When discussing process management and improvement, I often talk about the concept of “random acts of improvement.” People, with good intentions, are off trying to make their part of the organization better, more efficient, simpler. But often these changes are done locally, in silos, without considering the end-to-end impact of the change.

Random acts of improvement rarely address the positive or negative effects the might have elsewhere. Further, people may spend time fixing something that is counter to the overall goals of the organization or distracts people and resources from the real issues that need to be addressed.

Improvement activities can be implemented without explicitly thinking about process. They can happen anywhere for any reason. Individuals think, “I can do this better,” and they do it. Managers say, “I’ve seen this done elsewhere; let’s do it that way.” A team brainstorms ideas for making something more useful to the group. They may be applying specific techniques like lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement, or they may just be changing something to make it better.

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