I have a saying, “You win some or you learn something…in either case you get a prize!” Often, the prize of greater value is what is learned! I am finding that within companies and organizations, the lessons learned and acted upon, have set the stage for a better future and sadly, for others, the lessons not learned are going to play significantly in those futures also. Covid, was and remains a threat and a challenge. It is also a great learning opportunity. Until Covid is totally subdued, not unlike the “Black Plague” or Polio, it is an opportunity to learn some amazing things. This is what I have learned.
Learning
We learn for three reasons:
To confirm what we know and do is functional.
To alter our behavior to reduce risk related to decisions and actions.
To share what we know with others to assist them in the confirmation or alteration of their decisions and behaviors.
The Covid Experience
It is interesting how something that is microscopically small can disrupt the world like it did! The advent of the Covid pandemic stalled the economy globally, killed people, and altered the way a majority lived. There were numerous variations on survival adaptations of societies around the world. Not one of the adaptations proved totally effective. In response to that inability, the emphasis on developing and releasing a vaccine moved to the forefront. Emergency protocols met, two vaccines were released, and distribution began. The world breathed a sigh of relief. Then vaccinations lagged promises and expectations. Now virologists and scientists around the world have identified a variant that has adapted to our measures related to social distancing, masks and even the vaccines themselves and threatens to begin this cycle again. Humanity with all its science and technology has yet to conquer this microscopic menace!
Our world has changed. The economy has faltered. Seemingly stable companies and organizations disappeared. Many more companies and organizations are just treading water. Unemployment has risen. The educational system has become ineffective. Quietly, governments are threatened. From the perspective of what we had to today, it is nothing but gloom and doom. Those that adhere to the school of optimism say, “That which does not kill you, can only make you stronger!” The pessimists say, “That which does not kill you, can only make you suffer!” These perspectives are “polar”, yet both are true and are necessary to understand and respond appropriately to the current environment. Those who have adapted, most effectively to the situation hold to the motto, “It is what it is!” and they respond according to the current challenges.
The Common Thread
As distanced as each of those perspectives appear, there is a common and unspoken theme among each. It is learning and acting upon the acquired information leads to survival. Another thread running perpendicular to that first theme is that surviving is that best one can hope for in the current environment. To thrive individuals, companies and organizations will need to take on a new mindset and reinvent themselves.
What Have We Learned?
In discussion with various business leaders and business owners, I asked, “What have you learned from Covid.” Here are some of the common responses:
People’s true nature shows when they must react to what they believe is a crisis.
he dedicated and loyal individuals step up and do what is rational, with “risk” considered.
Many were looking for unreasonable accommodations, such as not working and still receiving pay.
We were ill-prepared for what happened.
“Remote work” was a failure.
Our educational system failed miserably.
Technology cannot fix everything; it is just part of an adaptive situation.
We were not as adaptive as we thought we were.
It was expected that we became tolerant of unacceptable behavior and attitude.
·Most companies lacked effective disaster planning that would address problems like these.
We are hoping that it goes back to how it was.
We have not prepared for situations like Covid in the future.
Our current processes need to be reviewed.
The bottom line to all the discussions was that we were blind-sided and ill-prepared to adapt to the changes. Other comments included that we were too ingrained in the way things were being done and could not adapt.
The Future
Situations like Covid have been added to the challenges in the “New Normal”. Organizations and companies that can quickly adapt to changes in the environment, the economy, the workforce, and the market will be the ones that will survive, and a few will thrive based on how well they
“Be prepared!” is a powerful set of marching orders. Companies and organizations need to broaden the number of scenarios. Having learned lessons from Covid, the awareness of other things happening that are also “out of one’s control” is particularly important.
The Cii Business Process Management System (BPM) expands planning by first segmenting process control into three separate plans:
The Management Plan which identifies what is important is everything is the same.
The Reaction Plan which directs those within the process how to act in relation to variation of inputs and/or environmental conditions that affect the production or service output.
The Disaster Recovery Plan which directs those who need to respond to conditions and situations in which any regular production or service cannot be conducted.
Many companies and services have disaster recovery plans, but they are far from comprehensive enough to meet their true needs. Other leaders told me that they initiated their plans, but they were never tested, and no one knew what to really do.
What a BPM?
BPM or Business Process Management is a methodology that documents, measures and controls process and service performance. It is the foundation of a company or organization. It also sets the stage for any advanced Process Improvement initiative such as Lean or Six Sigma. The Cii BPM methodology is created in three parts:
Map – Complete documentation of the process or service which helps ensure consistency of performance, when followed.
Measure – The creation, accumulation and display of data that is critical to consistent performance and the identification errors before they affect the customer.
Manage – Development of the three separate and comprehensive plans, noted earlier, to ensure continuous performance and improvement.
A BPM system is often developed when new processes or systems are implemented. Companies and organizations that recognize that any, every process that they have is “new”, under the new “rules of engagement” created by Covid. It pays big dividends to those who take the opportunity to start anew or validate that “what is being done” is, “what will work the best.”
We have learned and confirmed many things because of Covid entering our “normal”. Covid has already left a proverbial scar that will not disappear. We are only part-way through this learning curve. I liken this current situation to more than a single curve. It will be a time of twists and turns! Having a process in place, like BPM, that has a sole purpose of monitoring and adapting to what is thrown at your company or organization will lower the risk that what you have is more than a memory.
Phillip C. Reinke,
Founder and President of The Continuous Improvement Institute.
After 30 years of successful organizational transformation from “ground up” and performance improvement in Fortune 100 companies such as General Electric, First Data Corporation, Western Union, BankOne/First of Chicago, National City Bank and Washington Post/Kaplan Higher Education, Phil set out to share his experience with a broader audience of companies that could not afford to fully deploy the highly demanded and much needed, Six Sigma culture.
Contact: (954) 839-8477 I phil@thecii.com