Tag Archives: consistency

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Changing Course

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Selecting an approach to accomplish a goal, (i.e., how to….)is the first step toward achievement.  Execution of this approach is usually most efficient if you don’t change course mid-stream.

A simple example of this would be acquiring a quart of milk. The approach could be to walk to the local store or to drive there.   Perhaps you chose to walk and halfway there decided it was too cold outside and went back home to complete the trip by car.

This change of approach would significantly increase the time to accomplish your goal, i.e., get some milk.  The reason for the change, it was too cold, is clearly a good motivator so it was probably not a bad choice and something that might not have been known at the outset.

Value-Based Judgement

The decision to change course should not be taken lightly.  Good planning upfront helps ensure the initially chosen approach is viable and probably only needs minor adjustments.

If the impacts of a change are less than the benefits there is value in proceeding.  Instead of just figuring it out as you go along before making a change determining the value equation makes sense.

Over Reacting

One of the key dangers to reacting without analyzing the impacts is things could get worse.  Making a change because it feels needed or because unexpected risks have occurred will likely impact the time to achieve the goal and the quality of outcomes.

The best approach is to plan, monitor and control the execution as opposed to hoping all will turn out well in the end.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Persistence

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Sometimes it is difficult to achieve your goals. Firm or obstinate continuance of your efforts, in spite of the difficulty or opposition being experienced may be in order.

Persistence can be an admirable trait as long as it is well thought out. Persistence for it’s own sake could be characterized as stubbornness.

That is, having or showing dogged determination not to change one’s attitude or position on something although there may be good reason to do so, does not make sense (i.e., stubbornness should be avoided).

Achievement

Being persistent can be a key underpinning of many great successes, however, knowing when to quit is critical. The proverbial banging your head against a concrete wall in frustration is typically not a useful approach.

The keys to the effective practice of persistence are:

  • Achievement of the goal is feasible (it can be done within the constraints you are under)
  • The value equation is positive, that is the outcomes merit the expenditure of persistent effort that will be required.
  • The application of common sense, i.e., stopping based on changing circumstances or revising approach

Determination

One facet of persistence is the exercise of determination. Demonstrating a firmness of purpose based on logical analysis is key to persistence.

Most importantly this is not blind determination at all costs. To be most effective it should be apparent the motivation underlying the desire to achieve is well reasoned.

Being determined does not equate to never giving up but rather not giving up if that is appropriate based on the circumstances. Showing determination when success is unlikely is most likely a waste of effort.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Behaviour Values

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Your personal values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work.  For the greatest level of internal serenity the  way you behave should be in accord with your values.

When others believe your behaviour is wrong and ask you to change,  assuming your behaviours are consistent with your values (i.e., your integrity is intact) there is a problem.

Behavioural Issues

I heard an interesting story the other day about a frustrated mother attempting to stop her nine year old daughter from lying.  After one confrontation the daughter demonstrated an amazing level of maturity.

“Mom”, she said “ The issue is not my telling lies, rather its the fact you don’t want me to”.  Out of the mouths of babes.  What the young girl was questioning was why she needed to adopt her mothers value.

Tell the Truth

Truth telling is generally accepted as an intuitive value that should be commonly held.  Yet frequently people lie to avoid embarrassment or confrontation.  This is generally considered acceptable.

For example, I can’t make the party because I have an appointment might be an excuse you use to avoid attending a party even when there is no appointment.

Who is Right

Behavioural expectations can often be subjective and mostly based on the expectors value system.  This can cause conflict and stress people by expecting them to shift their value system and conform.

Often majority rules is used as a justification for this.  Polite society must have some boundaries.

There is no definitive answer to the issue of different perception of values and their associated behaviours but it helps to recognize this ambiguity does exist and needs to be dealt with.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Achieving clearly understood, cost effective, quality products and services

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Many distain process and governance as bureaucratic practices which have more cons associated with them then pros.  This could not be farther from reality.  It is very dependent on your perspective.

Organizations, even households have a common generic objective.  That is to provide clarity to all stakeholders  (e.g., employees, volunteers or family members) so outcomes are cost effective and high quality.

Processes are:

Through the practice of simple, repeatable, well communicated and easily understood steps, the results will be consistent (repeatable), and assuming the practices are designed to be easy (cost effective) and of course the activities are formulated to ensure the highest quality.

The combination of executing  multiple practices or steps becomes the process.  By following a process everyone is clear on what to do, or what they get or how to get it.

The outcomes ( product of the process) are therefore never a surprise and since, clarity is practiced throughout, problems which may arise are identified early on and so can be resolved before they become too impactful.

In the Real World

MacDonalds operates a hugely successful restaurant business.  Their success is soundly based on consistent, repeatable, clearly communicated and understood processes.

When you go to MacDonalds you know upfront what you can get (consistently every time, anywhere in the world) when, how and at a low cost.

The companies sales and ongoing longevity are pretty good indicators that their seemless execution of well defined processes works.

So if you think process is a bad word, if you have visions of bureaucratic slowness and wasted effort on unnecessary tasks, get over it, processes are a powerful way to guarantee you can reach the  objective.