Technological change tends to operate by changing processes. But what if we simply change the processes themselves? Often process interventions are even more subtle, yet further reaching.
We all know about changing the defaults, for example, where people were automatically opted in, rather than automatically opted out, on pension provision in the U.K.. This changed participation from 36% to 71%, meaning that 400,000 more people were enrolled in a pension than would have been previously. This led to over £114B in pension savings over 10 years and reduced savings gaps across income, occupation and age groups.
Researchers have also shown that by changing the order in which various options were presented when specifying a new car, buyers spend more €1,482.37 per car. Introducing a five-point checklist at Johns Hopkins reduced the incidence of infections in a type of intravenous catheter that goes into the heart from 11% of cases to zero, a simple process change that they estimated saved 43 infections, eight deaths and $2M in costs.
In all of these cases small, relatively innocuous changes, have produced big effects. When looking for potential small changes within your organization, you need to apply a level of discipline to your approach. There are behaviors you can adopt so, as we head into planning for next year, you can resist the pressure to focus only on big bets and think small instead.
How to locate your own ‘trim tabs’
By looking for some of these leverage points (places within a complex system), you too can locate a small shift that can lead to big changes.
Listen to the system
Lean into internal and customer feedback. Engage employees at all levels for their insights into where small changes can lead to improvements. Often, frontline employees have valuable perspectives on pain points and opportunities. Analyze customer surveys and pay attention to recurring requests or complaints that could highlight a leverage point.
Wheels within wheels
Sometimes the most powerful effects are seen when one process feeds into another (just as when the trimtab movement feeds into the rudder, which feeds into the ship). Look for linked processes as you can benefit from leverage effects, magnifying your initial effort.
Go pattern-spotting
Use statistical tools and trend analysis to identify patterns that may suggest leverage points. For example, identifying a feature that significantly improves customer retention can be a leverage point for overall growth. Conversely, removing a bottleneck can unleash new opportunities.
