I was asked to summarize some aspects of Human Interaction Management for a research report by a major consulting company. Readers of this blog may find my response useful, so here it is.
Added Value of HIM
Often, the output of a workshop is nothing more than a 1-page
diagram. Many people find it incredibly helpful just to have a simple
way of understanding what is going on - this alone can be enough to transform the way they work, and help them to deliver huge value to their organization.
TAKE AWAY
In the 20th century, competitive pressure led to the transformation of routine work via Scientific Management, Statistical Quality Control and Total Quality Management.
In the 21st century, competitive pressure will lead to the transformation of human-driven work via (I believe) HIM and GOOD.
It is a new age, in all sorts of ways, and organizations must make radical changes if they wish to prosper. Fortunately, the changes are straightforward, and benefit everyone involved. It is an exciting time.
For more information, see the HIM Web site.
Added Value of HIM
Pareto's law tells us that the 20% of "exceptional cases" account
for 80% of the costs - but it does not tell us why. To discover why,
and deal with it, one must appreciate that "exceptional cases" are not
exceptional at all. They are the norm, since they occur all the time - further, they are what truly test your business practices.
To deal with the "long tail" - i.e., to operate efficiently and effectively in a globalized economy - one must abandon the hopeful notion that business processes can be defined once then run thousands of times with only minor change. One must create an operational environment in which change is not only possible, but structured, encouraged and aligned with strategic objectives.
This means taking a much richer view of "process" - a view in which people, communication channels, knowledge, time and plans are all managed along with the activities that are more easily visible - across multiple domains that include not only you and all your trading partners but also your customers. Bottom-up empowerment is not enough. Top-down control is not enough. You need an enterprise management framework that supports both, at the same time, using the same approach.
Consider some typical human-driven processes:
- A bid to build a new range of aircraft;
- A joint venture to expand operations into a new region;
- The acquisition of a former competitor;
- Development of the new look for a product;
- Creation of a marketing campaign;
- Management of hundreds of software engineers;
- Response to emergencies;
- ...
HIM improves the efficiency of such processes, by allowing
organizations to reduce or eliminate the estimated 28% of knowledge
worker time that is currently wasted due to poor control of human
interactions. However, the primary concern in such processes is to succeed,
from the perspective of the customers, vendors, and individuals taking
part. HIM goes further than cost and time reduction - HIM improves
knowledge worker effectiveness. By showing people the context
in which they are working, and the value they are expected to deliver,
HIM allows knowledge workers to use their skills and experience tomake informed choices about the actions they take and the resources they
use.
Potential Bottlenecks of Implementing HIM
To encourage success, you must empower people to work as
well as possible - to use the skills that they were originally hired
for. HIM, and the accompanying method GOOD, create organizations based
on negotiation and trust rather than on rules and control.
This does not mean abandoning hierarchical management!
Rather, the approach allows each level of management to do what it does
best:
- The board can define strategies;
- Executives can create routes forward that implement the strategies;
- Managers can implement the routes.
However, senior people often feel it is dangerous to
empower people - that people may go off at tangents, or abuse the
system. This is the main obstacle to organizational transformation via
HIM.
To overcome this obstacle, it is necessary to explain how HIM is a
systems approach with feedback loops that actually make such
organizations more reliably focused on results. HIM and GOOD not only
make more dynamic organizations - they make organizations that perform
better, and act more safely.
Best Implementation Route for HIM
The initial step in adopting HIM is to hold workshops in which the organization discovers the processes that:
- Cause most pain to it, its customers, and its staff
- Offer most potential for transformation.
For this purpose, I find a combination of techniques useful.
These techniques are lightweight - a day or two is enough to discover
the areas that need immediate attention. Then GOOD can be used on
those areas to apply HIM.
TAKE AWAY
In the 20th century, competitive pressure led to the transformation of routine work via Scientific Management, Statistical Quality Control and Total Quality Management.
In the 21st century, competitive pressure will lead to the transformation of human-driven work via (I believe) HIM and GOOD.
It is a new age, in all sorts of ways, and organizations must make radical changes if they wish to prosper. Fortunately, the changes are straightforward, and benefit everyone involved. It is an exciting time.
For more information, see the HIM Web site.
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