The improvement quest

Improvement is always possible.

In any area of our personal or professional lives, there is always a way to improve.  However, just because we can improve, does that mean we should spend energy to do so?

Consider various aspects of your lives – the cleanliness of your house, your diet, how you organize your email, your money management approach, your workout regime, your mental health, your spiritual health – and you can add to the list.  Could you take a step toward something better in each of those? 

If we are honest, I suspect the answer is “yes.”  But even if you decide you want to take those steps, you can only handle so much change at once.  You could reasonably only focus on one or two areas, but you would need to determine your priorities on how to choose.  Where do you start? This basic process is the essence of an improvement plan. 

Improvement is always possible.

The old adage says, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  There’s some wisdom there.  I’m reminded of a family member who had a 50-year-old HVAC system in her home.  Amazingly, it worked so well.  Her house was always comfortable, even in the hot Alabama summertime.  Some people may look at her situation and recommend being proactive by getting a new, more efficient system  Yet this seems like an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” situation.  Let that HVAC live out its years and replace it when it’s necessary.

But sometimes, it’s wise to improve something that isn’t technically broken. A process or approach could work well, but what are the benefits of it working even better?  The benefits may outweigh the energy invested in improvement.  Those benefits may be related to efficiency or effectiveness – or the improvement may bring greater joy or satisfaction.

Improvement is always possible.

Quite frankly, I’m a person who loves figuring out how to improve something.  If it’s broken, let’s fix it.  If it’s working well, let’s figure out how to make it even better.  This is the process that leads to households, organizations, businesses, and universities living out their missions, expressing their values, and meeting their goals. 

I love this article from the National Association for Music Education called, “The Practice: Improvement is Always Possible.”  The author questions the accuracy of “practice makes perfect” and instead offers “practice for improvement.”  He describes “The Practice” as follows: “Improvement should be the goal in life, in education, in the creation of art, in work, and in everything that we do.”  I’m all on board with The Practice.

ABL Wise Consulting is about improvement – helping leaders grow and build better organizations.  Give me a call today, and let’s take a step together.