The Squawk Point

Organisational Mechanics

  • Home
  • Blog
    • People
    • Data
    • Process
    • Wild Cards
    • Index
  • Podcast
  • Book

Standards and Innovation

14 June, 2019 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Riding roughshod over the standard

We had a bit of an issue last week.  We were trying something new and it went — how can I best put it? — belly up.  In fact its belly went so far up it ended up in a conversation with our risk and compliance team.  They were displeased.  They plan to audit our standards.

An emotional reaction

If there is a word that provokes a reaction in me it is “standards”. Depending on the circumstances it can be somewhere between boredom — “let’s discuss the standard”, antipathy — “could you create a standard?” or fear — “let’s audit the standard”. 

You need to be a special type of person to enjoy standards, the sort off person who would apply for a job in compliance….

I see myself as an innovative, creative type — maybe I am delusional — but standards just get in the way.  There is nothing that hampers innovation and change quite as much as a rigidly enforced standard.

The case for the standard

I rely on the standards every day

  • Without a standard internet protocol I couldn’t publish this post.
  • Without standard shipping containers my lap top would be stuck on a dockside in China.
  • Without standard measures we’d all be arguing about performance, not improving it.
  • Without standard time we’d all show up to at the wrong meetings, I’m late enough as it is.
  • Without a standard language nobody would understand a word I was saying.  No smart comments, thanks v. much.

That is before we discuss standard programming languages, mobile telephony standards, driving standards…

There is no glory in standards

Yet our economies run on them, from nuts and bolts to bar codes and paper money.  Standards promote cooperation.  That is what innovation is built on. 

I will try to remember that whilst I am being audited.

If you enjoyed this post click here for the next

Using Standards

Read another opinion

Photo by Francisco Arnela on Unsplash

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: innovation, standardisation

About the Author

James Lawther
James Lawther

James Lawther is a middle-aged, middle manager.

To reach this highly elevated position he has worked in numerous industries, from supermarket retailing to tax collecting.  He has had several operational roles, including running the night shift in a frozen pea packing factory and carrying out operational research for a credit card company.

As you can see from his C.V. he has either a wealth of experience or is incapable of holding down a job.  If the latter is true this post isn’t worth a minute of your attention.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to read it and decide for yourself.

www.squawkpoint.com/

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Explore

accountability assumptions beliefs best practice blame bureaucracy capability clarity command and control communication complexity continuous improvement cost saving culture customer focus data is not information decisions employee performance measures empowerment error proofing fessing up gemba human nature incentives information technology innovation key performance indicators learning management style measurement motivation performance management poor service process control purpose reinforcing behaviour service design silo management systems thinking targets teamwork test and learn trust video waste

Receive Posts by e-Mail

Get the next post delivered straight to your inbox

Creative Commons

This information from The Squawk Point is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Creative Commons Licence
Customer Experience Update

Try This:

  • Regression to The Mean

  • Glory Lasts Forever

  • Fish Bone Diagrams – Helpful or Not?

  • Brilliance Alone Won’t Take You Far

Connect

  • E-mail
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • YouTube
  • Cookies
  • Contact Me

Copyright © 2025 · Enterprise Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in