It’s not uncommon for people to “sight tight” on a making decision, basically deciding to wait for a better time.  Businesses do the same thing, especially when there are external factors that could impact their operation.  “Stay at the status quo or take action?” – that is the question many are asking themselves.  My question is “What is the cost of doing nothing?”  As a consultant, at times I feel like the status quo is my biggest competition.  Please check out this article I wrote that explores the idea of challenging the status quo…  “Process Optimization: Is The Status Quo a Friend or Foe?

Some issues may be minor and some major, but either way they offer the management of that operation a choice of whether to act on them or accept the status quo.

Status Quo – literally means “existing state.” The current condition of any operation includes a range of things from challenges to successes, pros and cons, etc. Depending on the severity and significance of items that exist in the current state, the status quo may be satisfactory or unsatisfactory, obviously with varying degrees of each, which in turn will drive the decisions on how to proceed.

As a process improvement consultant, I have come to realize that “Status Quo” is probably my biggest competitor. Potential clients will choose to remain at the status quo rather than pursue a project. There are many logical reasons for that decision – cost controls, staffing issues, raw material costs increasing, general economic anxiety, the list goes on.

However, accepting the status quo has potential downsides as well. Take a little time to honestly think about your operation and ask a few questions….
What are your current pain points?
Are those pain points tolerable if you do nothing?
Are they static or could they get worse if not addressed?
What will they cost you in a year?
How do they impact morale & efficiency?
Are they specific to a part of your process, or do they impact other parts as well?

A different approach would be to look at what are the items that are in your control and what are the ones that are out of your control. External factors can impact your business in many ways, but they are often out of your control. It is often considered “safe” to sit tight, accept the status quo, and wait to see what happens. There are actions you could take, however, that can positively improve your operation. Fear of the unknown can also start to creep in and can affect the morale of your workforce. Addressing internal challenges that are in your control is a great way to strengthen your operation, improve morale, and better situate your company to deal with the external events that are out of your control.

Process mapping exercises, for example, can help tremendously to evaluate your current operation and identify gaps, roadblocks, and redundancies that are impacting the efficiency of your operation. Too often, it is normal to direct focus on the “crisis of the day” and regular operational activities but not take a step back and really review your process. Things change or drift over time, habits (good and bad) form, steps get skipped, work gets duplicated, key observations get ignored – it happens all the time and we live with it, accepting the status quo as normal!

Data Analysis and Review, Specifications review, Cost analysis, Documentation, KPI’s, to mention a few, are all things that are good to spend some time with and/or re-evaluate. There are answers to current challenges there waiting to be found. All you need to do is look for them and act on them!

There will be bigger projects that are truly out of reach currently. That’s OK – identify them and put them on a list for the future. There no doubt will be a number of smaller manageable projects you can go after and get better results in the shorter term. Taking up the challenge to identify these internal opportunities can be relatively inexpensive and will lead great and lasting rewards – cost savings, productivity increases, waste reductions, improve customer satisfaction, elevate team morale, etc.

Process mapping and review also puts the spotlight on your successes and brings to light examples of what works for your team – giving a blueprint to implement positive change in areas where there are opportunities to improve. Detailed data analysis can help discover trends and gaps. This review will help set priorities and identify “high value target” actions that can turn into increased revenue and efficiencies.
Looming external factors are a concern for both management and the workforce. That is all the more reason to go after the things you can control and improve – showing your team your commitment to succeed and strengthen the capabilities of your operation.

Challenge the status quo – you will be happy you did. There are always opportunities to improve – you just need to step back and see them, take them on, and benefit from them.

How is your process?