: the more specific your goals are, and the easier they can be broken down into actions, the higher will be the probability that you even consider seriously to start implementing them.
2. Do
Now the fun part begins. You broke down your target into clear weekly actions. You simply must do it. It’s a no brainer. You put it into your schedule, and you start executing it. The first two weeks are going to be kind of hard, but afterwards it becomes a habit.
3. Check
Plan a review meeting right from the beginning. In our case an assessment after 2 months: did you follow your scheduled action plan? If not, why? If so: compare the current situation with the status from the beginning (in our example you go on your training round and check the stats afterwards – was there any improvement? Are you on track?
4. Act
Based on the results from phase 3 you adjust your routine in order to come closer to your goals. Do you need to increase your training time or intensity, the frequency? Is your diet giving you enough energy or do you need to adjust breakfast time and content? And so on…
Get as specific as possible! It is important to define what you want to achieve in a crystal-clear way. It makes no sense to define a ton of targets which are so abstract that you only recognise them from 1,000 feet above sea level. Define 4 – 5 specific targets and follow my advice from above and I guarantee you this year will become different for you – in a positive way.
You now may ask: What does this have to do with robotics? Well, a lot. Robotics is not just a mega trend anymore. In the given situation robotics plays a vital role for your success. Robotics is not just for big automotive and T1 companies anymore, instead even for small medium sized companies’ automation will be the technology with allows them to produce more efficient, and competitive around the globe. So, the need to produce in countries with lower wages becomes obsolete – especially if you recently tried to get some material imported via vessel from far East you probably have already thought about reshoring your production again.
For many – especially smaller – companies, the usage of robotics is very challenging, however. They often don’t have enough experience in robotics applications or even lacking staff with the specific knowledge needed. In such a situation it may be tempting to just purchase a complete solution or to just use a „simple robot” and start. But like the New Year resolution, such an approach is not specific enough. Robots bring a huge change to your company. Such a situation deserves proper planning. If you just start purchasing a robot or a solution, you may end up in chaos and give up in a couple of months.
You will need a strategy. Also, I urge you to define partners which whom you want to work with. If you just purchase whichever solution is being offered, you will get a problem in the long run regarding the qualification of your staff, regarding a spare parts and service strategy and at the end of the day regarding your TCO (total costs of ownership). Hence, it makes totally sense to define clear robotics goals for this year and discuss them regularly with your team and with your partners.
Why not reserving some time at the end of the week for reflecting on your progress? Make your normal Fridays your „Robotics Fridays“ and let me help you on your road to automation with small episodes to set some impulses for the upcoming week.
And now: Sit down and plan!
And don’t forget to let me know in the comments below what your plans are. Remember: social pressure will encourage you to achieve your goals as well, so publicising them is no mistake. Tell them to your family, to your co-workers or feel free to share them with me.
See you next time
Andreas