Welcome! Let’s do PI (Performance Improvement)!

From startups to multi-nationals and large corporations – all can benefit from PI in every thing they do!

Change is built into nature and unstoppable. We have three choices:
(a) do nothing (which leads to falling behind, leading to extinction),
(b) improve to keep up with change (surviving and maintaining status quo on a relative basis), or
(c) improve at a faster pace (thriving and staying ahead of the curve).

Now the question is what to do and how?

Let’s first understand that improvement can happen due to chance or by choice. The former will always be transient and hardly sustainable.

Improvement by choice will require deliberate planning and effort. Without proper planning – the effort will not have the right vector and it can end up hurting your organization, just as unchanneled energy burns rather than producing useful work.

Using a system and framework will help. Here is one we have used very often with excellent results. It is captured in the acronym “DO-MAGIC.” And yes, it works like magic. It is Key to Performance Improvement. Let’s expand the acronym.

D – Define your future / desired state – as vividly as possible (if you are too early in the game – stay in a Discovery mode until you can crystallize the future state).
O – Observe where you are at this time (current state) – this will be your baseline, and apply the Objectivity test -is your future state more like a pipe dream? To do this – you can use SMART goals approach, or something similar. Observe who has been down this road before? Learn from their successes and mistakes. Adopt them as your mentors if possible.

M – Milestones and Measures of Success (MOS) set up these as you evaluate what it will take to go from your current state to the future state. The MOS will act as mile markers along the road.
A – Analyze the gap between the current and future state. Ensure the milestones are aligned with the directional vector properly – leading up to the future state. Ask – what Actions are needed to reach the first few milestones. Defining all action items for the full journey may not be feasible, but you can at least make a beginning because often the path to the first few milestones is easier to see.
G – Generate a timeline, and a plan B. You might find some milestones are riddled with high obstacles – the earlier you can determine this – the better. Having a plan B enables you to move past them rather than getting stuck and abandoning the improvement effort.
I – Implement actions identified earlier, and keep Inspecting your progress against the MOS, and Milestones. Make sure your well of Inspiration stays filled. The latter will prove to be invaluable for you and your team since implementation will invariably have challenges and rocky paths. There are various ways to keep the inspiration high – the best is to use a blend of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations / rewards.
C – Checks and balances; put these in place as you cross milestones so you do not regress. Additionally – celebrate the crossing of each milestone. Do not wait on this particularly if your journey is long. Regular celebration of wins along the way keeps your and the team’s inspiration high. Finally – once you have reached the desired state, celebrate again, introspect for lessons learned, identify the next improvement opportunity and DO-MAGIC again!

Once you apply this approach – you and your team will wonder – why did we not do this years ago. Well – as the Chinese proverb goes – the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago – the next best time is now.

Want to explore and discuss your need? We would be delighted to serve, please feel free to reach out: info@thepisystem.com

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Welcome! Let’s do PI (Performance Improvement)!

Why?

What and how to do?

Industries and Sectors we serve