The only way that we get better is assessment. As the world of marketing is always changing, we never arrive. We can always do something more efficiently, with more impact, with better collaboration, or with better outcomes.
To get at how to continuously improve, it’s important to assess projects and find ways to make them better. I borrowed this concept from a friend, and I have now used it for years to help build such a culture among teams.
This is merely a tool to help the entire team use the same language and explore how to improve projects. I like it because it takes out the person, so I find people don’t feel as though their worth or their value to a project gets questioned because it looks more at the processes that can be improved.
Here’s How It Works
Begin with Norms – I always start with a reminder of norms that everyone brings value, so improvement also has value to the process. It’s not an attack on anyone or their efforts. Instead, it’s a strategic look on how we can all be better.
Stop – When assessing a project, begin with the things that didn’t go well. What are the things we should stop doing to make the project go better for everyone? This usually steers more at process hiccups that impede success. At first people are usually really timid to share stops, so as the leader, you may have to step up and offer a few things you’ve noticed to help get the conversation going.
Start – What are the things we should start doing? This is may favorite part. It opens up the team for lots of brainstorming about the project. This I find is where projects can go from good to great because when everyone on the team knows their ideas matter, there are lots of really good ideas that come to light during this part of the conversation. Additionally, when the culture of assessment kicks in, these conversations begin to happen throughout the entire process. I have more than once reminded someone to write the great idea down for our stop/start/continue time.
Continue – What are the things that need to stay the same? I like this one because often times we don’t mention the things that worked well. They get forgotten. To me, this helps to honor the parts that worked and the efforts people put into those items. Highlighting these also helps the team to end on a positive note by denoting all of the aspects of the project that worked well and went according to plan. It would be easy sometimes to skip over this section, and I think that is a missed opportunity.
How to Start
The best way to begin this process is to select the thing you want to review and mention it to the team who works on the project. Then, give the team about a week to gather their thoughts. That’s important to make sure people have time to individually reflect and be prepared for the conversation.
At the discussion meeting, have a separate document set up for the stop/start/continue and appoint a notetaker to gather all the items. Be sure everyone can access the notes at the meeting and following it.
I can’t wait to hear how your conversations. Now, go!
And Carrie On 