Bringing a new product to market is merely the beginning of the journey. For organizations aiming for long-term success, the real challenge lies in continually refining products and services to meet ever-evolving business and customer needs. 🛠️ So, how can your organization foster a culture of continuous improvement? We’ve compiled insights from six prominent business leaders to highlight their top strategies. Let’s dive in!
1. Emphasize Progress Through Vision
Tomer Cohen, Chief Product Officer at LinkedIn, believes that two key factors drive continuous product improvement. First, teams should implement incremental enhancements that stack up over time. “Those small changes compound and build up daily,” Cohen asserts.
However, the second and most crucial element is establishing a long-term vision that every team member embraces. “You have to start backward from that point,” he explains. “Paint a vision, like, ‘That’s the peak of the mountains we’re trying to climb, and I’m only going to show you the base camp. We’ll go together to the base camp.’” After reaching base camp, further plans should be discussed, always with an eye toward the summit.
This dual approach ensures that teams remain focused on their ultimate goals, providing context to their day-to-day tasks. “If you focus on the vision, without continuous improvement, there’s no way you’ll achieve your objectives,” Cohen concludes.
2. Identify ‘Pockets of Busyness’
Markus Schümmelfeder, Global CIO at Boehringer Ingelheim, emphasizes the necessity of assessing how resources are allocated within your organization. “We see a lot of busyness in IT,” he notes. Identifying priority areas for work is essential for enhancing products and services.
“Detecting ‘pockets of busyness’ allows organizations to refocus on areas where they can deliver more value,” Schümmelfeder suggests. “It’s no longer sufficient to allocate resources and wait until projects are done. We must pivot toward addressing burning questions rather than engaging in trivial processes.”
3. Master the Art of Saying No
Oliver Sluke, Head of IT for Research, Development, and Medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, believes that prioritization is key. “We’ve transitioned from a world where all ideas received attention,” he explains, “to one where we focus on a select few.” Learning to say no to less critical proposals frees up valuable resources for projects that truly make an impact.
Sluke advises conducting brainstorming sessions to generate ideas but ultimately narrowing those down to the top two or three to advance. He emphasizes, “It requires a lot of change management to tell someone their idea isn’t a priority right now, but this selective focus significantly optimizes resource allocation.”
4. Invest in Training for Adoption
Joe DePa, Global Chief Innovation Officer at EY, asserts that training is essential for successful product and service adoption. “I’ve never heard a client say they’ve over-invested in training,” he remarks, underscoring the missed opportunities stemming from insufficient investment in employee training.
“Making sure employees are well-trained not only before a new technology rolls out but also during its development can significantly enhance adoption rates and refine the rollout process itself,” DePa advises. Prioritizing learning is an ongoing commitment that pays dividends in improved employee engagement and product efficacy.
5. Maintain Open Channels with Customers
Tim Chilton, Managing Consultant at Ordnance Survey, insists that a robust customer interaction model is fundamental for continuous improvement. His organization engages directly with customers to gather regular feedback, allowing them to fine-tune their product roadmaps on a consistent basis.
Chilton explains, “Particularly in data products, it’s essential to focus on core value and to grow incrementally. The key is to start with a minimum viable product.” This means asking customers what they want early in the process, as their insights often reveal needs that leadership may not have anticipated.
6. Always Seek Improvement
Cindy Stoddard, CIO at Adobe, challenges business leaders to always strive for better. “Even if you’re at 99.9%, there’s always room for improvement,” she asserts. Stoddard highlights the importance of root-cause analysis and post-mortems to refine processes continuously.
“Our focus on service management drives product delivery for both internal and external customers,” she explains. “It’s about continually questioning the status quo and asking, ‘How can I do this better?’”
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