Managing expectations:
Expectations are managed by listening to all stakeholders and assuming the responsibility of connecting the boardroom with the factory floor. Value the knowledge and opinions of people on the ground; they are your business!
Intention is everything:
Know the true reason and value for doing what you are doing. Our mental models (interpretation of the world) give rise to organisational structures, patterns and events. Failing to reflect, understand and change our thinking, we are bound to recreate the same structures and repeat previous patterns.
Quantifying outcomes:
An organisational change (such as automation) can have a relatively small effect on the bottom line, but can have a massive effect on a company’s personnel, their morale and creating a positive climate.
Balancing an organisation’s financial prosperity with people’s development and self-actualisation is key!
Working environment:
Egos, bureaucracies and corporate politics are everywhere – see it for what it is and accommodate it. Do not get consumed by power plays, stay focussed on the task at hand and persist to achieve your intended goal.
The best way to prove your credibility is getting the job done!
A changing world:
Improving your organisation through a certain initiative is a “living” and constantly evolving experience…. what makes sense today might not make sense tomorrow. The value-add of processes should constantly be re-evaluated with critical thinking, and be adapted to stay relevant and be sustainable.
Multiple viewpoints:
There is a right time to keep doing what others have done before you and a right time to innovate, rethink, experiment and be bold. Any one approach is not always right; ensure you are flexible enough to consider multiple solutions and have a free mind to select the option that fits your particular situation.
The full picture:
Getting a holistic understanding of a business problem is not dependent on people giving you the right answers, it requires you to ask the right questions.
Success:
The success of a project is not defined by the completion thereof; it is defined by the difference it makes in creating real-world solutions where there once were problems.
Success is the outcome of making things better!
Process before system:
You need the right people (and attitude) with the right processes for a system to have any impact. Critically evaluate your business processes, find the gaps and visualise those desired processes. Find a system that will enable and support those processes.
No system can fix a poor process!
Systems thinking:
The importance of connecting the dots to understand what actions will impact which systems – especially if it is outside your silo. Alignment is key: know when to include the right people in your communication.
