To improve almost anything, one has to diagnose what needs improving and then make the improvement.  The other day, I became engaged in a discussion regarding the relative importance of the "diagnose" vs. "make the improvement" activities.  From one perspective, you could argue that diagnosing and implementing are like your right foot and left foot - which foot is more important in the walking process. Of course, both feet are equally important.

When it comes to diagnosis and implementing an improvement (or treatment of the problem), the answer is not so clear.  Some of my colleagues argued that implementing the improvement is more important. Others argued that if you don't diagnose the problem and get to root cause, all attempts to improve are futile because you will only improve by accident.  

Where do you weigh in on this matter?

Some people describe "culture" as the "unwritten rules about how we do things in our organization."  The other day, driving home from the airport, I saw a large billboard promoting the corporate culture  of a company, Delta Air Lines. The gist of the billboard was that the Delta culture made a difference for its customers.  The billboard had a URL for further information.  When I got home (I promised I didn't do this while I was driving), I visited the URL and read about Delta's culture.  There were several things that intrigued me.  First - that Delta was marketing its culture to its customers. Second, the manner in which they had taken the "unwritten rules about how we do things around here" and turned them into a written articulation of their culture called "Rules of the Road."  

www.delta.com/c...of-the-road.pdf

This leads to several questions for you:

1. Could your organization write down its "Rules of the Road?"

2. Could your organization write its "Rules of the Road" in a way that you would be proud to share them with uour customers?

3. Can an organization's culture be promoted to its customers as a differentiator?