What do you do when your Balanced Scorecard/Dashboard light is red? Most companies react by scrambling a team, with good intentions, to fix the issue but fail to realize appropriate results. Has your Chief Performance Officer evaluated the right improvement tools? How many methods does your company use: one, two, or many?

In researching Baldrige, APQC, Deming, and Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame award winners, one thing is for sure: They have picked “1” approach and it has become internalized throughout the company. For instance, while advising GE, the executive team selected “Six Sigma” (6S) to drive results. Granted, we had white, green, and black belt gradations of competency, but THE method was 6S and everyone knew it and internalized it.

On the other hand, Baldrige winner Bronson Methodist Hospital adopted the far easier 4-step Plan, Do, Check, and Act (PDCA). However, all employees were trained on its value and practical use.

Still again, at Crown Castle International, the culture was more suited for a method somewhere in between 6S and PDCA. We adopted the “10-Step Continuous Improvement” method to drive incredible stock price, customer, process, and people results. This simpler method mimics 6S and laid the foundation for later adoption of 6S as the organization matured.

So, what are you using? Have you decided? It is time to get into the game with “1” way to get started! ###