“No man ever reached to excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation.”
– Horace, Roman poet and thought leader
Throughout this year, we have explored the signs of operational effectiveness. These signs provide a benchmark to evaluate the effectiveness of your organization. Those signs include:
- Creating consistency: of processes, messaging, standardized terminology …. the list is vast on the value of consistency
- Effective communication: among Staff, with Customers, in messaging, in marketing, in documented communication
- Setting clearly defined priorities: knowing what is most important will guide the focus of the organization
- Building repeatable processes: a foundation for sustainability and growth
- Documenting your processes: positions an organization for unlimited possibilities
- Happy customers: without them, there is no organization
- Mitigating risks: reduces failure, delays, confusion, and prepares for future opportunities
- Establishing project management methodologies: the execution of any initiative or project becomes more probable when there is structure, risk assessment, clearly defined expectations, ongoing communication, and a defined timeline for success
- Providing tools to build knowledge and skills for Staff: this is needed to strengthen the value your Staff brings to the organization and reduces knowledge loss when Staff leave
- Exceptional quality: hard to achieve, but creates long-standing rewards
As we pause at year-end and reflect on those signs listed above, may we suggest you consider those areas where your organization excels and where there is room for improvement. Think about performing a self-assessment of each area (or hire a firm like Aldridge Kerr to assist you with the assessment) to establish a baseline. This will better position your organization for those opportunities for improvement in 2024.