How to make your business Pandemic Tolerant (3)

Identifying the outcomes that will make the difference you want to make become a reality.

In the last few years, my wife Sue, and I have started some remodelling of our house.  Our kitchen furniture had been installed by the previous occupants of our house and they had made a lovely family environment that has suited us very well.  However, it is now starting to show signs of wear and our circumstances have changed.  We also needed to have our garage rebuilt since there were some structural issues that needed dealing with before it collapsed.  

While we were remodelling our kitchen and garage we would be able to accommodate some changes to address the shortcomings of the previous version.  The kitchen had some floor tiles missing where there had originally been a fireplace, and that had been replaced with painted concrete and covered up with carpets.  These could now be replaced with some additional quarry tiles to match the originals used when the house was built in 1906 that were going to be retained.  The electrical wiring didn’t provide the sockets and lighting facilities we needed, and we would be able to incorporate the changes we needed as part of the refit and re-plastering of the walls that would be necessary.   

The old garage was wide enough for cars made when it was built but not for today's vehicle designs, so since it had to be rebuilt anyway we had it built longer and wider so that it could accommodate today’s more modern vehicles, and in particular my Ford Ranger Pickup Truck.  

In the remodelling, we wanted to retain the same style, feel and layout to stay in keeping with the original design of the property, however, we also wanted to incorporate features that addressed the shortcomings we knew were there and also facilitated the needs presented by today’s world that had been absent when it was built.  

Outcomes that make a difference

PRIZE Winning Leadership is all about helping difference-makers make a difference.  As the world around us changes the means by which we make a difference may change, however, the difference we want to make will stay largely the same.  From time to time it’s necessary to take stock of the changes happening in the world around us and to reevaluate our business delivery model in order to remain viable as these changes unfold while keeping our Vision, Mission and Values intact.

The changes in life and lifestyle include the direct and indirect effects of this current pandemic with the move to working more flexibly and remotely while seeking to maintain personal wellbeing, along with the other changes that were already moving us towards an environmentally sustainable future and renewable fuel sources, and to equality and equal opportunity in all its forms.

Every system is perfectly designed

to get the results it gets.

~ The W. Edwards Deming Institute.

PRIZE Winning Leadership uses a Theory of Change Model that starts by understanding the difference an organisation sets out to achieve, and what makes it different.  It examines the premise that 'every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets’.  This statement from Edwards Deming helps us understand that both the intended consequences and the unintended consequences are a result of our systems; how we do what we do.  

Using a really helpful series of proven analysis tools we identify and articulate the difference that a difference-maker wants to make, then we break that down into the differentiators, and then to the outcomes that will produce the differentiators that will make the difference.

An outcome is defined as something that follows as a result or consequence (Merriam-Webster) or the situation that exists at the end of an activity or process (Collins), so the objective here is to identify the outcomes that will make the difference that the difference-maker wants to make.  

Outcomes and Outputs

The difference between an output and an outcome is that the output is something we’ve done, while the outcome is the lasting, enduring result of something we've done.  Outputs are the features, outcomes are the benefits.  An output is obtaining a qualification, an outcome is getting a good job.  An output is playing a piece of music, an outcome is hearing the applause from the audience and getting rebooked.  

The output from rebuilding our garage is a new, wider and longer garage that my truck can fit into.  The outcome is that I can keep it out of the weather during the winter so that it will be less likely to deteriorate and therefore last longer giving better value for money, and that it is kept out of sight so that it is less likely to be stolen.  

The outputs of a new kitchen are a new layout with new flooring, cupboards, appliances and work surfaces, and redesigned electrical fittings and outlets to provide power and lighting where we need them.  The outcome is a new feel to the kitchen that retains the original character while bringing a smile to Sue’s face whenever she walks into the room.

Having identified these outcomes then the rest of the process works through identifying the outputs that will produce the outcomes, the activities that will produce the outputs, and the resources that will be needed to complete the activities.  

In my next blog posts, I’ll be looking at prioritising and planning the activities that will make the outputs happen so that the difference you want to make is realised, and then at using the PRIZE Productivity Planner to make that happen.