Guide
Is your problem structural or just operational?
An operational problem is solved by executing better, with more discipline or a better supplier, whereas a structural problem comes back unchanged even when execution is good, because it stems from how the company is built, meaning who decides and with what information.
Very often it sits in the handovers between one function and the next, where nobody owns the whole path of a decision; that is why, when it is treated with operational remedies, it returns later and costs more.
Four signs that the problem is structural
- It comes back unchanged even with capable people and good advisers.
- When the people change, the problem stays.
- When one case is solved, the pattern reappears with the next.
- Each function tells it differently and each version holds up from its own point of view, although the gap between the versions already points to where things jam.
Where to start
If you recognise at least one of these signs, the starting point is a Friction Report: you choose the process where the problem shows up and in about four weeks you receive a written map of where it costs time and money, with evidence drawn from your own data. It is only the first step, however, because if the problem reaches into the rest of the organisation the operating review extends to the whole company and the change is designed from there.
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