When we look at the types of improvements that take place within our organisation we can always tell which were the big improvements. The small issues that are resolved in their masses however are harder to spot. Unfortunately this is also the case when we are looking for improvement ideas in the first place. If you had a broken leg you would have to stop what you were doing and get it fixed. If you had a limp you could keep going for a long time, and perhaps the limp would go away on its own. Where in your organisation are you limping? Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk

Have you ever sat in a meeting where you could just tell that people were ‘mailing it in’? By this I mean that the people aren’t taking part, they are there physically but that’s about all. They are not engaging with the conversation and participation within the meeting is generally low. If you recognise meetings (or workplaces) like this then you have an opportunity to improve the productivity in these areas. In fact, recognition is probably the greatest step towards improving the situation (that’s why we spend so much time mapping things out) – if you put this recognition into the context of the situation the answers to improve the status quo will become obvious. Keep an eye out for those people who are present in form only, and then come up with some ideas to get them engaged. Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk

There appears to be an ongoing conflict when it comes to the level of detail on projects, meetings or in specifications. Getting the right level of detail is key to making sure that activity progresses smoothly, but there is often a lack of consistency around how we approach detail. If we get the level of detail wrong we can end up with an outcome that we don’t want. We could find that by having too much or too little detail we can get side tracked, delayed, or lost with the work we are involved with. By having too little detail we could miss important tasks that have a big impact on the end result. By having too much detail we risk closing down opportunities for exploration. Whilst I am not advocating what level of detail needs to be applied to your work I am asking you to consider this factor and ask yourself this question ‘is the level of detail I am working on appropriate to the work that I am doing?’ Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.s

When change needs to take place, when there is enough need within the organisation, it can sometimes be difficult to prove to others that things will change. We need their involvement after all so we need to get them involved. Completion of a small but visible improvement can provide us with a symbol that it can be done, and that other things can also be achieved. By creating a clear symbol of change we can remind others that we are capable of change and that the situation we are in can be different. Using an approach like this can work well if your team / workforce has 'heard it all before'. Find a small project and make it a symbol for change within your organisation. Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk

Many projects are started without a clear specification. There may be clear objectives in place, but often some of the detail about what is really required (or needed for that matter) may not be present. In our experience of projects - getting the right level of detail into a specification regarding a system can be extremely difficult. If you look at the results you have been receiving over the past few years, how many of the results that have fallen below expectation have been related to a poor specification? The amount of time that is spent trying to rectify a project can be very large. A concise and specific specification can allow projects to complete in less time with lower costs, if a little more time is spent upfront with the design of the specification and the planning. Is it worth another look? Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk

In the haste to get things done there is the risk that projects don’t get properly closed off. Like the machine installation that doesn’t get commissioned, or the meeting that gets concluded without actions being defined. If you look around you will see many activities that haven’t been thought through – reducing the positive impact that they can have. The scope of an activity needs to be carefully considered. Where should the start and finish markers be placed? Without clearly communicating what the finish line looks like we might either not finish the job properly, or not meet our client’s needs. Talking to our clients and colleagues about the finish line can help to establish and develop a clear objective and help to save time and cost in the long term. If you have loose ends to tie up then it may be worth considering what the end point looks like in more detail. Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk

If we recognise the need for change within our business then why does so little change actually take place? One of the reasons is that plans and approaches don’t get agreed upon. With so many factors to take into account we can find ourselves lost with options and the feeling that we must get it 100% right. Whilst I don’t advocate getting it wrong their may be a simple approach to moving forward on our improvement projects (or any other project for that matter). If we can agree on the start of the project – a place to start – then we have the opportunity to make a difference (a tiny difference   in most cases). From doing this we can gain momentum, use newly gained knowledge to define more (or all) of the plan, and very importantly, we can find some common ground with our colleagues to agree on how we move forward. The start of a plan may be all it takes to get projects moving and a business to move forwards. If your business is getting stuck why not give this approach a go?