If it works, find out why.
Sounds like a simple enough thing to do. Why don’t we?
When something is successful at a business, rarely is the time spent to look at why that success happened. We often make snap judgments like, “great idea! Adding the off switch really made a difference.” But there is a reason that adding the ‘off switch’ made the difference. Did the customers need an off switch or did did the switch merely make the product seem better? Features are often added to products that have appeal but are not actually used.
We need to look deeper at why things work. Even close examination won’t yield all the secrets of success but there is valuable information to be had.
What endlessly amuses me is the time and resources businesses are willing to waste looking at things that aren’t working. Fruitless meetings consuming hours of very expensive talent are often devoted to hammering a metric missed by 5% when much more gain could be had by focusing on what works.
There’s another very important benefit to spending more time looking at what worked and why. Devoting proportional meeting time to positive outcomes builds morale. You want that, right?
Chris Reich, TeachU.com
FW:92 (And rolling!)