I pushed ‘enter’ and in a few minutes my computer software updated.
Whoops! This rendered my computer obsolete, an unintended consequence that took many hours to fix.
I had researched the software in terms of my own computer performance. The question I didn’t ask was: what outside of my computer could be affected by the update?
Pushing ‘enter’ had a long reaching effect – unintended.
I notice this with clients too. A person in one department makes a decision without really considering the impact it has on other aspects of the business. To name a few:
- A purchase is made without talking to the people who will maintain it
- A communication is broadcast before the people most affected are told
- A promise is made to a customer without verifying the feasibility
When I was an engineer we did something called Design Failure Mode Analysis. Our team studied every aspect of our product and the impact any variation would have on the end users. We imagined scenarios of what might happen. And, addressed potential performance or safety issues.
We were required to consider all possible consequences of an action, intended or not.
The expense of unintended consequences is huge both from a monetary and employee engagement standpoint. Can your organization afford it?
I challenge you to Spiral Impact and save your organization resources!
- Get yourself centered and spiral to view the range possible consequences
- Increase your knowledge by talking to other departments
- Have a support team in place
- As an organization set forth an intention of looking before you leap! Do you have a systematic way for departments to communicate?
What other suggestions can you add?
Warm regards, Karen
