As often as I say, “Hope is not a strategy”, I probably say “How we get there is as important as where we are going”, even more often. It’s easy for organizations to get so focused on ‘results’ – the ends – that they forget that how we achieve and accomplish those results – the means – is just as – or even more important. What process are we using to create the results? Is it effective and efficient, or defect-laden and wasteful? How are we treating the people who serve our customers every day? Are we overburdening them and letting them work in difficult conditions? Or are we helping them improve their work? Hope is not a strategy. Focusing on ‘how we get there’ and figuring out the right means to reach the right ends, is.
