Sunday, October 26, 2008

Which Level of Change are you Operating From?

7 Levels of Change from Rolf Smith’s The 7 Levels of Change

Level 1: Do the Right Things
• Set priorities
• Focus
• Do what’s important first
• Become more effective

Level 2: Do Things right
• Follow procedures
• Understand standards
• Clean up your mess
• Become more efficient

Level 3: Do Things Better
• Think about what you’re doing
• Find ways to improve things
• Listen to suggestions
• Help, coach, and mentor others

Level 4: Do Away With Things
• Ask “Why?”
• Use the 80:20 rule – Simplify
• Stop doing what doesn’t count
• Refocus continuously

Level 5: Do Things Other People Are Doing
• Notice and observe more
• Read about best practices
• Think before you think
• Copy!

Level 6: Do Things That Haven’t Been Done
• Think about Thinking
• Ask “Why not?”
• Combine new technologies
• Focus on different, not similar

Level 7: Do Things that Can’t be Done
• Question assumptions
• Defocus: Get a little crazy
• Break the rules!
• What’s impossible today, but …?
• Wouldn’t it be amazing if…”
• Where will it take pure magic?


http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hmm... there are a lot of good points in this list, but it doesn't capture how people grow and mature. I believe several of the attributes listed here build on top of each other. I would suggest refining the list to capture how people progress.

Several years ago I built a professional development matrix for people doing computer operations. While this matrix is for a different domain, it might provide some ideas for how this list could be made more useful:

http://www.verber.com/mark/sysadm/ops-8level-matrix.xls