Speed is Still Not Everything

I wrote a week ago about the danger of thinking that (productivity) improvement is always about increasing speed.

I thought this week about an example that sums this up quite nicely.

I went recently to a performance by a small group of classical musicians  - playing a variety of materials from several composers.   (This is not really my primary choice of music but it does make a refreshing change to hear top class musicians playing sophisticated, complex music.)

However, my mind can wander when the music does not contain ‘tunes’ that I know.  On one such occasion, I thought about how little the concert I was watching would have changed from a similar concept 100 or even 200 years ago.

Was it better or worse?  Possibly the most important change is that classical music is now much more accessible to all members of society, rather than being the preserve of the very rich.  Recordings exist. Concert performances are relatively common and cheap. Instruments are much cheaper - although at the top end this is not true.

However the time taken to perform a specific piece is still the same.  Speed has not changed - nor is its likely to.

Speed is not everything!

Don't concentrate just on speed

 I have talked here before about the danger in concentrating on speed of operation as the primary focus of improvement efforts.  It can, for example mean a drop in quality…. and it can mean a team or line becomes unbalanced.  

What we should try to do is to improve the speed of an entire unit or process - making sure the trees is working with s single purpose in pursuit of agreed aims and objectives.

All members of three teams should share the same mindset - we work together and we support each other.

(If mutual support cannot be provided, you may have to put in some external stimulus)but make sure this is seen as encouragement rather than as punishment.)

Team development is one key to success.

Thev Right Fomr of Ignorance

 Sometimes when looking at problems or searching for innovation, it is a handicap to have too much knowledge of the context of the problem.

For example, if you give the problem of spanning a river to a bridge-builder, you will get a bridge as the solution.  It might be a great-looking bridge and/or one with little bits of innovative engineering, but it will not be too dissimilar from past bridges. The advantages are that it will almost certainly be buildable and stable.  

If you give the same problem to a design student with  little or no engineering knowledge, you might get a fabulous, innovative design which looks little like any existing bridge.  It might be unworkable, unbuildable and even dangerous if it were built but it will look- and perhaps - act differently.  

If you combine the talents of a great designer with a great bridge-builder, you will perhaps get the best of both worlds - an innovative deign that is buildable and will prove effective in use.

The ‘ignorance’ of the designer is tempered by the ‘knowledge and skills’ of the bridge-builder.

This is true in other walks of life snd areas of technology - creative people ignorant of the technology can come up with idea which  someone with the appropriate knowledge and skills can turn into a workable solution without losing too much of the innovation snd flair of the original deign.

Ignorance within a team can result in creativity.

A Problem or an Opportunity

 I don’t like aphorisms such as “There are no problems, only opportunities”.    This Is sometimes true but is so vague as to encompass real problems and  disasters which require being treated as such.

However,I have identified one such problem/opportunity arising from the growth of remote and hybrid working which looks set to be around for some time.

Remote and hybrid working require improved communications  to ensure remote employees stay engaged and focused.  This can become a ‘chore’ for supervisors and managers. However, if communication sessions are treated as an opportunIty for coaching and mentoring, this ‘chore can be turned into an important, rewarding and performance-enhancing task.

It does, obviously (well, I hope its obvious)  require a full and proper strategy for, and approach to, coaching and/or mentoring - these things don’t just happen, nor are they ‘natural ’tasks that supervisors undertake because of existing abilities.  But if you take the time and trouble to build appropriate processes, and deliver training to your supervisors, then the 'problem' of keeping remote employees engaged and focused becomes an 'opportunity' for  key productivity snd performance development activity.