There are many ways to do fine work. One approach is to go through the stages of decision making, design and delivery. This is an approach that can be followed by both individuals and organisations.
Sometimes the stages overlap, of course, so it can be useful to know how to blend these successfully. Let’s explore how people can follow this approach in different situations.
The Individual Approach
People sometimes go through the decision making, design and delivery stages when working by themselves. They may do this when working towards a goal, doing a creative project or tackling a challenge
A person may begin by exploring many ideas, options or things they may want to do in the future. This can involve them considering the following questions.
Decision Making
What are the specific things I may want to do in the future? What are the possible routes I can pursue? What are the pluses and minuses of each option? What is route I want to follow?
What are the real results I want to achieve when pursuing this route? What is the picture of success? On a scale 0-10, how motivated do I feel to do the work involved in reaching this goal?
Design
Bearing in mind the results I want to achieve, how can I follow the elements of great design? How can I produce something that is simple – in a profound way – satisfying and successful?
What are the key strategies I can follow to give myself the greatest chance of success? How can I translate these into a clear action plan? How can I get a quick success?
Delivery
How can I keep following good habits each day? How can I keep following the strategies that are most likely to work? How can I encourage myself on the journey?
How can I build on what is working and tackle areas for improvement? How can I follow my successful pattern for finishing? How can I do my best to achieve the picture of success? How can I add a touch of class?
Looking back, can you think of a situation when you may have followed elements of this approach? This could have been in your personal or professional life.
What did you do then: a) to make a decision; b) to design what you were going to do; c) to deliver the goods? What happened as a result of taking these steps?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
The Organisational Approach
Good organisations often go through the stages of decision making, design and delivery. They may also have different teams that focus on the different stages.
They recognise that these stages may overlap, however, and it is vital to manage this process in a positive and effective way. Let’s explore how they make this happen.
The Decision Making Team
Good organisations often have leaders who have the ability to make good decisions. Bearing in mind what they can control in a situation, they clarify the real results to achieve and translate these into a clear picture of success.
They explore the potential options going forward – together with the pluses and minuses of each option. They then clarify the key strategies they can follow to achieve the picture of success.
Such leaders clarify the What – the real results to achieve. They also clarify the Why – the benefits of achieving the results. They then move on to the How – this involves designing specific ways to deliver the results.
They may then get input from specialists and people who are responsible for the design aspects. The way they do this – and the timing of when they do it – can be crucial.
Such leaders recognise that it is vital to give the design team a clear brief. When working in a technology company, for example, they may then say something along the following lines.
“The brief – the positive results we want achieve with this piece of work – are: 1) To … 2) To … 3) To … The guiding principles we want to follow when doing it are: 1) To … 2) To … 3) To …
“Bearing in mind the advances in technology, we would like your creative ideas and input regarding what you believe it is possible to do to achieve these results.”
Such leaders recognise that if they involve the design team too late they may miss out on good ideas and the designers will not have any sense of ownership. If they involve them too early, however, the designers may focus more on their own agenda rather than on the real results to achieve.
This calls for a fine balancing act. Good leaders recognise that is vital to focus on the results to achieve but also to give the designers a sense of empowerment within certain parameters.
Imagine that the leadership team have got input from the designers and finalised the picture of success. The work is then passed over to the next team.
The Design Team
Let’s assume the design team have been given a clear brief. Within these parameters, they can use their creativity to produce solutions that deliver the desired results.
As mentioned earlier, some designers aim produce things that are simple – in a profound way – satisfying and successful. They follow these principles whether they are providing a service, designing a product or doing another activity. Let’s explore these themes.
Simple
Simplicity is genius, we are told. Art Fry’s invention of Post-it Notes demonstrated simplicity in action. So did the Sony Walkman and the Apple Macintosh. Here are some views on simplicity.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Leonardo da Vinci
Everything should be as simple as possible – but no simpler. Albert Einstein
Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away. Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Satisfying
Superb design is satisfying on a number of levels. Physically it looks and feels good. Practically it works and is user-friendly. There is an old Shaker dictum that says:
Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful;
but if it is both necessary and useful,
don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.
Successful
Great design works. It is sometimes simple, beautiful and effective. It does the job. Here are some quotes on this theme.
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. Steve Jobs.
Good design is probably 98% common sense. Above all, an object must function well and efficiently – and getting that part right requires a good deal of time and attention. Terence Conran.
Let’s assume that the design team has fulfilled the brief and designed something that will achieve the picture of success. It will then be time to move on to involving the next group of people.
The Delivery Team
Good organisations go beyond the decision making and design stages – the What, Why and How. They clarify Who will actually deliver the plan and by When. This calls for building good delivery teams.
Such organisations recruit people: a) who want to deliver the desired positive results; b) who deliver consistently high professional standards; c) who aim to keep improving the organisation’s performance.
Good leaders recognise the value of such people. Bearing this in mind, they often give them the full picture regarding their role in helping the organisation to achieve success. They may say something along the following lines.
The Organisation’s Goals
The What: The organisation’s goals – the real results we want to achieve – are …
The Why: The benefits of achieving these goals – for the various stakeholders – will be …
The How: The key strategies we are going to follow to achieve the goals are …
The Who: The roles of the various people – including yourselves and the support we will give you – are …
The When: The specific things we aim to deliver – and by when – on the road to achieving the goals are:
Good organisations recognise that they will stand or fall by the quality of what is delivered. They therefore provide encouragement and support to the delivery teams.
Such organisation make clear contracts with the delivery teams about the outcomes to be achieved. They then manage by outcomes – rather than by tasks – and enable their people to deliver the picture of success.
There are many ways to do fine work. One approach is to go through the stages of decision making, design and delivery. This is a model that can be followed by individuals, teams or organisations.
Let’s return to your own life and work. Looking ahead, can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? How can you do this in your own way?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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