第五十八篇Comparing Marathon Training and Quality Improvement

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Comparing Marathon Training and Quality Improvement
马拉松训练与质量改进的对比


I found that training to run a marathon is a lot like completing a quality improvement project. I ran my first full marathon in November 2011, and as I was completing my training, I came across this quote about quality improvement from V. Daniel Hunt, quality management improvement author and CEO of Technology Research: “Quality is not a sprint; it is a long-distance event.”
我发现训练运动员跑马拉松比赛跟完成一项质量改进项目有很大的相似性。2011年11月我跑了我人生第一场完整的马拉松，当我完成训练的时候，我想起了V. Daniel Hunt，技术研究的首席执行官及《质量管理改进》的作者的一句话：“质量不是一场短跑，而是一项长期的事项。”

I never thought to make the comparison between training for and running a marathon, and establishing a company’s quality improvement program, but after my experience preparing to run 26.2 miles, I found that there’s actually a lot in common between the two.
我从来没有想过拿跑马拉松及马拉松训练跟建立一个公司的质量改进项目来做比较，但是当我经历过准备跑26.2英里后，我发现这两者之间确实存在很多的共同点。

You probably can’t run a marathon if you train for just a couple of days, and implementing a continuous improvement program in a company is very similar because it takes time to establish. I compared the stages of training and running a marathon to the stages of planning and completing a quality improvement project:
如果你就训练了几天，你很有可能跑不下来一场马拉松，在一个公司内实施一项长期的质量改进计划跟它非常的相似，因为它需要时间来建立。我比较了训练和跑马拉松的几个阶段与策划和完成一项质量改进项目的阶段。

Preparing to run 26.2 miles is a lot like preparing to start a quality improvement initiative: To say that running a marathon is merely a “long distance” event is an understatement. I ran track and cross country in high school, and I remember the longest distance I ever raced was about three miles. The 26.2 miles of a full marathon are no joke and required a lot of planning for me to be able to finish.
跑26.2英里的准备工作跟开始一项质量改进活动有很大的相似性：可以说，跑一场马拉松是一项“长期”的事情保守了些。我上高中的时候曾经沿着乡村跑，穿过乡村，我记得我跑过的最长的距离是大约3英里。一个26.2英里的全程马拉松不是开玩笑的，对我而言，它需要做很多的策划并且能够完成。

I searched around for training plans on the Internet, read a lot about diet and nutrition for runners, and scheduled runs and workouts based on my ability level and the time I knew I had to dedicate to training.
我在网上研究了很多的训练计划，阅读了大量的长跑运动员饮食和营养方面的信息，并根据我的能力级别制定了跑步计划和训练，我知道我必须参加训练。

If you’re starting a quality improvement program, or even if you’re just preparing to start a few projects, you might do the same: educate yourself about different methodologies, and do a lot of planning about how you’re going to choose and carry out your projects.
如果你启动一项质量改进计划，或者甚至你只是准备开始一些项目，你可能要做同样的事情：学习不同的方法，做很多关于如何去选择并执行项目的策划。

You might choose to complete a project prioritization matrix to help you logically select the optimal projects that will give you the most “bang for your buck.”
你可能选择完成优化矩阵中的一个项目来帮助你选择逻辑上的最优项目，这会给你最响亮的一击。
I downloaded different running apps for my phone to track my mileage per week, and if you’re looking to track the progress of your projects, you might use define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) to organize your project, or software like Quality Companion to manage and track all the elements of your quality projects as you work through them.
我在手机上下载了不同的长跑应用程序来跟踪我每周跑的英里数，如果你要跟踪你的项目进度，在你执行项目的过程中，你可能会采用定义、测量、分析、改进及控制（DMAIC）的方法来组织你的项目，或者采用诸如质量对比的软件来管理和跟踪你质量项目的要素。

How can I start my lean Six Sigma initiative?
我怎样主动开始我的精益6西格玛？

Actually running the marathon is a lot like implementing your solution for quality improvement: I found that actually running the marathon was among the easiest tasks in my marathon journey. The previous months of training and logging 30–40 miles per week made the actual marathon day seem easier. All I had to do was show up that day and run the race.
事实上跑马拉松跟执行你的质量改进方案有很多的相似性：我发现实际上跑马拉松是我马拉松旅程中最简单的任务。在开始的几个月里，每周训练并跑30-40英里使得实际跑马拉松看起来很简单。我需要做的就是在那天出场并跑完整个比赛。

Similar to the training portion of marathon running, planning for a quality improvement project involves a lot of time identifying areas of improvement, forming a team, goal setting, process mapping, and analyzing root causes before you come up with a solution. And the implementation of your solution usually takes much less time than the all the groundwork you did to come up with the solution for improvement.
跟跑马拉松的训练相似，策划一项质量改进项目需要在你想到一个方案的时候花大量的时间来识别改进的区域，成立一个小组，设定目标，描绘过程图并分析根本原因。方案的执行通常比你思考改进方案的整个的背景工作花费的时间要少。

Recovering from running a marathon is a lot like pilot testing your plan: I’m not going to sugar-coat it; running a marathon was tough! However, I think the recovery process was even tougher. My muscles were so sore that doing stairs or any sort of activity that involved leg-bending was very difficult for a week. Sometimes it takes even longer to recover, but usually seasoned runners take just a few days before their bodies are back to normal.
从马拉松长跑后的体力恢复就像飞行员测试你的计划：我不打算给它裹上糖衣，跑一场马拉松真的很难！然而，我想恢复过程更难。在一个星期之内，我的肌肉是如此的酸痛，上下楼及需要弯腿的动作都很困难。有时候需要更长的时间来恢复，但通常情况下，职业运动员只需要几天身体就能恢复正常。

Similarly, I liken the “recovery” period of running a marathon to the pilot testing or ongoing monitoring stage of your improvement solution. Occasionally you might find the plan you have to improve a process isn’t consistent, or it really doesn’t improve the process or save money like you thought it would. In these cases, you might have to completely nix the idea and go back to square one—researching a new idea to improve your process.
同样，跑马拉松的“恢复”过程与实验性测试或质量改进方案的持续监视非常相似。你会偶然发现你必须改善的过程的计划不是连贯的，或者真的不是你原本想的那样改善了过程或省了钱。在这样的情况下，你可能不得不完全放弃这个想法并回到原地——研究一个新的主意来改善你的过程。

However, sometimes the monitoring phase of your improvement plan goes smoothly, like the recovery process of a seasoned marathon runner. Maybe after a few days of pilot testing, you realize your improvement tactic is successful—really saving you time and money, becoming the new “better” way of completing your old process.
然而，有时监视你的改善计划的阶段会进展的很顺利，就像一个职业的马拉松运动员的恢复过程。可能经过几天的测试，你会发现你的改善策略成功了——真的节省了时间和金钱，成为完成你的原有过程的新的“更好”的方式。

I wasn’t trying to break any records or reach a certain time during my marathon. I just wanted to finish the race and run as much as I could. And similarly, when we look to complete a quality improvement project, we need to take the time necessary for planning and analyzing, and researching the best possible solution. I look at marathon racing like I do quality improvement: “Quality is a race of endurance, not speed.”
我跑马拉松没想过打破什么记录或达到一定的时间，我就是想尽可能的跑完整个比赛。相似的，当我们完成一项质量改进计划时，我们需要必要的时间来策划和分析，并研究最可能的方案。我觉得跑马拉松就像我做质量改进：“质量是一场持久的比赛，而不是速度。”