The Shewhart Cycle -- A roadmap for success that we create for ourselves.

It is often said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. True, but what good would a thousand steps do us if we have no idea of where we are going? I would like to introduce you to another concept that will help you greatly as you strive for financial independence and as you attempt to prepare yourselves for whatever the future holds. The Shewhart Cycle. This concept will work for anything that you are working on such as a budget, business planning, or even some of the ideas that I have given to you lately such as food storage. The Shewhart cycle goes by many names. The PDCA model (Plan, Do, Check, Analyze), the SARA model (Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment), are all similar models for the same basic concept. It consists of four basic steps in a closed loop that builds upon itself.

Step 1 -- PLAN: Focus on the results that you would like to achieve. Define your objectives and determine what processes you will need to deliver the results you are seeking. By focusing on the expected outcome you are also relying on completeness and accuracy of the steps that you decide to take to become a part of the improvement process. For our stated goal of creating a happier, more secure, more self sufficient life we need a plan to guide us. For our financial goal of eliminating debt and building wealth we need a plan or in this case a Budget. For creating an insurance plan so that our family can eat during a short term emergency we need to determine what foods we eat and which of those foods store well.

Step 2 -- DO: Put your plan into action. Start out with the concept of Kaizen (see my last post) and take a few cautious steps. Try sticking to your new budget. Store away a couple of extra meals in your pantry. Start putting some extra cash into your Emergency Fund (We will talk about this later). Buy an ounce or two of silver or a tenth of an ounce of gold. Start a small garden or plant a couple of containers on your back deck.

Step 3 -- CHECK: Are you able to stick with your budget? You stored some food. Have you used any of it? (Remember – Store what you eat, eat what you store). Did you have to dip into your Emergency Fund instead of using a Credit Card to get through a minor financial emergency? How does owning something of real value and real wealth (silver/gold) make you feel? How well is your garden (or container plants) growing? Every step that you take to prepare for the future should make your life better today. Where did your steps take you?

Step 4 -- ANALYZE: Analyze your results and determine what you did right and keep doing it. Look at your successes to see if you can find better or more efficient ways to reach your goals. Determine what went wrong and why it did not work. Determine where to apply changes that will include improvements. If you met one or more of your goals, create new ones or adjust your goals to a higher level. Look at where this process took you and go back to Step 1 and refine your plan.

I have a co-worker that enjoys panning for gold as a hobby. He takes a shovel full of dirt from a stream and swirls it around in a pan with some water to wash away the silt. It takes a while to work that shovel full of dirt down to a few particles of gold. Life is like that. We are given a shovel full of life at birth. That shovel full of life contains a lot of dirt and silt, but it also contains nuggets of happiness and success. It is up to us to invest the time and effort to work it out. If we don't, we just end up with a shovel full of plain old dirt.

Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.