Process improvement should be easy
You just stop doing the things a customer wouldn’t be happy to pay for.
Spend a day with some brown paper and post it notes and you will find a whole host of ways to improve your processes.
So why is it so hard?
Because people don’t believe that their processes are broken. People optimise their processes around themselves, not their customers. Why would they want to change that?
So if you are hell-bent on improving performance you should understand what they are optimising around…
It all comes down to communication.
The levels of communication
If you don’t get people’s desires and motivations and they don’t trust your intentions, then you are wasting your time. Lane 4 consulting have an interesting model that helps frame the way we communicate .
Level 1. Ritual
A series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.
How are you? Fine thank you, how are you?
Level 2. Fact
A thing that is known or proved to be true
It was a slow drive to work
Level 3. Opinion
A view or judgement, not necessarily based on knowledge.
I think the traffic on the school run this morning was dreadful
Level 4. Belief
An acceptance that something is true, especially one without proof.
It’s because of those people in their Chelsea tractors parking where they like
Level 5. Emotion
An instinctive intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge.
They are so selfish, why can’t they walk their children from the car park like everybody else
Level 6. Rapport
A close and harmonious relationship
Ok, you are right, I shouldn’t park on the kerb, but the car park has been shut for a month, and besides, how jealous is everyone else of my shiny big car?
The higher up the model you communicate, the more likely you are to improve performance.
If you want to change the world understand motivation
We all optimise around ourselves, secretly we all want to drive a Chelsea Tractor — I want a black one — it is just we aren’t always that transparent about it.
Unless you understand my motivation, and I yours, it is unlikely that we will ever change.
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Read another opinion
Image by Brian Fuller
James,
I like the model as a way of understanding how we communicate and, therefore, how we can start to tackle problems. However, I wonder if rapport should or could be prefaced with honesty.
Finally, I’m not sure I would agree with your assertion that we all, secretly, want a ‘Chelsea tractor’. ;)
Adrian
I can’t help but think you’d look good in a Porsche Adrian
Hello James,
When I was really struggling with my eldest (teenage son) and was at my wits end, having tried all kinds of changes, my wife gave me sound advice. What did she say? Something like this:
“It is the relationship stupid. Focus on the relationship. When you have built a strong enough relationship you will start to see improvements. When you have built a strong relationship then all of the issues will resolve themselves.”
Her advice struck me as profound wisdom. I did what she suggested, all the issues disappeared.
FlowchainSensei refers to this respect for listening to and striving to meet the needs of every person in the team, the organisation that Antimatter Principle:
http://flowchainsensei.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/the-antimatter-principle/
If you have not come across it before then I recommend reading it.
At your service
maz
Thanks for the link Maz, a good read
“People optimise their processes around themselves, not their customers.”
Whenever I’m looking to improve a process I consult my Dad.
Dad has no experience in the financial services industry.
Dad has never seen a process map or a Gantt chart.
Dad went to a Prince2 training week and walked out after the first hour.
So when I’m looking at improving a process I take it to Dad and ask him how he thinks the process should work.
He’s not interested in how many touch-points there are or what software limitations we have but he will tell me that when he calls his bank to make a decision about his account he thinks that the agent he’s speaking to should make a decision, the agent should then update the system so everyone else he speaks to at the bank is aware the decision has been made and then the agent should wish him a good afternoon.
In reality, things aren’t always that simple, but we should at least make them feel like that to our customers.
Clearly he is a wise man Joe