A process can often feel like a voyage into uncharted waters. We will use this metaphor to deepen our understanding of what a process requires and the challenges it may present.
The journey begins before it begins
We are in the harbor, planning the journey. Even at this early stage—before we set sail—we must anchor our first learning point at today’s starting position: What is the point of departure for the journey we are about to undertake?
To get anywhere, you must start where you are. What is the purpose of the process you are about to embark on? What triggered the idea? How did it arise: “Let’s run a process”? Are you aiming to learn something? Solve a problem?
It is often wise to formulate the challenge or issue as a question. This opens us to the unknown—precisely where we will be during the voyage. So let’s begin practicing this mindset while still anchored in familiar waters.
And remember: you do know something! Don’t forget to evaluate how you are currently handling the challenge or task. It would be unwise to set sail into the unknown if the issue prompting you to act could be resolved right here in your home harbor.
Board the right vessel
Discuss what type of vessel—or methodology—your process requires. It’s wasteful to operate a large ship if you’re just going out to lay crab traps.
If you are uncertain which vessel is suitable, you need to become more familiar with the problem you intend to address on this journey.
Set the course and be purposeful
When venturing into unknown waters, it is crucial to be clear about two things: Where are you going? And why are you making this journey? Take your time to describe the goal—as clearly as you can envision it now—and what you hope to achieve. What does your “paradise island” look like once you arrive?
When you’re just off the coast and the vast unknown lies ahead, it may be wise to revisit the goal you formulated back in the harbor. Out here, where the journey is real, you may find it easier to clarify or adjust your objectives.
Lighthouse
Your organization has strategic and operational plans. These are your lighthouses during the voyage. They are not to be abandoned during the process—instead, they must guide you.
Identify relevant documents, including goals, frameworks, or policies that specifically apply to this journey or project.
Extract key statements that give direct guidance for the solution you are seeking. It would be a shame to return with fish if your organization expects birds…
Set the rudder
Are there technological, financial, or legal constraints that apply to the solution you aim to create?
This might include existing systems that the new solution must integrate with, budget limitations, or available resources for implementation. You should also consider whether laws and regulations constrain—or enable—possible solutions.
Think carefully about how known conditions may affect your direction, and adjust your course accordingly. After all, the most innovative solutions can run aground on legal clauses just as easily as ships can run aground on hidden reefs.
Choose one route, bring several
There are usually multiple routes to the same destination. This is a basic principle we often forget at the planning stage and don’t sufficiently revisit along the way: there are many ways to solve a challenge.
When discussing your route—and this should happen frequently during a journey into the unknown—you must first collectively decide which part of the journey you are navigating next. When everyone is focused on the same stretch, you can meaningfully discuss alternative directions. This may leave you with several good options, and you’ll need to narrow them down. Otherwise, the process may stall in endless debate.
A smart move is to choose one of two or three feasible, yet untested, routes that appear viable given your known constraints, time, and resources. This becomes your “innovation horizon.” Select the most likely path—and bring the alternatives with you, just in case.
Talk your way to progress—Prepare for headwinds
A good rule before setting sail: talk to experienced seafarers. Are there others—within your organization or elsewhere—who’ve dealt with similar challenges? What did they learn? What knowledge can you benefit from? How can you better understand the problem by engaging with those who’ve navigated it before?
Such conversations won’t hinder your progress—they accelerate it.
On a journey you’ve never taken before, unexpected situations will arise. You can still maximize your ability to respond effectively by securing full control over what is predictable. Risk analyses are useful, both for known and potential scenarios. But remember: having complete control over the predictable frees up resources for the unpredictable. Set boundaries, allocate resources, establish routines—so the expected doesn’t drain energy from dealing with the unexpected.
Bring people who make a different—Look beyond titles
Who will be on board? Who joins the voyage?
Who will remain in the boat throughout the journey, forming the core team with the interdisciplinary skills and relational capacity to carry both process and solution forward? That’s your crew.
Who asked you to embark on this journey? Who holds the overarching responsibility for the process and the problem it addresses? Who controls the budget and has authority over the crew’s engagement? That’s the captain.
Beyond captain and crew, others will also need to be involved. If the solution impacts employees, owners, partners, customers, or users—they too must be engaged, to varying degrees and at different times. These are passengers, who can come and go as needed.
Be thoughtful in determining who should have a say. Who are your captain, crew, and passengers? Dare to look beyond job titles—to competence, knowledge, and relational capacity. Because the goal is the solution, not someone’s résumé. Only bring aboard those who truly have what it takes to get the ship to its destination through uncharted waters.
And then? You haul up the anchor, cast off the lines, hoist the sails, and with anticipation say:
“Ahoy!”
DREIESKIVA|Roald Kvam 
Legg igjen en kommentar