Thank you for joining me again for this month’s installment of Build it Better. This month, we continue our series on “Continuous Improvement.” Working with the concepts I introduced in the prior two columns, I am now turning to a practical, monthly process that I use to keep my company and my teams pushing forward. So far, the series has been more conceptual than workable, and it’s important to turn those ideals into a practical blueprint for creating change in your organization.
Change requires vision. Even the most rudimentary change is rooted in some vision of what isn’t right, or some ideal, stated or unstated, that you want to achieve. Business literature and popular business press idealize vision as some high-minded process that only the greatest among us get right. Elon Musk wants to ensure the survival of the human species. How can we compete with that? Vision is simply a statement of commitment to a better way. Any practical change in your organization must start with a vision for the department or individual that you are seeking to change.