Performance Improvement--Do You Need to Fight a Battle on Every Front?

The complexity of change initiatives could be disheartening. Your reaction may be, ”I came in for an oil change and the mechanic told me that I need to overhaul the entire engine.” Not necessarily. For example, your need for performance improvement may be limited to:

• Closing the human capability gaps surfaced in your sales force training needs analysis.
• Installing an information system that automates the clumsy, manual steps in your purchasing process.
• Rooting out the risk aversion that represents an unhealthy characteristic of your culture.
• Establishing a set of goals and a measurement system that enables you to track franchisee results.
• Strengthening the leadership in your Latin American operation.
• Resolving an issue—product damage—that has cropped up in your warehouse.

You do not need to change every variable; you just need to consider the impact of a change on every variable. It is dangerous for you to assume that if you extract one component from an integrated system, fix it or replace it, and install it, everything else will remain the same.

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