Developing productive improvement capability in an organisation is like building a pyramid in the desert.
It is not easy and it takes time before there is any visible evidence of success.
The height of the pyramid is a measure of the level of improvement complexity that we can take on.
An improvement of a single step in a system would only require a small pyramid.
Improving the whole system will require a much taller one.
But if we rush and attempt to build a sky-scraper on top of the sand then we will not be surprised when it topples over before we have made very much progress. The Egyptians knew this!
First, we need to dig down and to lay some foundations. Stable enough and strong enough to support the whole structure. We will never see the foundations so it is easy to forget them in our rush but they need to be there and they need to be there first.
It is the same when developing improvement science capability … the foundations are laid first and when enough of that foundation knowledge is in place we can start to build the next layer of the pyramid: the practitioner layer.
It is the the Improvement Science Practitioners (ISPs) who start to generate tangible evidence of progress. The first success stories help to spur us all on to continue to invest effort, time and money in widening our foundations to be able to build even higher – more layers of capability -until we can realistically take on a system wide improvement challenge.
So sharing the first hard evidence of improvement is an important milestone … it is proof of fitness for purpose … and that news should be shared with those toiling in the hot desert sun and with those watching from the safety of the shade.
So here is a real story of a real improvement pyramid achieving this magical and motivating milestone.