Problem-Solving Success Tip: Measure the Right Things.
Measure the right things.
It's not enough just to measure-you have to measure the right things. A common measurement trap is to measure something because it's "interesting." If knowing a measurement won't change anything (e.g., help you make a decision, verify an assumption or prove the problem is solved), then don't waste your time measuring it. Another common trap in defining the problem success criteria is to lose the direct connection to the problem. Somehow it's very easy to unintentionally expand the problem with general improvements that are good things to do, but aren't really necessary to solve the problem at hand. Avoid these traps: once you decide to measure something always check back by asking yourself exactly what you will do with the results. Then ask the question in reverse: if you have a particular result, will it really enable you to make your decision, verify that assumption, etc. With problem success criteria, cross-check your proposed measurements with your problem description. Everything in the problem description should be measured by the success criteria. Everything in the success criteria should measure some aspect of the problem presented in the problem description. If they don't match, your measurements are either incomplete, you're measuring something unnecessary, or your problem description isn't quite right. HINT: "Everything necessary, nothing extraneous" should be your watchword. Measuring the right things will help make sure you solve the problem completely and don't get sidetracked into doing other things that won't help make this problem go away. copyright 2005. Jeanne Sawyer. All Rights Reserved. Jeanne Sawyer is an author, consultant, trainer and coach who helps her clients
solve expensive, chronic problems, such as those that cause operational
disruptions and cause customers to take their business elsewhere. These tips are
excerpted from her book, When Stuff Happens: A Practical Guide to Solving
Problems Permanently. Find out about it, and get more free information on
problem solving at her web site:
http://www.sawyerpartnership.com/.
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
5 Management Decision Making Lessons from a Long Shot. A Heartening Belmont Victory
Like many, I watched the 134th Belmont Stakes hoping to see the first Triple Crown in 24 years. Instead, I saw the 70-1 long shot, Sarava, appear from nowhere to win. We should take heart from this unlikely victory. As small business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs, the "big shots" often see us as long shots -- worth a cursory notice, but rarely more.
Nonprofit Performance: Outcome Measurement Can Be A Good Thing
Does the idea of program evaluation make your stomach churn? If so, you're not alone. Many nonprofit professionals and volunteers view program evaluation with fear. The idea of outcome measurement often takes these fears to new heights.
Five Reasons Why Leaders Fail to Create Successful Change
A bold title, don't you think? I mean, change is a complex thing, so to define five reasons seems to oversimplify the issue.
Test Your Hiring IQ
The purpose of any selection process is to discriminate (albeit fairly) among job candidates. Your goal is to select the right people, with the right skills, at the right time for the right position. Have you hired anyone recently? If so, how well did you do? How many of these ten questions can you answer 'yes' to? Did YOU:
Discover the Astonishing Power of Words Today!
Picture all the people you know who are dynamic, successful and self-confident. The ones who are the stars of every gathering. The people who are witty, intelligent and entertaining. The scintillating personalities who can be relied upon to light up every occasion.
Money, Motivation, Success and Who?
It was 7:30 on a Saturday morning, and I was setting
up to do the opening keynote for the conference. For some
reason--I have no idea why--the sound man thought his ten
year old daughter would enjoy my presentation. He'd brought
her with him to work.
Performance Expectations - 5 Tips and 5 Questions
People want to understand their role - they want to do well! So by being clear, really clear about what it expected of them, makes a big, big difference! And that improves performance as well as saving you time chasing others around to deliver what you want.
Quick Tip - Effective Meetings Earn a Profit
Most people treat meetings as a free resource that can be used to deal with any
issue. As a result, huge amounts of time and money are wasted on trivia.
Boost Your Leadership Skills By Disciplining Yourself In The Way Of The Question Mark
I'm often asked to come in to organizations and give a motivational speech to their employees. I reply that I'm not a motivational speaker. Never have been. Never will be. Don't want to be. I do something else. I teach their people how to become motivational leaders. That's a far more productive endeavor.
