I Don’t Have Time For This

Oh, but you have time to read this article? (Just kidding – please keep reading).

We’ve spoken a lot about the pitfalls and challenges when improving processes. From Measurement to Analysis, our community knows that an executed improvement should not be taken for granted.

But the biggest obstacle to our passion projects? Just finding the time.

Today I’d like to show a few ways to slowly incorporate innovation into that same day to day operation that is taking up all your time. And how your goal should not be to “make time” for innovation, but rather have innovation be part of your regular to-do.

De-Prioritizing a Passion

I don’t know about you, but I am always surprised when I end a day without doing that one pet project. Something that I was genuinely excited to tackle. Was I really busy the entire day? And if so, why did I prioritize less exciting tasks over something I was actually passionate about?

Firstly, I won’t go into the scenario where you spent half the day playing games on your iPhone. If you’re in this category, a time management strategy might be the best next step.

Instead, let’s say you’re not distracted, but your day job is filled with tasks essential to keep your process running. You and your manager would love to prioritize some fruitful innovation. But there simply isn’t any regular interval in the day that is sizable enough to analyze and execute on something.

Its Not About Making Time

There are certainly many reasons for why certain tasks are prioritized over innovation. They may be required by the client, your senior stakeholders, or your external partners, and they will almost always be high priority. And if your manager is as busy as you are, you can’t simply just ask her to magically find more time among these demands.

These demands will ALWAYS be there. So, if you think all you need to do is “make time” for innovation, chances are you won’t get very far in a few months. You can only stay late or take on twice as much so often before getting burnt out.

The key then, is to somehow integrate innovation into your daily activities. By this I mean literally changing the culture of your team so that innovation is as normal as sending that client report or fixing that exception. Normal enough that it becomes part of your job description.

Culture?

Among other criteria, culture is reflected in what your team cares about (many more criteria here). If production issues are priority number one, this will always take the place of other activities when time is scarce. And time is always scarce.

Take notice of what your team speaks about in huddles. Which emails get answered the fastest? What content is included in a senior presentation? These are all signals of what your team has been calibrated to value. And if process improvements aren’t on the list, you may have found the root cause of why certain tasks are continually pushed ahead of innovation.

The good news is that culture doesn’t have to be written in stone. It is wholly possible to add innovation to the list of activities your team already prioritizes.

But remember, the assumption is that your process improvements add value in the same way that your current activities do. In other words, you need to be targeting projects that will help achieve the goal of your team and firm. If you are trying to optimize the color of your office carpet, you probably won’t find many receptive people to begin your culture transformation.

You Have The Power

So how do you “make time” for innovation by getting this activity on the priority list?

First and foremost, start small. I’ve already discussed how creating a backlog of ideas can be a great spark to future innovation. And if done right, it should take no extra time to simply log an idea in the moment. The key here is to make it a habit and make sure your list is continually growing.

Once you have a sizable list, the next step is to start socializing these opportunities. If you have any time at all, try addressing the smallest opportunity and deliver a resolution. Again, once this is complete, log the outcome. At your next team huddle, your next team email or any other widely held forum, talk about what you did (and show evidence if possible). If you can do this on a regular basis, your managers will surely take notice. And if the outcomes are valued, they will start asking you and the team to do more of this in the future.

And if you have absolutely no time to act on even the smallest idea? Ask for help. There may be adjacent teams with more bandwidth at the moment or project based groups that can help get you through the first few iterations. As long as you can socialize positive outcomes, it matters less who did the executing initially.

An example following the above methodology:

1. A client report is not sent on time, which generates a complaint for your team. You quickly log what happened in your excel sheet
2. Next week, you have a small window to investigate why your team missed sending the report. You see that there are no active reminders in the procedure. You quickly set up a reminder in Outlook so your team doesn’t miss this report again.
3. On the next team huddle, you socialize your investigation and resolution of how this issue was fixed. Your manager is pleased and goes back to the client with positive news.
4. Your manager also asks to look at X issue for next week. The innovation day job slowly begins…

Other Thoughts

The key is to get your manager wanting more innovations. This is a sign that this type of activity is becoming part of the culture and priority for the team.

Ironically, the next step is to push back. You barely had time to get these few improvements completed, so more innovation will need to be actually prioritized over existing tasks. Since your manager already wants you to innovate more, there usually is a reshuffling of daily tasks to allow you to do this.

And just like that, you have dedicated time in your day to innovate! A few other key points to remember:

• This takes time, so don’t be discouraged after a few initial tries
• Momentum is more important than size in the beginning
• Take the rest of your team on the journey. The more innovation, the better
• Make your backlog a shareable document. If your team has a huddle board for example, try to get some space for innovation activity
• Make it fun and positive. People will gravitate to your energy which will speed up this whole process

Conclusion

No one should have to make time to improve what we do. The above methodology helps show teams how innovation is actually a time saver, not drainer. It’s always a win-win when your team improves performance while enabling you to work on things you are passionate about.

Happy Having Time and Innovating!