A common question I hear when dealing with clients is 'When is the right time to schedule in to do this project?'
The answer is simply that there is never a right time!
Some organisations know they need to make a difference to the way they deliver products and services but cannot or are unwilling to make the time investment required to make it happen.
There is always a reason not to do a project; a new building, service changes, a new contract, someone has left, someone has joined, someone has failed to join, a customer has complained etc etc etc
These are the realities of business - whether you are a Healthcare organisation or a Manufacturing business - there will always be something that makes this 'not the right time.'
In my former role running change programmes for the public sector we were often approached by organisations who were facing the abyss (they were about to close, go to jail or something similar). The common strand was that most realised there was a problem a long before the end came but were so tied up 'dealing with the critical issues' that they did not take time out to deal with the important issues that would have saved them pain, money or damage to customers.
If you truly believe that something needs to be done then it probably does need to be done, and if something needs improving then you had better get on with it.
There are two quotes that I think are great at this point, one is from Henry Ford and the other is from an unknown source:
Henry Ford - "I realised that when I needed a tool, if I did not get it I would end up paying for it anyway but not having it"
Anon - "Madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results each time"
I will close by challenging you to make the first step towards improving the long-term health of your organisation today. It may be disruptive, it may be unpopular, it may just save your organisation or the life of your customers. Delay it at your own peril!
What do you think?
http://www.amnis-uk.com/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hi Mark.
You make a good point and it echoes the thoughts of others, not least of whom are Womack & Jones. Paraphrasing madly, in 'Lean Thinking' they noted that that improvement comes at the point where there is a need for change, and if there isn't one they suggest creating one - now that's radical!
Over the past 18 months I have been speaking with a doctor friend about changes in his practice. Very recently he realised that demand on his services and time was about to escalate markedly; the absence of colleagues was about to see to that. Grasping this is as the opportunity for change he has implemented the first of the service improvements we'd discussed - and the results have been (unsurprisingly) spectacular: Need led the change; change has led to great results. In a recent discussion we pondered how much better things would be today if the changes he has implemented had been incepted 18 months ago. Uummm.
Like you I believe 'the time in now' when it comes to making service improvement. It's less a matter of 'why wait' and more one of 'shouldn't wait'.
Julian
Post a Comment