Ten Steps to Take the Work out of Work ? Replicate Yourself!
They say that management can be a lonely place. A manager has to lead from the front, make challenging demands of their people and if part of an organisation, pass on the dictats of the more senior and remote bosses up at the top.
Small Business Outsourcing: An Introduction
Outsourcing is the delegation of a business process to an external service provider. The service provider will then be responsible for the day-to-day running and maintenance of the delegated process.
Don?t Forget Where You Came from - Why the Past is Important in Implementing Business Change
Much of the literature and advice on implementing business change focuses on knowing where you are going and making sure that you understand and communicate a consistent vision of the future. Indeed, I have looked at the importance of this in an earlier article in this series. This month's article, however, looks at the past and its often under-estimated importance in implementing change.
How To Rebuild Trust
Here are some quick thoughts on ways to turn things around.
Hiring Tip -- Picking The Best Candidates
I often hear leaders from all types of organizations ask questions about hiring the right person. Their questions usually sound like these:
Manufacturing Capacity as a Commodity
Excess capacity in an automobile plant at Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, GM, and Honda is a commodity and those who study finite capacity scheduling modules can readily see the possibilities for increased production and that means profit. Einstein said time is relative, that is true, time is relative, manipulating commodity theoretical models allows companies to see thru time and keep costs and purchases on an even keel without the problems of relative time. Thus the commodity can be simplified to price/cost models. The commodity is still relative to fluctuations in currency, weather, and supply and demand. There is no reason a company like Ford cannot take those plants, which have closed and use them to make something else. Instead, they ran their plants at maximum capacity or close to it, and built lots of cars, which are now in the dealers or on their way to the dealers and there is no need to run the plants now sense there are enough cars built. If the cars become scarce, then the price goes up. As with anything; supply and demand. Are cars a commodity? It appears they are, but more so the time in the excess capacity in the factories is the real commodity although from a purely conceptual standpoint, both the time and the cars are commodities.
Management - Mary Poppins Style!
Mary Poppins describes a style of management which has for too long been hidden in many
businesses and organisations.Think about it.She's "Practically
perfect in every way" - is that not what we want from a boss? Someone who is
almost brilliant at everything - yet with a hint of not being absolutely
perfect? Someone we can trust and depend on - yet who is truly human with is and falls down occasionally too?And then there's
the cut to the chase with, "Bert, what utter nonsense. Why do you always complicate
things that are really quite simple." How often do we, often inadvertently (especially
the more senior an executive we are), make things so, so complex. Recently working
with a client who already had over 125 books on systems, when all they were doing
was selling things to people...And then there's all the fun, like..."Of course,
you can say it backwards, which is dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupus, but that's
going a bit too far, don't you think?"...a satisfying ability to have fun and, I
think perhaps just a hint of a smile at yourself, Mary, in that..., as Bert says
"Indubitably.!" Not forgetting either, that if we look hard enough, with the right
viewpoint..."In every job that must be done, there is an element
of fun. You find the fun and - SNAP - the job's a game!"
Qualities of a Great Manager
In the call center environment we are often only as successful as the people we hire. While our front line employees are critical to our business, choosing the right managers powerfully impact your success. So what makes a good manager? Ask 100 people and you might get 100 different answers. While the behaviors that make a great manager may be open to interpretation, there are some competencies and corresponding questions, which stand the test of time.
I Am Not A Number - Why Too Many Change Projects Fail
Many of you will recognise this quote from the 1960s TV show, "The Prisoner". Patrick McGoohan used the phrase to describe his frustration at not being treated as an individual, and being kept in the dark about what his superiors were up to in a very confusing environment. This experience is not dissimilar to what employees face in most change projects.
3 Innovation Keys - Do Your Innovative Efforts Need More Power?
Recently, I attended a webinar with nearly 400 other Chief
Learning Officers - during one polling period, we were
asked what primary driving force pushes organization-wide
or individual innovation - the majority agreed that
leadership is that force.
Management to the Vision-Contribution and the Role of Compliance
As a manager our role is to:
|
