Organising effectively

"Results? We don't measure ourselves by results - we measure ourselves by activity!"

"Sir Humphrey" from the BBC TV series "Yes Minister"

How are we going to do this?

Effective planning and administration are the lifeblood of any organisation. Yet it is a curious trait of human nature that we so often explore ideas and make decisions to do something, or to change the way things are done, without a practical, considered and workable implementation plan which will enable the benefits of the decision to be realised. Before you know it, recriminations are flying about why the investment has failed to deliver a return - when actually, it was planned to fail from the start. So the first step in effective planning is to understand what success looks like and aim to achieve it. An agreed organisational method is a good way of establishing common practice throughout the organisation. SMS has found the LAMDA model (based on "Plan-Do-Check-Act") highly effective but other acronyms cover the same sequence of activities.

LAMDA stands for "Look - Ask - Model - Discuss and decide - Act - Look..."

Use available talent.

People with good organisational and administrative skills should be valued members of any team. Focusing the talents of such people on supporting their team colleagues in the delivery of value would significantly reduce the endemic waste of money and resources evident in large organisations. It removes siloed departments which expend much effort justifying their existance and integrates the necessary functions of management control and governance into the value stream.

Responsibility-based planning.

Responsibility for planning and administration should be devolved to those responsible for getting the job done. A robust, evidence-based decision-making process common to all members of the workforce - whether working in a management, development, or administration role - facilitates effective responsibility-based planning.