ISHIKAWA - MEMBERS FOR SUCCES

When I work with corporate clients, during individual coaching, a topic that people often ask me to help or accompany them with is project development. In some cases, the project is no more than a vague idea while in others, it’s fairly well developed and may need little more than a quick review or some fine-turning. One of the methods I use in this context is Ishikawa’s cause-and-effect diagram, often known as the fishbone diagram since it looks like the skeleton of a fish.

Initially, this approach was used to locate errors and understood why a project had failed. These errors were put into a series of categories – k own as the 6 Ms – so that people could learn from these mistakes and, in theory, avoid them in the future.

Over the years, I’ve sort of revisited Ishikawa’s diagram and now have 12 categories … furthermore, instead of pointing out errors, my fish looks more like an arrow pointing to success. So the question I ask my coachees is not what went wrong (or what could go wrong) but what do I need to succeed!

Rather than listing all 12 categories here – I’ve done that already in an earlier edition of Coach’s Corner – I’m going to focus on specific area, the one known as Members.

So, what exactly do I mean by that?

If you have a project of some sort, you will probably speak to someone about it, perhaps a colleague, maybe a friend or possibly your boss. This person will almost certainly express an idea or opinion which could either help or hinder you. In other words, you could ask yourself who do I need to succeed.

These people could react in any number of ways, of course, but there tend to be three major groupings – those who are negative, those who are neutral and, of course, those who are positive. But before you say something like “Yes, I know that, isn’t it obvious?” or assume that a negative response is bad, let’s look a little closer…

Some negative responses could be generated by people who are jealous of you or your idea. In other words, they focus more on the messenger, rather than the message itself. On the other hand, if the negative response comes in reaction to your idea or project, I think it’s worth spending a little more time here … and ask a few more questions. Why do they think your project is not a good one? In their opinion, what could be changed? In other words, their feedback might be just what you need to avoid a problem you had not considered. Remember that criticism can sometimes be constructive.

The middle category is for those who are neutral or indifferent…and it may be a good idea to ask these people a few questions too. Are they just not interested or, on the other hand, does your product or service not apply to this category of people? If the answer is the latter, surely this information can help you to redefine for whom is your project targeted?

And what about the people who give a positive answer? Beware … not all positive feedback is good! I know this may sound like a contradiction in terms, so I’ll explain!

Some people will give you encouragement because they like you and trust you. Very pleasant of course; but what if they know nothing about the sector your project or service focuses on? And don’t forget the colleague who doesn’t like you – regrettably, there does tend to be one or two people who fall into this category. If they give you an enthusiastic thumbs up, should you take that at face value or quickly try something else?

And, finally, there are the people you really want to hear from. They know the context your project fits into and they may have a lot of professional contacts. So if they react positively, you really are on track for success. They might decide to invest in your project or buy the service you are offering; perhaps they will recommend you to others who are looking for exactly what you are offering. Either way, these people are crucial to your project leaving the idea phase and becoming more concrete and real.

In conclusion then, as you start developing an idea or project, try not to work alone but include other people, or Members, if we refer to the Ishikawa method again. And, I said earlier, be aware of how people can react: not all criticism is negative and not all enthusiastic approval is ideal. So listen carefully to what people say, how they say it … and why they say it.

In other words, find Members who can become Allies…