Why it's so hard to do new things

Continuing my review of the 2007 MIT Management Conference, I listened to educator, Rebecca Henderson talk about why it's so difficult to make changes in a company.

Her words rang all too clear relative to a recent project I'm working on. If your company is bleeding, there are two things you can do:

1. blame the lazy people who work for you - after all, the last time you pushed them, they came through for you. (so the problem must be with them)
2. work really really hard so there isn't time to make decisions

There are really two theories Rebecca talks about and she's spot on:

The first one is: "There's a problem let's fix it"

The second says, "We have a problem, someone is screwing up, let's go beat them up"

The funny thing about the second theory is that (if it were even appropriate to use this option!) the wrong person is beat up.

If the problem is to be truly solved, we have to start looking at the first theory and make long lasting change.

I have two steps for you:

NUMBER ONE
Spend a very worthwhile hour listening:



NUMBER TWO:
Call me.

mirror mirror on the wall

Looking at yourself whether under a magnifying glass or in a mirror rarely reveals results you want to find.

You may find flaws you thought didn't exist. It's hard to discover bad things about yourself. It's even harder if someone else knows (or tells you) about them. Discovering them however, is the first step in eliminating them.

Of course, I'm not talking about you physically now am I?!

I'm talking about your business.

What's wrong today?

Do you have quality problems? Did you miss ship -or another important customer date? Are your machines down frequently? Does your staff seem incredibly stupid or underperforming?

The good news is that these are only symptoms of (gulp) bigger problems and they can be fixed. The first step of course is understanding the root cause of these issues. Only in solving the root cause will you be able to forever-fix your woes. You may not like what gets uncovered, but facing issues head on is the right thing to do.

Finding things wrong you thought were perfect such as finding out that your processes aren't being followed as you thought they were, or finding out that your empathetic staff was not so respectful of others is hard to face. These problems didn't start overnight. Luckily with a little insight - perhaps unbiased by the fresh eyes of an outside consultant, you can start correcting quickly.

What is your company's culture like?

When was the last time they looked in the mirror?

the process of product development

Good products and great solutions don’t ‘just happen’. The process of product development is just as important as the results.

How is this possible, you might ask?

There is a phrase I use when praising slow food and when talking about product development; here it is: garbage in, garbage out.

It takes specific deliberation to overcome obstacles, create a product that your customer wants, to solve the problems your client didn’t even know existed, to delight your clients into sustained business, and to bring autonomy into your workforce.

I used to have a naysayer on every team I led. You probably have a few yourself... or maybe it's YOU!

I've learned over the years that there is always a solution and with structured deliberation combined with calculations, package studies and even a few prototype tests, one can overcome even the most difficult of challenges.

What are you facing?

are you ready?

Are you the only person in your group that wishes the company to make more money?

Is everyone thinking about the company, or just their job?

Like spokes in a wheel, each person is integral to how the company operates, how it makes money, how the customers feel, and how the company remains sustainable over time.

How many in your team come up with ideas on how to improve their position, their process, or the process outside of the group?

How many in your team share their ideas?

Does your company reward and encourage their initiative?

Initiative isn't just about showing up to work or completing reports without prompting as you likely know already. Process improvement does not come easily, nor does it come with just one person.

Lean improvement comes with the collaboration, initiation, and promotion of everyone on the team.

The individual is to be encouraged and embraced.

The team is to be embraced.

Lean implementation will then be embraced, nurtured, successful and productive.

Many companies do not know how to encourage initiative; it's not taught in schools.

How do you encourage initiative?