I always try to look for the opportunity in tough situations. We are certainly in a tough situation right now, but I have tried to look at it as an opportunity to improve upon current practices. Many are having to make a swift transition to remote or virtual programming, but that does not mean there is any real innovation or process improvement. That is what I would like to talk about here.

The first time I dealt with the idea of having to rapidly create change was in 2008/2009 as a result of the Great Recession. My organization had a massive budget reduction, so I was asked to review my department’s entire portfolio and then provide recommendations to cut costs. The way I looked at the challenge was how to maintain or even improve upon current practices while reducing or eliminating costs – a search for innovative solutions. By operating with that mindset, it forced me to look at process improvement and understand what current funds were actually ‘buying’ – what value was actually being received for spending that money. The result of that process was an exciting set of improvements that stayed with the department long after our budget returned to normal levels. That exercise made a lasting impression on me and the lessons learned in the process still influence my current approach to innovation and process improvement.

In today’s crisis, as a result of the novel coronavirus, many businesses are not just quickly, but immediately, having to change how they operate. My own organization is having to make the transition, so I have been faced with a similar set of challenges as I did 11/12 years ago.

Below are the steps I take when needing to improve and change my current practices:

• Start from the beginning: Write out your process in as much detail as possible – using a workflow diagram can be very helpful. Think about how and why everything is done. What are the aspects that could be improved? Play devil’s advocate and come up with alternatives that would provide the same or better results.
• Follow the money: Where in the process is money (or time) being spent – either directly or indirectly? What value is being received from that expenditure? Is it worth it? Are there other ways to receive the same results, but with less money (or time)?
• Ask the people: Who are the key stakeholders involved along the entire process? How do they influence the process? Take the time to interview all of the key stakeholders to get their understanding of the process, recommendations they have, and connect what they state to the time and money put into the process. End-users can be particularly important as their value expectation should weigh most heavily.
• What else is out there: Are there other groups inside or outside of your organization doing something similar? Try to look at their process and learn if some of that process would benefit what you do.
• Putting it all together to innovate: Armed with all of this new information, lay out what you think the new process could look like – even listing some different alternatives for each step along the way. Again, a workflow diagram will be helpful with this. Then get some feedback from relevant stakeholders to find out what they think. Where are the gaps? What did you miss? Then insert the new feedback and create a final first draft.
• Test it out: Where possible, test something in a small way to verify it works as desired and then adjust as needed. Once ready, implement the process with less time and money being spent.

This is the process that I use and try to keep to it as much as possible when analyzing a process. With so many people now working remotely, shifting to virtual platforms, cutting out travel, and canceling programs, there is tremendous opportunity to reevaluate, overhaul, innovate, and improve current practices and processes to – hopefully – be more effective and more efficient.

What are the ways you or your organization are innovating?

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