Which improvement system is best?

Jul 1, 2016

All of these are powerful approaches in the right environments. When you really look at the principles behind many of these methods you will find lots of alignment (and maybe an overdose of academic positioning!)

It is easy for those closest to these fields of work to get quite embroiled in the merits of one against the other but to me this seems futile. In the wider arena of change and transformation they are simply tools to be applied in the right circumstances. This can be like being asked to compare the merits of different tools in a toolbox without understanding the requirement. Is a saw better than a screwdriver for home improvement? Impossible to answer without knowing what the improvement work requires.

Selecting the right tools needs to be part of your improvement system

A great improvement programme will deliver the effect the business needs as described in the business strategy or deployed policy. It should.

  • Engage people across the business in understanding and delivering the business goals
  • Deliver breakthrough improvement in the right areas
  • Encourage and deliver localised daily improvement and problem solving
  • Do this in the easiest way by applying the right tools at the right time

So the answer becomes a fairly obvious one in the end.  When we understand the goals of the business and the areas that require improvement or breakthrough change, then we can decide how to build an improvement system and the methods required to carry out the task.