Business transformation starts with 1 person within an organisation taking a stand against inefficiency. It has been said that
‘for evil to triumph, all it takes is for one person to do nothing’
Similar is true of inefficiency. This is not to say that inefficiency is evil in its own right. But being inefficient, and not moving the world forward is. Not innovating is a waste of time, energy, and talent.
Therefore, to change a process, leads to changing a business, which leads to changing an industry, and ultimately to changing the world!
Because people perform tasks which form processes, business transformation is reliant on just one person – that person, is the one who performs the task each day and is frustrated by the additional/illogical steps they must perform in order to complete the task. That person will either identify a problem which must be resolved, or they will explore opportunities to make the process more efficient.
This is why it is important that business owners foster a culture of process innovation into the business from day 1. This means that as a business grows, staff are aware that they are part of learning environment. Staff shouldn’t be forced to take part in innovation, but it should be the ‘cultural norm’ of the business.
An easy way to make this happen is to introduce ‘ideas forums’ as part of regular team meetings. Having time dedicated to ‘innovation’ creates an environment for team members to present / sound board their process improvement ideas with their peers. Over time, team members see things begin to improve and this then has a ripple effect on the rest of the organisation. From having dedicated time for ‘innovation’ businesses can begin to see opportunities for expansion into new markets.