The Evolution of SPIOT
You know the adage just as well as I do; "what gets rewarded gets repeated." But I'm here to admit that I forget how important that idea is a little more often than I care to admit. I think I forget for a variety of reasons, but where it causes me the greatest angst (now that my children are grown!), is when I inadvertently reward for bad behavior or bad processes. One reason I do might be because showing recognition or making sure that how something is done efficiently is important, but not always an "urgent" action. The crises of the day can get in the way of taking notice of a recognizable achievement, so making the effort to appreciate that accomplishment just becomes even one more thing to do. In the case of letting average to poor processes continue, well, again maybe it seems like the effort is not worth it. I know better, you know better, yet it happens.
To be the best we can be, or have our organizations be the best they can be, requires attention. What we're looking for is sustainable process improvement over time, which I recently named SPIOT - Sustainable Process Improvement Over Time. It sounds funny but I'm thinking it's a quick and easy descriptor so it can stay top of mind, which is one of the reasons we let good things pass without proper acknowledgement and bad processes prevail; we just forget. I'm thinking of creating a SPIOT meter or a SPIOT wall where the progress we make is outwardly visible to everyone. The goal would be not only to share with everyone ideas and successes, but to consciously remind ourselves that SPIOT is both measurable and contagious. The more everyone initially watches for and makes visible note of things that are going well and things people are accomplishing, the more comfortable, natural and top of mind it will become. Just think how much fun it would be to work in an environment where everyone has SPIOT as a goal. Do you think it would make the work more rewarding and in turn help the wallet and pocketbook?
I think most of what I'm referring to and hoping to accomplish through SPIOT is about pride. Pride is a powerful and useful emotion. We're proud when we have good reason to think of ourselves and our organizations as special. Pride, not boastfulness, is the emotion reflecting an increase in stature. We all like to be or be associated with things we can be proud of. It's human nature. When pride is present at work, the people involved are inspired to achieve more, communicate better and even build upon each other's skills. Believe it or not, authentic pride in yourself and others is the basis for trusting the people, and yes, even the processes you use. As I like to say, "trust is currency", particularly in this age where we are so connected through digital communication and it's harder to build it.
It's a known fact, our work environment and relationships there and at home will deteriorate without proper, timely, constant and intelligent human intervention. So as I roll out SPIOT, I think I'm going to ask those around me if we can start with it meaning Sustainable Process Improvement Over Time with a goal to move it to meaning Sustainable Pride Improvement Over Time. What do you think?
Come join our discussion on our blog or I welcome your feedback through email.
