BEYOND MEASURE
Here’s the money quote from this surprising little book:
“Institutional cultures are non-linear systems. Small changes – listening, asking questions, and sharing information – alter beyond measure the ideas, insights and connections those systems are capable of producing. Each of these small things generates responses that influence the system itself. And everyone, from CEO to the janitor, makes an impact.”
When I was editor of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence Target magazine, one of my unspoken rules was to not accept “change is hard” articles. I called them The Big Whine. Whether it was MRP, ERP, Japanese production methods, statistical process control, teams, compensation, concurrent engineering or new product development, it was all hard and it would continue to be hard, so why whine about it?
But my “change is hard” rule does not mean that there are not some true gems well-hidden in ordinary work that can flash on big culture change. That’s what Heffernan shows us in her sharp examples of little changes that have big impact. She is not talking big systemic changes, like complete implementation of the Toyota Production System on a healthcare institution, for instance.
Her examples of small changes that unleash big changes include:
· A Massachusetts General orthopedic surgeon, Dr. David Ring, who made a mistake with a simple carpal tunnel procedure, outed himself, conducted an in-depth investigation of how it happened, and then published his findings in the New England Journal of Medicine. Ring said, “If you can’t talk about mistakes, you learn nothing.”
· Torres wine vineyard keeps a Big Black Book, not a punishment log, but an accepted way of writing up – and thinking about – treasured mistakes. The CFO, for instance, wrote up his $200,000 error in a currency hedge (yes, everyone does it, but the bets usually win). But the value of the book was reinforced by another small rule – every company recruit reads the book upon joining. Hmmm...
Unleashing innovation
Some innovations are simple changes to the way we deliver a product or service. Heffernan illustrates with the example of how Roche's Sr. Director Tod Bedilion unleashed employee creativity by posting six challenges on social media to all 2400 members of the Roche R & D world.The results, from mechanical engineering to biochemistry, came from 419 employees who submitted 40 proposals, one of which was a winner, a way to measure battery life in glucose drip meters. But Heffernan recognized this event as a “bittersweet victory” because although the engineer who solved it served on the German solutions team, he was in Indianapolis, and this was his first knowledge of the event. Heffernan attributes this disappointment to organizational barriers set up by thick culture walls.
Later, however, Roche hit one out of the park with another call for solutions sent to 160,000 employees over an innovation platform called InnoCentive. This call instead yielded 113 proposals, and the winning proposal took care of the problem after 60 days.
Beyond Measure is a quick read that might just spark some ideas about culture change without a replay of The Big Whine. The examples she cites are filled with mistakes and do-overs which morph into positive successes when they are brought into the daylight and allowed to be used as learning and moments of hope.
Mill Girl Verdict: a good book for quick and safe inspiration on teams and at the executive level