Before you can get a turnaround started, you have to realize you need one. You have to realize that you need an immediate change in your output or direction. When you realize your approach isn’t working, you need to be committed to the thought that you need solutions and not more systems and processes. In fact, the tools in your team’s toolbox are not only not addressing the problem but they are, likely, making it worse. Further degradation can come in the form of additional movement in the wrong direction or it can be related to allowing more valuable time to pass without making course correction.
If your people are “pulling together all the key people”, scrutinizing KPI’s to determine how they failed to predict the tailspin or setting up a meeting next week to evaluate putting processes and systems in place, they are not focused on the direct path to a solution. You need a solution, not a system audit. These are all signs that your team cannot sense danger and is not applying the appropriate sense of urgency to change the direction of your out of control situation. What are they going to do until the meeting next week? More of the same? Business as usual? Isn’t that what got them into that situation in the first place?
Business-as-usual and working within your processes and systems is a state of activity that is reserved for when you are getting results that meet expectations and satisfy stakeholders. Of course, some would argue that you should always be striving toward “best practices”. The argument for “best practices” or “next practices” is a continuous improvement refinement to avoid stagnation or being left behind. It is not a stop-the-bleeding, turnaround.
Assessing your processes for the necessity to modify them to meet performance expectations might be acceptable if the project, department or company has the time to recover to meet stakeholder expectations. However, taking immediate containment action to ensure survival is usually called for by the time you realize you need help. Forming a committee, tweaking systems or scheduling a meeting are clear signs in the corporate world that the people working on the problem are going to be able to tell you all of the activity that they engaged in rather than demonstrate progress toward a solution.
Before you can be “world class” you have to get organized. To buy the space to get organized, you have to install appropriate containments to ensure survival.
If your people are “pulling together all the key people”, scrutinizing KPI’s to determine how they failed to predict the tailspin or setting up a meeting next week to evaluate putting processes and systems in place, they are not focused on the direct path to a solution. You need a solution, not a system audit. These are all signs that your team cannot sense danger and is not applying the appropriate sense of urgency to change the direction of your out of control situation. What are they going to do until the meeting next week? More of the same? Business as usual? Isn’t that what got them into that situation in the first place?
Business-as-usual and working within your processes and systems is a state of activity that is reserved for when you are getting results that meet expectations and satisfy stakeholders. Of course, some would argue that you should always be striving toward “best practices”. The argument for “best practices” or “next practices” is a continuous improvement refinement to avoid stagnation or being left behind. It is not a stop-the-bleeding, turnaround.
Assessing your processes for the necessity to modify them to meet performance expectations might be acceptable if the project, department or company has the time to recover to meet stakeholder expectations. However, taking immediate containment action to ensure survival is usually called for by the time you realize you need help. Forming a committee, tweaking systems or scheduling a meeting are clear signs in the corporate world that the people working on the problem are going to be able to tell you all of the activity that they engaged in rather than demonstrate progress toward a solution.
Before you can be “world class” you have to get organized. To buy the space to get organized, you have to install appropriate containments to ensure survival.
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