The Process Of Quicker Change

I meet with a lot of Leaders that are looking for ways to create Change more quickly.

Whether it is to fix problems that are occurring or to create that ever-elusive Innovation.

For organizations to Thrive and Flourish, it will always be necessary to figure out the best ways to Change.

But how do we actually go about "doing" that?

The good news is that it's actually a very straight-forward process.

Document

The first thing you need to do is Document.

Ideally, you will Document as much as you are able.

• Problems
• Ideas
• Interests
• Curiosities
• Knowledge

The idea here is that you want as much data as you can get.

The more data, the more possibilities begin to open up.

Data reveals Patterns that allow you to see new ways to move forward.

When you don't have the Data, it is hard to know anything for sure.

You may have "inklings" of ideas, but without the Data it becomes difficult to cement anything.

Question

With your Documentation, you then need to start asking Questions.

• What is similar about the Problems?
• What is needed for this Idea?
• Could these Interests be applied anywhere?
• Is there something deeper to understand with this Curiosity?
• What Knowledge am I missing, and where could I get it?

There are significantly more questions you could ask here, some that may become more relevant to your specific situation.

The point of asking Questions though is not to answer them, at least not immediately.

Asking questions purposefully is activating our Pattern Recognition systems in our Psychology.

This can be a powerful tool to drive Flow States.

The more Data you have, the more Questions you can ask.

The more Questions, the more options you gain.

Ideate

Once you have great Questions, the next step is to start coming up with "Potential" answers, or Ideate.

The point here is not to have a perfect answer.

Rather, you want to come up with as many possible Ideas around the Questions as possible.

The better your Questions, the better Ideas you will have.

The more you Ideate, the better Ideas you will begin to have.

Great Ideas are rarely generated after the "first" Idea.

For context, it is claimed that Thomas Edison had to go through over 1,000 prototypes (aka Ideas) before getting the Lightbulb to be commercially viable.

What typically occurs is that Ideas will generate even more Ideas.

It's a process of the Brain.

You often need to go through a few "bad" Ideas before you begin to get to the REALLY good ideas.

Ideation is a process, a way of thinking.

The more you do it, the better it gets.

Choose

Once you have a lot of Ideas, you then need to choose one.

The key here is not to get caught up asking if this is "the absolute best, perfect solution of all time?"

Often, there is a difference between theory and practice simply because there are variables outside our current knowledge.

So we shouldn't pick based on "perfect".

We need to pick based on the current "best" given our current "Knowledge".

It may end up being a great Idea!

It also may end up being a terrible Idea!

Both are actually great!

Whether the result is good or terrible (or something in between), it is new Data that will aid us going forward!

Follow-Up

Once you have chosen an Idea, and put effort into it, you need to Follow Up.

• Did it work?
• How well?
• Did it Fail?
• Why?
• Was there anything we missed?
• What else could aid us in getting closer to the goal?

The Follow-Up gets you back into this cycle again, creating new Data to Document.

For faster Change and Innovation, you need to go as broad as you can (More Data, Questions, and Ideas), as quickly as you can.

The more broad and quicker you go through this process, the faster you will find better ways to Change and Innovate.

However, if you miss any part of this cycle, you will be missing critical aspects for Success.

Without Documenting, it becomes difficult to see any existing patterns.

Without Questioning, you will make assumptions with limited understanding.

Without Ideating, you will jump too quickly into bad Ideas and run out of Ideas quickly (which will impact your Focus and worsen your Psychology around Change and Innovation).

Without Choosing, you will become stuck in Limbo, without Data to help you and without Progress.

Without a Follow-Up, you will make assumptions and will fail to get back into this process.