In my company, when someone saw a snake, he or she would stamp on it. In General Motors, when someone saw a snake they’d form a snake committee, hire a snake consultant, generate reports ….
Ross Perot quoted in Fortune magazine (15 February 1988 ‘The GM system is like a Blanket of Fog’)
What is it like in your organisation? Is it difficult to ‘stamp on snakes’?
If someone sees something which needs to be improved, what do they have to do to ensure someone takes the necessary action through to completion?
Can people who do the work improve the work? If their improvements affect others do they go and see these people themselves to sort out what to do? To what extent must all changes or improvements go through the management hierarchy?
A tip: If improvements have to go through the hierarchy in your organisation, go to a front-line area, ask the people who do the work what changes have been made recently and find out how well they worked, how long they took and what route they went through.