During a normal summer my family would coalesce around a desire to take a vacation. Since we are not spur of the moment people, we tend to develop a plan early and refer back to it often. Destination? Funding? Transportation? Activities? Relaxation? All become part of the discussion. Because we plan, we generally can predict the outcome for our vacation barring pandemic, hurricane, flood and any other Biblical event. How about at work? In your classroom? Household? Community? Is there usually a probletunity in need of a solution that would require a plan or do you simply choose to wing it? Which brings me to the question: Have you ever worked on a collaborative program, project, partnership, or initiative and wondered…
- Where are we going with this?
- How will we get there?
- What will tell us that we have arrived?
This really is the work we do when we are creating initiatives to solve problems and for that matter, this is how teaching can ensure learning.
“When you go into a classroom, ask three simple questions and you will know if learning is taking place.”
Several years ago in my former life as an educator, we attended a workshop in which the presenter said it’s easy, “When you go into a classroom, ask three simple questions and you will know if learning is taking place.”:
- What are we learning today? The students need to know the objective of the lesson
- How are we going to learn it? The students need to know method in which they will learn
- How will we know that it was learned and what do we do if it is not?
Slow down now because that makes too much sense to me. Involving students in the learning process and planning the learning to such detail was a recipe to make teaching AND learning in the classroom a success.
How about in your business? Does it always work out this way?How about in your business? Does it always work out this way? Are there times when the work seems to move to slow? You lose focus? Or feel disheveled? How about the group you are working with? Are they sharing these same feelings? Continuous Improvement and Quality Management are all process-driven systems that allow us to get the big things right. These questions are those organizational touch-points that need to be addressed because they are at the very core of what you do. But what about the little things? How do you manage those daily decisions that impact your organizations, culture, tempo, productivity and effectiveness? You answer the same questions!
- Where are we going with this? What is the overall goal of an idea or initiatives. People usually get in trouble when they base changes on assumptions. Have a purpose, goal or a least an idea of what you are trying to accomplish and why.
- How will we get there? Could you imagine planning a vacation to a destination and not consider how you were going to get there? It’s pretty unimaginable. But how often do we attempt in our organization to solve problems and not consider the journey. This is where continuous improvement tools can really help you tell a story. They will give you a chance to consider all of the ideas, thoughts, plans and theories and a way to test them and study the results.
- What will tell us that we arrived? Knowing how you have reached the goal is as important as setting the goal itself. What will be used to measure success? Data? Criteria? To create a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound) plan is to make sure the results are measurable. Remember, anything not measured is optional.
Making sure Everyone THRIVES
When considering a continuous improvement journey, develop a PDSA cycle (Plan, Do, Study, Act) at the beginning of the process. Gather stakeholders so that you can get input, buy in and to get feedback. This will help that you get the answers to your questions and feel more effective:
- Where are we going with this?
- How will we get there?
- What will tell us that we have arrived?
Planning the work and then working the plan will ensure that Everyone has a chance to THRIVE!