Resolve issues now! Do it in a "GIFI"

My colleagues and I came up with a new acronym today. We are prone to making short silly phrases to pass around like memes.

This time, after several spurned candidates, we settled on "GIFI":

Go, Investigate, Fix Immediately.

If you research Lean, or other similar efficiency and continuous flow methods, this kind of mindset is encouraged relentlessly.

Abounding are phrases like "Go to the gemba", meaning go to the place where the work is being done, or "Stop the Line", "Stop and Fix", etc .

The goal of all of these ideas is not to build up a "backlog" or "inventory" of undone ideas and problems, or "debts" that need to be "revisited later".

Instead, they tell us to stop piling onto the heap and FOCUS on correcting issues immediately when they are found.

We made tremendous progress this week by reinforcing this mindset and its attendant behavior this week.

Our whole team oriented its focus toward Quality and Security, and toward "Defect Prevention".

This kind of focus is extremely motivating and addictive. It creates momentum that can be stopped only by lethargy and lack of passion or disinterest.

So, next time you see an issue staring at you, address it in a GIFI.

Go! Investigate, Fix Immediately!