“For I know the plans I have for you declare the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not to harm you;
plans to give you hope and a future.”
— Jeremiah 29.11
It was January 1, 2013 and many resolutions were as fresh as the cool crisp air. The sky was grey, but the gang was collected to inject one more marathon of college football. The ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. In the Medieval era, the knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.
At watch-night services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions. There are other religious parallels to this tradition. During Judaism’s New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one’s wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness. People may act similarly during the Catholic fasting period of Lent, though the motive behind this holiday is more of sacrifice than of responsibility, in fact the practice of New Year’s resolutions partially came from the Lenten sacrifices. The concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self-improvement annually.
You pick the theme; Improvement, innovation, getting better are all part of the ‘system’ whereby feedback from the process and customer were evaluated against organizational goals.
Plans, resolutions, changes to improve are all about direction not perfection. Continuous improvement in a management context means a never-ending effort to expose and eliminate root causes of problems. Usually, it involves many incremental or small-step improvements rather than one overwhelming innovation.
It all starts at the top!
A leader, you must establish principles concerning the way people (constituents, peers, colleagues, and customers alike) should be treated and the way goals should be pursued. You must create standards of excellence and then set an example for others to follow.
A key piece to a culture of plans, improvements and success is the process. Leaders must lead. Leaders have followers Leaders do not have subordinates – at least not when they are leading. Many organizational leaders do have subordinates, but only because they are also managers. But when they want to lead, they have to give up formal authoritarian control, because to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity.
“Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.”
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