Performance breakthroughs can be most easily established by seeing how natural tendencies to operate perfectly as individuals can be tied to ways that groups operate flawlessly. This article provides an example of how to make such a breakthrough in cost reductions for an organization.
What do you get when you marry individual perfection and organizational flawlessness? It's a marriage made in heaven for making the greatest breakthroughs in performance improvements.
Capture this perspective and you'll soon be accomplishing beyond your wildest dreams . . . while working less.
Let me put this message in context: It's an important lesson for those wanting to make lots of 2,000 percent solutions (ways of accomplishing 20 times more with the same time, effort, and resources).
The steps for creating a 2,000 percent solution are listed here:
1. Understand the importance of measuring performance.
2. Decide what to measure.
3. Identify the future best practice and measure it.
4. Implement beyond the future best practice.
5. Identify the ideal best practice.
6. Pursue the ideal best practice.
7. Select the right people and provide the right motivation.
8. Repeat the first seven steps.
This article looks at practicing to become more effective in accomplishing step five.
Combine Perspectives from Individual and Organizational Ideal Best Practices in New Ways
Of all the approaches to identifying ideal best practices, this one is the most powerful because it allows you to build on individual strengths in nearing perfection to create new dimensions of group strengths. You'll be delighted with what this perspective can help you accomplish.
Here's an example to explain what I mean: Individuals are very good at remembering to put fuel into their vehicles. Rarely will you see a vehicle stranded for lack of fuel. Why? If you run out of fuel far away from a fueling station where there's no cellular telephone reception, you may have a long walk to fill and carry back a heavy container. The process may waste an hour or more. Also, if you run out of fuel when it's frigid, this exposure can be dangerous. Some people are probably worried about being robbed while going to and from the station. Most vehicles have fuel gauges that are reasonably accurate in letting drivers know when more fuel is needed. As a result, there's not much reason to run out of fuel.
Groups are exceptionally good about using up supplies that their organization provides. Why? There's no barrier. If you need it, you take it. There's no cost to you. Groups are often not be nearly as good about remembering to order more when supplies dwindle.
Let's assume now that you want to lower costs more rapidly in your organization. How might these two principles be combined? Let's start with the individual tendency to want to have enough. You could appeal to that instinct by tying salary and wage increases to achieving cost improvements above a certain target and letting everyone know on a daily basis how cost reductions are going. Those who want to be sure to have a decent income increase will be monitoring the information and taking action.
There's a problem though. Many people may not feel like they have the knowledge or time to work on faster cost reductions. You could provide free breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to those who were willing to attend training sessions to learn more about creating and implementing better cost reductions. Your organization could also provide a hotline people could call to get advice on how to develop their cost-reduction ideas. The tendency for organizations to use free resources would accelerate learning.
By comparison, most organizations disqualify almost everyone in the organization from being able to work on cost reductions. Only managers, supervisors, and engineers may be given the leeway. Yet the best ideas often come from outside those perspectives. Cost reduction is clearly one of those places where more people can create better results, but the task has to engage everyone in helpful ways.
For even better results, you can combine even more near-perfection perspectives. You might use four individual and three group principles to identify the potential for an astonishing breakthrough practice.
To provide further opportunity, build a list of 100 individual and 100 group instances of near perfection. With experience, you'll locate even more helpful perspectives that can be applied to achieving breakthroughs.
Spread the Word
Share your ideas about how to combine individual perfection and organizational flawlessness with members of your family and people at work. Tell them what you have learned. Coach them in how to devise their own solutions.
The following questions will help you focus on the right steps:
• How can you excite others about pursuing ideal best practices by sharing your experience in intriguing ways?
• How can you help other people work through the process of identifying ideal best practices?
• How can the value of this new way of thinking be spread even further by encouraging those you've helped to coach others?
Copyright 2007 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved
Navigating the Waters of Business Success: The Strategic Launch of Business Objects
In the competitive world of business, the trajectory of success is often determined by the initial strategic decisions made by a company. The story of Business Objects, a pioneer in business intelligence software, exemplifies the importance of a well-planned entry into the industry. By choosing the right location, assembling a diverse team, and innovating their business model, Business Objects set a precedent for rapid and sustainable growth.
Genetifcally Engineer Wonderful Business Models That Deliver More Stakeholder Benefits
Using genetic engineering, scientists can take qualities of a weed for hardiness and transfer those strengths into a food crop. In the same way, you can genetically engineer your business model by adding on all of the attractive qualities of complementary business models. If you combine enough business models, you'll have an amazing advantage that will deliver myriads of benefits to large numbers of people.
Don't Just Play Around -- Your Industry Is Full of Excellent Opportunities Everyone Has Overlooked
Companies want to grow faster and always imagine that areas they haven't explored are full of better opportunities than where they are. The truth is usually the opposite. This article explores the missing opportunities at toymaker Hasbro.
