Plan, Do, Check, Act…and Win!
| by Steve Flick | ||||
The 2010 Winter Olympic Games begin in earnest tomorrow, February 13. (The overhyped, overwrought opening ceremony doesn’t count.) Alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, the biathlon, ice hockey, luge, speed skating, short-track skating, ski jumping…and that’s just the first day!
Some Olympic records – and a few world records – will be broken over the course of the next two weeks. You watch these athletes perform and you marvel at their power, their endurance, their finesse.
How do they do it? What makes them so special? Are they that different from you and me? Are they superhuman? No, not really. They’re just like you and me…well, maybe not now. But we all start out on equal footing.
The big difference? With a few exceptions, the athletes got their start fairly early in life. And almost from the day they laced up a pair of skates or strapped on skis, they had an ambitious, long-range goal – to be a pro, maybe even the next Wayne Gretzky or Herman Maier.
Mom and Dad encouraged and helped them. Their parents, and then their coaches, made up their plan. They knew that to get the big goal, these future stars had to accomplish a lot of smaller goals, and they had to do it in stepwise fashion.
The plan included competition, proper nutrition, and physical and mental training. Their coaches checked their performance in training and competitions. They analyzed the athlete’s performance, noted where they were reaching those small goals and where they weren’t, and revised the plan accordingly. Then, they executed the revised plan to improve performance.
They repeated this stepwise plan over and over until they reached their big goal, whether that was turning pro, making the Olympic team, making it to the medal round, or standing on the podium at the medal ceremony.
Think about that. They made a plan, executed it, checked their progress, and improved incrementally. What does that remind you of?
If you thought “Deming Cycle”, you’re right. Plan, do, check, and act — just like your organization should be doing (if it isn’t already). Your organization is just like that Olympic athlete. Improvement doesn’t happen overnight. It happens in stages, over time, following a plan.
Consider this:Â What are your goals for the short and long term? Do you have a plan to get there? Are you satisfied with your performance? More importantly, are your customers?
How do you get better? What will it take to make your firm stand out from the rest – to get to the Games, to the medal round, and maybe even the gold, silver, or bronze?
Are you monitoring and analyzing your performance in order to improve? Are you looking for overnight success, or are you looking for incremental improvement over time? Do you adjust your plan when you don’t meet your goals?
Enjoy the Games. And remember, as you’re watching the long hill jump – seeing that ski jumper glide down the ramp, pick up speed, then hurtle the length of a football pitch before touching down gently (we hope). Remember that it started with a plan…
So, what’s your favorite event at the Winter Games? Who’s your favorite athlete? Will they have to truck in snow? (Sounds like somebody had a plan.)
Categories:
Strategy
Tags:
PDCA • process improvement • process review
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Originally published in 2010 by Bizmanualz, Inc. under the title Plan, Do, Check, Act…and Win!. All rights reserved. Reproduction permitted with attribution only. www.bizmanualz.com
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