2. The Prerequisites for Dramatic Improvement

Get these three often-neglected things right and dramatic improvement is guaranteed. Skip on them and it’s nearly impossible.

outcome_solution-change

There are three essential prerequisites for dramatic improvement:

  1. Clarity on what outcome we’re seeking.
  2. A breakthrough solution that will ensure the outcome.
  3. A reliable way to change from the old solution to the new one.

If we get these right, dramatic improvement is guaranteed: If we don’t, it’s close to impossible.

Look at any previous attempt you’ve been party to that has under-delivered: I bet you’ll find that at least one of these prerequisites was missing or inadequate.

Just common sense?

Maybe, but it’s not that common.  The problem is that getting clarity and alignment on these three things is far from easy – so we give ourselves a free pass: and then are surprised when the results are disappointing!

Without these three things, dramatic improvement is impossible.

Think about your situation
  1. Are you clear and of one mind on the outcome you’re seeking?  Do you know exactly what you’re seeking and by when?  Do you know exactly how you will know whether you’ve achieved it or not?  Is the outcome dramatically better and more worthwhile than what you’re currently getting and expecting?
  2. Will your solution guarantee the outcome?  Do you have a breakthrough solution?  Is its success the most likely outcome?  If a solution isn’t counter-intuitive in some way, it’s probably not going to deliver dramatic improvement: is yours counter-intuitive enough?
  3. Will your new solution be embraced and implemented quickly and easily?  Change is extremely hard, both individually and collectively: is your change framework biased enough towards success?  Is successful implementation more likely than it has been until now?
Something interesting

The three prerequisites are interrelated and feed off each other.  Clarity on one feeds clarity on the others.

For example, if we enhance and simplify the solution, it will probably shed more light on the outcome – and have an impact on implementation.

We’ll discuss this in a future post – the ramifications are amazing!

Get an immediate benefit

Even taking a quick stab at each of these elements will improve your chances of success; Being rigorous and relentless about it, will improve those chances even more.

But what I’ll be sharing with you shortly will give you a whole new perspective and put you in a whole new league: it’s easier than you might think!