Have you ever attended or had an employee attend a seminar to learn the latest methods only to come back to work and never use the new information? Have you embarked on a Lean journey only to find a few years later that the methods are not sticking or have not provided the desired results? Have you toured other companies to see how they do things only to return to your company and never see real change? Having the knowledge is not enough to create an Action Imperative; you have to act.
There are two vital disciplines to creating an Action Imperative. One is to take action by applying what you’ve learned, and the other is to create an ongoing pattern of action.
Leading the Charge
The best leaders know how to motivate their followers to act. Some great generals get action through orders while others lead from the front. Sometimes the goal itself is the necessary incentive, other times it is command and control that does it. A strong vision can create the goal or dream that motives people to act, but without action, nothing gets accomplished.
A Habit of Action
A discreet action is not enough to create a sustainable pattern of activity. Without repeated action over time, the change process will grind to a halt. The second law of thermodynamics says that any system that is not improving will sink into chaos.
From Habit to Culture
Companies that can transform single actions into habits will be able to sustain a change effort in the long term. Repeating the action and measuring results to instill accountability will help turn actions into habits and habits into culture. An action imperative yields sustainable results.
© 2011 – Rick Pay – All Rights Reserved
