This past week I wrote, if you have a resolution, make it anytime during the year. Yesterday, I met with a dear friend, Toni Allison of the non-profit Knowledge for Success. We spent almost two hours brainstorming and writing down how we can improve the keystone class New Quest. Both Toni and I are both passionate about continuous improvement, so it was both fun and insightful.
Background
New Quest is a program is designed for individuals wanting to start their own business and/or small business entities with less than three (3) years in business. It’s purpose is to develop their entrepreneurial potential, while providing 42 hours of in-depth training from Business Development Specialists who are professionals and/or experienced business owners in their respective fields. I am a part of the Knowledge for Success team.
Objective
The training goal at Knowledge for Success is simply to help people become successful and achieve their dreams. We (perhaps me more so) were getting wrapped around the axle. We were having difficulty understanding why students weren’t comprehending the concept of blog posting, creation and their value statements. Then we went to “why”.
Assessment
W. Edwards Demings said that 80% of all problems in the workplace can be attributed to management. As a member of the team, I had to take ownership of my own shortcomings.
It has been said if you ask “why” six times, you’ll come to or get close to the root cause of a problem. That’s what we did.
While writing down the answers to the “whys”, we had an Ah Ha! moment. What she and I naturally take for granted, we were not emphasizing. We found a root cause!
Plan
Deming and Walter Shewhart gave us the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle. Plan a change. Do the change. Check to ensure the change gave you the predicted outcome. Act on the results by refining or implementing. Our plan was written down. We wrote our expected outcomes and in her upcoming February 17, 2010 class we will start to measure those outcomes.
For me, I am excited. Anytime you can improve a process that helps with the customer experience is time well spent.
What have you and/or your team worked on recently where you expect a better 2011 customer experience?
Jon Perry is the CEO of Merchant Services Inc and Managing Partner at Rebel Without Applause LLC. He is a speaker, writer and columnist. You can connect with Jon on LinkedIn, follow him on Twitter or learn more about him on Facebook Profile or Facebook Business.
