I had introduced business chakras, my way of depicting the flows in a business analogical to that in our bodies. Today I will be introducing my way of assessing the maturity of such flows in an organization, as well as for applying to scientific problem solving.
I have defined these 7 levels of maturity and a simple guide with the Flow Assessment to validate the maturity after removing any known external impact (like that from COVID-19 for example). At each of these levels, I would use 4 color status criteria – Blue: Missing, R: Not OK, Y: CAPA (Corrective and Preventive Action) OK and G: OK, G: OK being the ticket to progress to the next level.
- Identifiable (Beginner): The Flow with a rhythm is being regularly practiced and can be clearly identified. This level is necessary for sustainability.
The validation to qualify would be a physical identification of a flow, a continuous one, even with some interruptions is OK. It is like looking at the map of a city and being able to locate the origin and destination and find roads linking both!
- Verifiable (Aware): The flow can be easily verified by comparing with the documented standard. This level is necessary for improvement.
The validation to qualify would be the existence of a standard in the form of a document with text and images and/or accessible reference media as well as, a real verification of any flow using this standard. It is like using a route map to a destination, which can anytime be used to compare the actual position.
- Measurable (Learner): The performance (Efficiency and Effectiveness) of the flow can be measured. This level is necessary for sustainability.
The validation to qualify would be the existence of a measurement instruction and a random measurement of one of the randomly chosen metrics. It is like having a GPS location device to measure the actual location.
- Reportable (Good): The performance of the respective flow is being reported regularly on-time for reviewing. This level is necessary for improvement.
The validation to qualify would be the existence of a standard reporting template and a random check of one of the recent regular reports. It is like the google maps regularly reporting the traffic status and ETA on the APP screen.
- Governable (Fluid): The performance of the flow is being monitored, controlled, steered, and governed for stability. This level is necessary for sustainability.
The validation to qualify would be the existence of a schedule for a routine review meeting in the calendar of level -1 (Superior of the one reporting regularly) as well as by checking a MoM at random and additionally by participating in one such review meeting as an observer. It is like checking the road blockages ahead and deciding to take a deviation to reach the destination on time.
- Capable (Coach): The performance of the flow is consistently meeting the targets and specifications. This level is necessary for improvement.
The validation to qualify would be consistently having met the targets/specifications with actual performance for at least 3 periods (typically 3 quarters) combined with a favorable trend. It is like being delighted after checking the earlier journeys and confirming that the ATA (Actual Time of Arrival) was same as or earlier than the initial ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival).
- Predictable (Master): The performance of the flow is being predicated for taking preventive measures. This level is necessary for sustainability.
The validation to qualify would be to confirm that the difference between Target (Initial Goal), Estimate (Intermediate Course Correction) and Actual (Final Real Value) is zero. It is like the google maps maintaining the same ETA despite changes in traffic.
The same maturity levels can be used for problem solving too using the same levels of maturity levels for the identified causes for an effect, eliminating the 1st level “Identifiable”, since this is met once the cause is identified.
You may want to check out how good you are by using this simple, yet profound, assessment, with the purpose of reaching the level 7 in all the business chakras. My recommendation is just to focus on these three basic approaches related to mindset/culture for progressing the maturity levels.
Intolerance for Interruptions
Awareness for Authenticity
Excitement for Evolution
As usual I will end my blog with a quote by Robert Green,
“When the assessment of goalkeepers is made by people who have never actually stood there in a game and experienced it, then it’s hard to take it without a large pinch of salt.”
Happy Reading!
good read,
last 3 summation made it easy to rem and apply.