Where's the Beef? What Are We Actually Trying to Accomplish?
A busy organisation can still lose sight of the result that makes the work worthwhile.
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Where's the Beef?
The Problem Everyone Agrees On May Be the Wrong One
Where’s the Beef? helps follow a problem far enough to understand what actually needs to change. At the same time, it gives people a practical way to change how they solve problems and get things done.
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The Solution was decided before the Problem was defined
A solution can have a sponsor, budget and deadline before anyone has established what is wrong. The new system has already been selected and the training dates are in the calendar. The project has even a name and a steering group already. There is only one small omission. Nobody has agreed what business problem the solution is meant to solve.
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How Much Evidence Is Enough Before You Act?
Business problem-solving is not about collecting all the information. It is about finding out what you need to know to make the next sensible move.
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Another Report. Same Old Problem.
Why do so many consulting assignments produce convincing findings while the business problems they were supposed to solve remain? Quite often, the assignment ended just when the difficult part was beginning. The consultant delivered the conclusions, management received the recommendations, and the people who were supposed to make the changes happen were left to work out how. There is a much better way to do this, and it begins long before anybody writes the final report.
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Even Though Every Department Is Right, the Business Can Still Lose
When everybody meets their targets, but the company still suffers, perhaps we should examine what those targets are actually producing.
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