DailyKaizen

I’ve been involved in some improvement event planning where the question comes up, implicitly and explicitly : how much work do we do before we do the work?

The way I pose the question above reveals my inherent bias. I have to admit, I am a fan of “just-in-time.” I think some of this is bred into physicians when they train. A patient might experience it as, “Go ahead and make an appointment to see me and we’ll figure it out then.” It’s the way the health care system is set up - acute, episodic care.

When I am thinking of working with a cross-functional team on a project, I go to the same place - “Let’s get in the room and we’ll figure it out then.” At the same time, when those who get in the room are unprepared, there are negative impacts.

I predict that this will be a constant tension. I will predictably be in the “prepare less, focus more” camp. I plan to be proven incorrect more than a few times, and to adjust and learn accordingly….

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed