Doing check means literally digging up an organisation and looking at it as a system, warts and all. It is an unusual thing to do from two points of view:
Firstly, managers rarely take a look at what governs performance today in any systematic way (opinions are easily found, ….knowledge is rare). Deming reminded us that experience is not the same as knowledge.
Secondly, managers are usually not familiar with what it means to look at an organisation as a system. They have generally been conditioned by an ‘internal, functional’ view of their organisation.
Conducting ‘check’ improves the manager’s ability to successfully manage change.
It is vitally important to understand what the organisation is achieving and why, before embarking on a programme of change.