Saturday, August 16, 2014

The 3 "A's" of Quality and Business Performance


A sound strategy, the ability to execute, and a skilled workforce are some of the things an organization needs to achieve high business performance and quality.  Once that is achieved is when the real challenge starts, though.  It’s not good enough to just attain high performance and quality, an organization must continuously improve in order to stay competitive.  A key to doing this is to focus on a few critical aspects of the business; employee engagement and capability growth.  Here's a method I use with my teams:

Work together to find how people can maximize their contributions.  Look for activities that intersect these three points:
  • Aspiration - what motivates you, what you enjoy
  • Aptitude - what you are good at
  • Aim - what the business needs to get done, the goals of the business
This works because engagement and value are created at these intersections.  When you do work you enjoy, work you’re good at, and it is work the business needs to get done, the stage is set for business performance and quality to grow.

How do you find the intersections?  Sometimes, they’re easy to find; they’re obvious or you get lucky and stumble into one.  Other times, you're going to have to invest some energy and maybe even change how you operate.  Do these three things to find the intersections:
  • Observe - be patient, observe objectively and constantly
  • Develop Rapport – take a break from titles and org charts
  • Listen – listen actively, set aside agendas and personal ambitions
Make this a practice.  Allow it to work for your teams and the results will follow.

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