Do you learn from your continuous improvement experiences?

I have the great fortune to work with a wide range of up and coming continuous improvement professionals. Some of them I get to mentor and some I only get to spend time with on projects. I have noticed a distinction within these groups; some progress a lot faster than others.

The individuals that progress their development faster than the other group aren’t necessarily better skilled, or have some other talent, but they do one thing the other group don’t:

They figure out what works and do more of it and what doesn’t work and do less of that.

Not exactly rocket science, but something that I strongly advocate to those that I mentor. These individuals reflect on what they are doing and what they have done and spot the lessons lying underneath the activity. The lessons themselves are unlikely to be the results of the activities, but more what was learned about carrying out the activities.

Lessons often include:

How to plan more effectively.
How to communicate more effectively.
How to get on well with others.
Getting results when the project is going pear-shaped.
Experimenting with ideas.
Developing solutions that are more impactful.
Making change happen.

So, here is my question for you. Are you learning from the changes you are working on, or are you just working on the changes?

If you get a chance to stop and reflect I promise you that it will be worth the investment in time.

And, if you want a structured format for carrying out these kinds of reviews, check out Making It Happen (my continuous improvement toolkit) and look for lesson one in the main section.

Try out my ideas with this free sample - click here - no sign up required

Have fun reflecting on your wins and losses,

Giles

About the author Giles Johnston is a Chartered Engineer who specialises in helping businesses to grow and improve through better business processes. Giles is also the author of Business Process Re-Engineering and creator of the 'Making It Happen' continuous improvement toolkit.

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