The ongoing question for organizations, which never seems to be adequately answered, is “Why is change so hard?” This is usually quickly followed by the obvious question, “So how do I solve that?” Because there has not been a sufficient understanding of the former, we’ve never been able to routinely address the latter in practice….
Don’t confuse different with design
One of the most common issues I hear when working with distributed organizations is how many problems are caused by the lack of standardization of process. Each of the units is operating in a different manner and feels those differences are important. However, there seems to be a common assumption that when we see an…
What are we measuring?
While it is an accepted truth that to improve a process we must be able to measure it, knowing exactly what to measure is a key decision which often separates success from failure. Unfortunately, a very common problem is that we often end up measuring of the wrong aspects of the process and therefore end…
A summer (and more) reading list
I often get asked by students or friends for recommendations on good books for anyone interested in how business function. There are of course countless excellent books on any number of topics in business, but I tried to curate what I considered the seminal or foundational books on how business operate; or more to the point,…
Two important questions: What? and Why?
A colleague of mine once said that he loved having employees just out of college on his projects because they would naively ask the most important question: “Why?” I have come to appreciate his comment so much and add one additional question my interns and new hires ask: “What?” as in “What do you mean…
It’s the simple things
It’s a reality of process improvement work that sometimes the most impactful changes we can implement seem far too mundane. Please don’t let their simplicity turn you away. This is not to say that we shouldn’t try and be remarkable and innovative in our work, but do not let the drive for flashes of brilliance blind you to the…
Stop asking “What problem are you trying to solve?”, instead ask “What are you trying to do?”
Since the role of a consultant is to advise and solve problems, it is almost a revealed truth that one of the first questions to the client should be “What problem are you trying to solve?” And while I don’t want to suggest solving problems isn’t part of the job, I do propose that this question actually…