Innovation Over Quality

It has been called many things but it boils down to thinking and planning without limits.

Now this sounds creative, innovative and forward thinking and at times it is, but when the foundation of any structure or organization is not solid, any thinking or planning without limits only creates stress and frustration.

Any organization, (be it healthcare, education focused or business) must focus on it's core functions and operations before it can be innovative. And simplification of thought and planning can help immensely.

But for many in leadership, the urge to innovate instead of working toward a solid foundation first, is tempting at best, paralyzing for the organization at worst. Leadership's role must be to focus the workforce on the present instead of dreaming of what if's of the future or failures of the past, particularly as operations are hampered in the present by mismanagement, missed deadlines, unfocused operations, unsatisfied stakeholders, excuse filled customer service and lack of focus.

Efficient operations and quality service providers are focused on immediate quality improvement and planning with the intent to make solid the day to day operations that is the core function of the organization. It's tremendous to pontificate the what-if's of innovation unless this core functional foundation of operations is in disarray.


Focus first on the core elements of operations and make those perfect. Then innovation builds on a strong foundation and is likely to propel operations into the excellence everyone imagines. Build innovation upon chaos, and there is no hope for excellence, let alone survival.