Monthly Archives: August 2013

#246 Follow the plan/process

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Random behavior will get you random results. Systematic behavior will get you predictable results.

Measuring success requires a goal, targets, and a plan/process. If all three are fixed, then you have a chance of learning how to improve.

There is no point in doing everything but what the plan/process called for, and hoping to improve. If you don’t agree, then speak up. If you don’t speak up, you need to follow the plan in letter and spirit.

When result don’t turn out the way you expected, the first thing to look for is whether the plan/process was followed. There is no point in blaming external circumstances if you don’t follow what is under your control.

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#245 The Grand Canyon

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When you design processes, the boxes line up nicely in your diagrams and slides. The outputs of one box feed nicely into the next in line. However, reality turns out to be very different. Some of the boxes have unexplained behavior or the outputs of one box does not feed into the next box as expected or two boxes do not seem to be connected and yet something is happening.

This gap or space between processes is the “dark space” or “chasm” or a “Grand Canyon.”

If you draw a process map for your organization, how many Grand Canyons do you have? How deep are they? And what is the sequence in which they need to be addressed?

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