The purpose of training is to reduce variety, to get a group of people tackling tasks in the same way; so training reduces variety. The purpose of learning is the exact opposite. Learning increases the individual’s capacity to respond to different situations; it increases variety.

Patrick Hoverstadt

In haar boek The Outstanding organizations stelt Karen Martin dat er 3 vaardigheden van die kenmerkend zijn voor 'buitengewone' organisaties:

1. Excellente probleemoplossers

2. Continu verbeterend

3. Vasthoudend

Over 'continu verbeteren' schrijft Martin het volgende:

Continuous improvement

Continuous improvement builts on the core capability of problem solving, but the motivation for and the 'spirit' around building this capability digs further into the culture of the organization. Solving problems is primarily about maintaining performance, and there's no way you can achieve consistency without it. But even with the best problem solving you can still be consistently mediocre. Continuous improvement is about raising the bar of performance another step towards excellence.

True continuous improvement isn't haphazard. It's not about a project here or there to improve some aspect of operations. Continuous improvement is a mindset and a culture that is always - every employee, every day - looking for opportunities to do the job better, even when the organization is performing at the highest level it ever has. Outstanding organizations don't work on improvement when it is convenient and stop when things get 'too busy'.

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Outstanding organizations do the same; they dedicate significant chuncks of time to working on the business, not just in the business.

Zie ook: Probleemoplossing volgens Karen Martin

Bron: The Outstanding Organization, Generate Business Results by Eliminating Chaos and Building the Foundation for Everyday Excellence - Karen Martin