I’d like you to participate in a small experiment. What I am about to ask you to do, may seem a little strange. In fact, there is no doubt about it . 

 

Stay with me though, as it may open your eyes to some real improvement opportunities within your organisation. 

 

This is what I want you to do. 

 

Book yourself a couple of hours from your busy schedule, and then  pretend to be your product or service during that time. 

 

So Graham, you are actually asking me to become a “claim form” (if claim forms is what you process) for a two hour period. 

 

Yes, I am. 

 

Why would I want to do such a thing. 

 

Just think about it as a trip of a lifetime. 

 

You may visit departments that you never knew existed.   

 

You may have strange things done to you, that you don’t fully understand, but rest assured that no

one else will understand why they are done either. 

Just like all good road trips I’d like you to keep a journal of the following: 

 

• Where you visited? 
• Why you visited there? 
• What happened at each destination?
• How long were you there for?
• Who did you speak to and why?
• What did they do to you and why?
• Were there any delays and for how long?
• How far did you actually travel?

Obviously I’m having a bit of fun with this, but the idea is very serious. 

By actually thinking about what happens to your “product” or “service” at each stage you can get a real sense of your end to end process; where you are adding value and where there is waste. 

 

Just doing this should give you lots of improvement opportunities to work on. 

 

Hope this helps

 

Graham Ross