Everyone daydreams about getting everything done that's
needed, but with little effort. Stop dreaming for a moment,
and let's create that reality instead.
With focused effort on creating 2,000 percent solutions
(ways of accomplishing 20 times more with the same time,
effort, and resources), you can turn those daydreams into
everyday results.
The steps for creating a 2,000 percent solution are listed
here:
1. Understand the importance of measuring performance.
2. Decide what to measure.
3. Identify the future best practice and measure it.
4. Implement beyond the future best practice.
5. Identify the ideal best practice.
6. Pursue the ideal best practice.
7. Select the right people and provide the right motivation.
8. Repeat the first seven steps.
This article looks at practicing to become more effective
in step six.
Think about several ways that you would like to get perfect
results with minimal effort. Then select one or more of
those opportunities to implement. In making this choice, be
sure to evaluate your organization's track record or your
personal history for successfully making similar changes
and other ways you can reduce risk.
Set Your Sights on the Stars
To select which opportunity or opportunities to pursue,
first set an objective for each of your 2,000 percent
solutions. Make the objective neither too modest nor too
aggressive. Typically, a 20 times improvement is a mere
threshold goal. You can probably reach a 40 times
improvement with little more effort.
Make sure, too, that you will frequently realize some
benefits along the way to your ultimate goal.
With those 2,000 percent solution objectives in mind, look
for the best balance of benefits, costs, resources, and
time to completion to select the 2,000 percent solution
choice or choices you should pursue for approaching an
ideal best practice.
Eenie, Meenie, Mynie, Moe
In any quest for the ideal best practice, think of at least
four possible ways to reach the goal. When attempting such
important breakthroughs, your chances of success are
greatly increased by simultaneously pursuing several
planning paths. Otherwise, a stumble on one path blocks the
whole project.
Studies have also shown that if you design four ways to do
something, the final cost will usually be about a third
less than if you design only one way. If instead you find
eight ways of doing something, costs will come down even
more, but only by a maximum of an additional 15 percent.
There is a point of diminishing returns on designing
alternate plans, but you probably will run out of good
ideas before you reach that limit.
I recommend that you begin with and focus on the simplest
approaches. This direction will limit false starts and save
much time and money.
Benefit Along the Way
Choose to gain benefits every six months or so. These
progress steps will keep project participants from becoming
bored and those who are funding the project encouraged.
What's a reasonable target? In most cases, you should be
able to make at least a 10-fold improvement in six months
or less. The exceptions come in areas that require
extensive software development.
With this approach to targeting regular benefits, you'll
keep morale high, everyone will be excited about
implementing more improvements, and you'll avoid biting off
more than you can chew.
Copyright 2007 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved
----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of six books including The 2,000 Percent Squared
Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, and The 2,000 Percent
Solution Workbook. You can find free tips for accomplishing
20 times more by registering at:
=========> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .
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