The Art of Effective Systems
The Arts of Effective Systems
Curriculum Designer Caroline Slee-Poulos has been in training sessions for the past several days and decided to share some of the content in her blog post for this week, “The Art of Effective Systems.”
The Art of Effective Systems
First of all, I don’t think it’s an art. Today, I think it might be more like one of those Tough Mudder endurance events: sweaty, muddy, and something that makes you question your own motivations.
W. Edwards Deming, thought of as the father of the quality movement (along with many, many other achievements), stated the following:
“If you can’t describe what you’re doing as a process, then you don’t know what you’re doing.”
No problem, right? We all know what we are doing…on our own…in our own little silos. In our classes, we often describe the importance of agreement. Everyone needs to understand what it is that we do, and they need to agree that it is the right thing to do. That agreement piece can be a hurdle all its own, but it is time to check our own practices as well. Do we have the conversation in the first place? Does everyone know and understand what it is that we do?
In order for something to qualify as a system, it must be something that can be described, predicted, and replicated.
When you assess your systems, do they meet those three criteria?
Systems apply to the capital goods industry, but also to just about every industry and organization. When your systems are properly structured, the people within the system know how to function and what they contribute to it. They also support the other individuals in the system.
I invite you to look at the systems you have in place within your business. Are they functioning correctly? Are the systems the same, no matter who is doing the task? If not, what needs to change?
The analysis can only benefit you.