Harvey Schachter of The Globe and Mail posted an excellent article reviewing Carolyn Aiken's and Scott Keller's nine insights on how human nature gets in the way of an organization's change effort, originally published in the McKinsey Quarterly. The article reflects on the fact that only one in three change initiatives succeed, and is full of interesting insights like this example:

Today's change-management literature places a premium on identifying and mobilizing those in the organization who either by role or personality - or both - have disproportionate influence over how others think and behave. That is sound advice, but doesn't mean influence leaders are a panacea. Success depends less on how persuasive a few selected leaders are and more on how receptive the "society" is to the idea. In practice, often-unexpected members of the rank and file feel compelled to step up and make the difference in pushing change.

A business process improvement methodology like the one we advocate and use has so much of a higher likelihood of success, because the recommendations for improvement come directly from the people who actually do the work. Research has proven it.

Read the full article here.

Many manufacturers have become frustrated with the lack of success of their Continuous Improvement program. Even after great expenditures of time and money, they are not seeing the contribution to the bottom line that they have been led to expect.

Graham Process Maps are an outstanding tool that can not only revitalize Continuous Improvement but also provide the best way for a manufacturer to initiate such a program.

Start with the Map
Starting improvement projects with a process map is important for four reasons. First, it causes the people in the business to agree on the process that is used. While this may seem obvious, the task is often quite difficult as there are often disputes as to what actually happens. And there are almost always overlapping and redundant tasks in any manufacturing process that are hidden until a team takes the time to review each step in thorough detail....Click here to read the full article