“Do nothing” – a sensible management strategy.

I enjoyed a short article “Waiting as a change strategy” http://t.co/L0N7CUX by @markwfoden and it made me think about a phrase that often trips off my tongue: “Do nothing, at least in the first instance” is very often the right response for managers to events occurring in their companies.

I’m referring in particular to the way people typically react to performance data, though it also applies more generally in a conceptual sense. You can imagine the person compiling this month’s figures coming into your office saying ”You’re not going to like this, boss. We’re worse 9% on last month”. Then, in today’s high-pressure world, you feel yourself instinctively reacting with “well don’t just stand there, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!”

And the source of this panic-type reaction is that we are not generally taught about how numbers behave in the world of key performance indicators and understanding process capability. Most often the ups and downs of performance life are due to the natural variability of the process or system in question. Trouble is, by reacting in the manner described, the likelihood is that somebody will be found to blame for the downturn, or some immediate remedy is sought to ensure that the numbers will turn in the better direction next time. If the ups and downs are due to natural variation, then blame seeking and silver-bullet remedies will merely add to the waste already in the system. Indeed, it will make real improvement even more difficult as people seek to distort the numbers so that the witch-hunt is avoided next time.

On the other hand, with an understanding of natural variation and how to interpret the numbers using process behaviour charts, the instinctive managerial reaction changes dramatically. “Don’t just do something – STAND THERE!” And then in a rather softer tone – “Think about it. This month’s figure is within the range of variation we expect from this system. If it’s not as good we would like it to be, what do we have to do to work together to change the system of work and achieve the improvement we desire on a sustained and ongoing basis?”

This is an enormous change in management style, emanating from a much better understanding of statistics. “Do nothing” is a bit of a misnomer, I admit. Perhaps “Do nothing before engaging brain” would be more accurate. In fact, you’ll have already done something way before the monthly figures are out. You would have been using your process behaviour chart for months beforehand, and therefore have a powerful predictor of what the monthly (weekly/daily/hourly) figure is going to be so it’s unlikely to be a surprise.

And on the odd occasion when the number is outside the expected range of variation, you’ll be on-hand in real time to know for sure “Something has truly happened differently. Let’s go and find out what’s going on whilst the conditions that created the difference are likely to be still around.