Exodus 18 and Mini-Business

2/23/11...

10 And Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

13 And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. 14 So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18 Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. 19 Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. 20 And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. 21 Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”

24 So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.

What an insightful passage. I continually am amazed at the depth of God, although at this point I am not sure why. God's word is amazingly insightful, covering all aspects of life throughout its pages. Even as I am now starting to read the Bible from beginning to end for the third time, I unexpectedly come across this chapter in Exodus and immediately it speaks to me. I am somewhat taken aback. After all it is Exodus, a book worn out by its stories of Moses and the exit of Israel from Egypt. Ahhh...but here is the spiritual joy. If one digs beyond the obvious story, there is so much more and my Father opened my eyes to this one, a stand alone chapter in the middle of the book of Exodus, seemingly out of place and yet exactly in place.

In my company, Mini-Business is a concept they are promoting which engages the hearts and minds of our people. Some say the 8th waste of Lean is the underutilization of human resources. Mini-Business seeks to address this 8th waste. At this time, two plants including the one I am in are engaged in this concept. It goes beyond self-directed work teams and yet has elements of self-direction. Where it differs is a recognition that leaders (supervisors and team leads) continue to play a critical role. There was a time when self-directed work teams meant that a team would function together as one with no person above another. And yet this concept died out with only pockets of success at some companies. Why? I believe one can look to Exodus 18 and better understand why. The wisdom of this chapter speaks to the importance of natural leaders who can bear the burden of decisions as one goes up the ladder. It speaks to the importance of having natural leaders within teams for teams to function well.

Yes, I realize this passage speaks to appointed leaders judging situations among the people in ancient Biblical times. However, it also smacks me in the face that God is speaking beyond this, indeed if I just listen. It is interesting that the passage speaks of leaders all the way down to "rulers of tens." I ponder these words. Coincidentally or maybe not, our Mini-Business teams are around 9 - 13 people, in the tens. I think one of the elements in the Mini-Business concept is possibly at fault. Follow my thoughts on this matter. We are letting the teams select their own leaders which is a good thing because the people who are selecting their leader have respect for them and a vested interest in seeing them succeed in their role. However, what we are seeing is there are natural leaders who rise, but sometimes these leaders are not quite developed and thus struggle in their role. At times, I believe I may be letting them flounder too long in my coach/facilitator role. We need to be intentionally developing them and also realizing that the rotation of leaders among a team is probably a fairy tale. Not everyone makes a good leader and to try and place a square peg in a round hole is only going to cause frustration.

Father, let Your Spirit guide me in my thoughts. Let me see truth here to the proper depth. Let me exact truth from the dusty Old Testament book of Exodus. Let me exact truth from this obscure chapter. Oh Father, how I marvel at Your wisdom and Your knowledge. How thankful I am for it.

Some thoughts:

1. Let a group of those of faith get together for morning prayer and honor God. 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God. In morning prayer, let us humble ourselves before God, thank Him for this company, and ask for His guidance and wisdom to glorify Him in all that we do according to His will.
2. Let us train our people regarding what the Lean and Six Sigma Production System means. Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. 20 And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. 
3. Let us continue Mini-Business and ease the burden of leadership by giving authority to small (but just as important) matters to the shopfloor and thus give them peace in eliminating their frustrations in doing a good job. 23 "If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.” Indeed! This is exactly why Mini-Business has to remain intact! Our people will go home in peace. Why? Because they have had a say in their work, making improvements and managing their work area. No longer are they frustrated. Now they have an avenue to be heard and more importantly BE involved in the change, the kaizen. The Mini-Business leader becomes a key component in leading this effort. When involvement goes beyond suggestions and into DOing, then people leave work each day feeling more at peace with their job. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.
4. Let the teams continue selecting their own leader.
5. Let us be intentional in identifying natural leaders (HR Function). 21 Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
6. Let us survey the teams for others who desire leadership.
7. Let us develop an intentional training program that grows their leadership skills. Let us celebrate them being a Mini-Business Team Leader as an honor. Thus we have the following organizational progression at our manufacturing plant; Mini-Business Team Leader, Team Leader, Supervisor, Department Manager, Plant Manager.