Doing Things Right: Take Two

In the last Tips article, I suggested that sometimes doing things right needs to matter more than doing them right now. I gave a couple suggestions and asked if any of you had ways that your organization tries to make sure you are not just giving a knee-jerk reaction to every request that comes in, but putting your learning and performance organization energy into The Right Things.

Camille Johnson of State Farm Insurance Company, ODA Training Department, suggests the following questions to help identify what is RIGHT in the first place:

• Do your ID tasks match the project objectives?
• Have you properly identified your resources: people, time, access to SMEs?
• Have you properly identified the tasks?
• Do you really need training? If the screen is properly designed, why would you need training on how to navigate the screen?
• Have you identified the proper "training"? Not every problem needs a PPT. Perhaps you only need a job aid, or a sign.

David Hyberger, Training Manager of Computer Services Inc., describes how their method of alignment helps their organization do the right things as follows:

Each year, senior management provides our corporate “Big Rocks”, 4 or 5 very broad areas of need to support the corporate strategies for the coming year. Each department then takes the Big Rocks and develops their own departmental goals that support each of the Big Rocks.

Mostly, departmental goals are created from the bottom up to enhance dedication to their successful completion. Each member of the management team is then charged with monitoring their departmental goals through to successful completion and reporting on progress twice each year. Written achievable goals, detailed action plans, realistic target dates and periodic reporting to everyone in the organization enable us to agree on a course of action to do the right things right.

Does consistently doing the right thing right make a significant difference?

Using the two examples sent in to us this week, the track record, at least financially, is exemplary. CSI has increased its cash dividend to stockholders in EACH OF 17 Years. State Farm, with more than 79,000 employees, is now the largest insurer of cars and homes, and is highly rated for financial strength.

Thanks, Camille and David, for providing additional ways to stay focused on doing the right things right.