What is the primary reason for Improvement failure -- Measurement

At this point, I have seen it all. See if any of these ring a bell.

  • No measures

    • Not measuring anything, after all, that would take time, planning, and work; and we are too busy constantly “fire fighting” the latest problem de-jour.

  • Measures are updated Years ago

    • The last time we got data was when someone asked to see our measurement system.

  • Measure EVERYTHING and Review ALL of them Daily

    • After all, we have a sophisticated, expensive database that can be carved and manipulated to tell you the cycles of 10-trillion indigenous species on the seven moons of Alpha Centauri Prime.

  • Measurement = Punishment

    • If the measure is not at the threshold, managerial pain is the response.

  • Measurement = Pretend Puppet Show

    • If we measure something and play the game of action, maybe they will leave us alone to get real work done.

  • Measures are Overly Complex

    • It may take a week to get the data and another week to understand what it means.

  • Measurement is the ONLY Action

    • We are doing so well, all our measures are good.

  • Measures are full of Error

    • The outside looks like an orange, but the fruit inside is rotten. Most of our data is inaccurate and full of error.

  • Measures change Hourly / Daily

    • We found a new problem, change what we measure!

How to Create a useful Measurement System?

  1. Start with purpose

  2. Define the Action

  3. Create a basic measure & update process

  4. Pilot the measure

  5. Review the system on a cycle

  6. Celebrate

Begin with the end — How do you know you are successful as a team? What does an amazing result look like? How do you know? Incorporate action — What kind of action / change would you take if you had the perfect measure? Create a basic measurement start — How can you easily and quickly get data? Who is going to update the measure and who is going to review it? Test it — give it a try and see how accurate, beneficial, actionable, and helpful to achieving the purpose. Plan a review — setup an on-event trigger such as achieving the measurement goal and/or after # of cycles or months. Encourage use and celebrate success in identifying problems and resolving them in a healthy, positive environment.

Chris

See…that is Simple. Want help with measurement? Our purpose is to co-create the best companies the world has ever seen. Contact us to get started with your journey together.

Business Growth, High Performing Team, Improvement Culture, Motivation, Purpose, StartHere, Team Improvement, MeasurementChristopher KucharikSimple Leadership Consulting#changestartshere, #businessgrowth, #businessgrowthstrategy, #businessstrategy, #builttolast, #purposedriven, #purposecoach, #highperformingteams, #highperformanceteam, #teamworkmakesthedreamwork, #teamwork, #improvementideas, #celebration, #measure, #measures, #measurementsystem, #measurementerror, #measurewhatmatters, #measurewhatisimportant, #measuresdrivechange, #metrics, #findingproblems, #identifyproblems #drivechange, #iterativechange, #sleaderc, #businessimprovement, #continuousimprovement, #leansixsigma, #agileleadership, #businessprocess, #leadershipdevelopment, #teamdevelopmentComment