What can you excpet during a performance improvement implementation?

This week we will look at the various stages that organization experiences during performance improvement initiatives. I will show you what you can expect; what does it mean; and how to deal with what you are experiencing.


Using the very famous "Stages of Competence" i.e. the Competence Model as comparison, I will demonstrate exactly what happens from inception to implementation.


The origin of the Competence Model rises from the field of psychology and deals with how people learn and progress. According to the model there are four stages, and they are:


1. Unconscious Incompetence
2. Conscious Incompetence
3. Conscious Competence
4. Unconscious Competence


Let us now examine each stage as it relates to implementing performance improvement and organizational optimization.

1. Unconscious Incompetence

You are at the beginning of the process improvement initiative. At this stage the stakeholders are in the dark and don't know if there is anything wrong with the process. Therefore, at this early stage of implementation, time will need to spent on mapping the existing processes and gathering knowledge via interviewing stakeholders involved.


2. Conscious Incompetence

Once the present state of the process has been captured, awareness has been established. This means that at this stage of performance improvement initiative, the stakeholders are now aware that the process could be improved. However, the root cause has not been discovered. In other words, the stakeholders are not sure what is wrong. Therefore, at this stage of the implementation time will need to be spent on dissecting the process to its simplest form. This exercise will also yield in the identification of the key performance indicators of the process.


3. Conscious Incompetence

At the third of the performance improvement implementation the root cause has been identified and isolated; a solution has been created that will result in a "measurable" improvement of the process. In this stage of the implementation, the new process will be implemented as well. However, the process (at the stage) is very new and needs to be learned and adopted by the stakeholders. Therefore, a process acclamation period is established. Training and awareness efforts are conducted as well.


4. Unconscious Competence

This is the final stage within the performance improvement implementation effort. At this stage, the stakeholders are very familiar with the improved process. The improved the process is now reached first level of maturity. This means that the process is now a part of the work flow. It has been adopted by the stakeholders and is considered part of the operations of the company.



In summation, we can see from the various stages that take place during performance improvements initiatives that it is important to understand what happens, when does it happen, what to expect, and how to deal with it. Each stage has its unique challenges. Having this knowledge has helped many people navigate their way through the difficult waters of process improvement implementation initiatives within organizations.


Question:

After reading the blog, do you agree with the analysis here? Have you experienced the same stages of competence in your organization?


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Thank you.

Salman Khan (Sal)

Optimizing your day: 3 Steps to getting things done.

Have you ever went to work or spent time on your day off and toward the end of the day said to yourself that "wow...where did the day go? I did not get anything done today!"

Sometimes it is alright to play hookie...yes even at work, provided you have been productive in the past. However, if you continue to not perform (or get things done), then soon you will find yourself without a job /work.

Sometimes not getting stuff done is unintentional and the circumstances may be our of your control. However, 9 of 10 times this is not the case. When people don't get stuff done, it is because they got distracted or lost focus on their own accord.

Below are 3 steps that anyone can follow to help get things done.

Step 1: Write it down

The very first and fundamental step is to write down what you are planning to do. What you create is called an "activity list". Set aside 15-20 minutes everyday in the morning, when you begin your work, to write down what you intend to get accomplished today.

Step 2: Prioritize your work

List items on your to-do list in the order you would like to get them done and place a number in front of each item. Use a new sheet of paper if you need to.

Step 3: Follow the plan

As you progress through your day, refer to your activity list. Go through the list in the order you marked it.

It is not uncommon to get new "things to do" on your list and/or for the priority of the tasks to change. If you get a new task, just add it to the list, and prioritize it. Then, re-prioritize your existing tasks if you need to.

If you keep referring to your activity list often through out the day, you will have something tangible to reflect your progress for the day.

The other benefit to writing your daily is that the following day you already know what needs to be done at that time.

Now, there are man products that are out there in the marketplace for you to buy that will aide in keeping focus on your daily activities. I would like to mentioned that he SKK Planning System is also one such inexpensive tool that has helped and continues to help many people focus their activities.

Question of the Week:

I welcome comments on the blog. Also, my questions to you are: Do you follow a daily planning routine? If yes, tell us your experience. Do you use a planner? If so, which one?

Regards


Sal

http://www.skkservices.com/

3 Rules of Optimized Communications

Today's blog is about some basic communication strategies to ensure that the right message gets to the right person.

Projects and business relationships fail because of improper communications. I guess this holds true for personal relationships as well. However, as this is a blog focused on business optimization strategies, we will keep personal stuff for another time.

Communications can be in the form of written or verbal. Communications can be informally structured or they can be formal such as an inter-office memo or press release. Regardless of the communication type there exists some common features. In any communication at there is a sender, receiver, and a message.

Rule #1: Identify the right method of communication
Not everyone likes to receive information in the same medium. Some may prefer face-to-face, while others may prefer an email. Therefore, whether you are communicating with a vendor or internally with managers or employees identify who responds to what type of medium. Create a spreadsheet that has a group or persons name and write the preferred method of communication.

Now in large organizations or projects you may want to identify communication methods on an individual basis for decision makers and have group-wide methods of communication for the rest.

Rule #2: Say it so that you cannot be misunderstood
The message is equally important as the type of communication. Get to the point. Many times emails or phone messages go on and on and the receiver ends up more confused then before. Communication is all about getting the other person to receive what you intended to deliver.

Therefore, start your communication with "the purpose of the message". State in clear terms why you are calling or writing. After the main purpose of the message then go in to any background story. However, if you have a long story, you must re-state your "point" at the end again. This is done so that there is no room for misunderstanding.

Rule #3: Follow-up
Some communications require a follow-up. This is so that the message and its intent is re-enforced to the receiver. Many-a-times, important decision communications will not be followed up and this results in the wrong decision being made.

One would think that if the message is clear and written or stated in a way that the chances for misunderstanding would be negligible. Unfortunately, human nature is to interpret what one wants to hear. Therefore, I recommend that for certain critical communications, a follow-up is very important.

In conclusion, identify who should receive what type of communication and in which medium; state the point of your communication; and finally if the communications is critical, always follow-up.

QUESTION:
Please comment to this post by answering: Are there communication issues in your company or project? If yes, what are the root causes? If no, what do you attribute the success to?

Thank You

Sal
http://www.skkservices.com/