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IGGs: Incremental Growth Goals

 

I'm big believer in the power of small, sustainable changes, which I've come to call "Incremental Growth Goals" or "IGGs." These IGGs are inspired by the principles outlined in Gary Keller and Jay Papasan's book, "The One Thing." The idea is simple yet profound: focus on one small, impactful change at a time to achieve significant long-term results. By integrating IGGs into our workflow, we're cultivating a culture of continuous improvement and efficiency.

 

To make the greatest impact, we have to be the most honest critics of our productivity and process.

 

 

The Origin of IGGs

"Success is built sequentially. It's one thing at a time," Keller and Papasan remind us in their book. I don't think I've ever shared that quote with my teams, but its principle has became the driver for our IGGs. During our team retrospectives, we regularly identify areas where minor adjustments could yield significant benefits. We usually identify "what went well and what didn't go well." Then we dissect the root cause of each item. Often, themes emerge. Once we have a list, we identify what one change, that will set ourselves up for ongoing success.

 

Our Latest IGG: Clearing Blockers Quickly

 

 

During a recent retrospective, we identified a significant pain point: dealing with blockers. Previously, team members would either spend a great deal of time trying to resolve blockers on their own or pause on them, hoping they would eventually get resolved. This approach was inefficient and often led to delays.

 

We decided on a single, manageable adjustment: clearing blockers quickly by bringing in others to deal with them immediately upon identification. When a team member identifies a blocker, the plan is to call for immediate assistance from others who can help. This small change is straightforward to implement and didn't require any additional resources. The change, in this case, is priority and focus.

 

The Anticipated Impact

We recognized it as a problem. We anticipate the results will be immediate and impactful. By addressing blockers quickly, we will minimize delays and kept our projects moving forward. Pairing or swarming on problems tend to have a asymmetrical impact -- 1+1 usually equals 3 or 4. Pairing, swarming, and delegating seems to help team members understand how supported they are, knowing they have immediate access to help. It's clear that we expect this change will not only save time, but will also improved overall team morale and productivity.

 

The Compounding Effect of IGGs

"Extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus," Keller and Papasan state. By narrowing our focus to just one small change, we saw significant improvements without feeling overwhelmed. However, the process of identifying the "next thing" to focus on often reveals other areas that need attention. This approach, much like compounded interest, results in the incremental improvements accumulating over time, leading to substantial overall gains. After a year, weekly compound improvement of even 1% generates an improvement of over 66%. Compounded growth of 2% weekly improvement yields 180% increase. Can we sustain that level of growth and productivity? That's another question.

 

Reflecting on the Process

We need to identify and act to make improvements, regardless of the resources we have or don't have.

As a side benefit, in our pursuit of the next IGG, we are inadvertently planting the seeds for other areas that could use our attention. While our main effort remains on the one thing, this process allows us to be on the lookout for now-articulated issues that used to linger just below the surface of cognition -- or were hidden from all people but a few. So every IGG discussion, while seemingly minor on its own, contributes to a larger compounding effect that enhances our efficiency, productivity, and team cohesion. We can't fix everything at once, but we need to do the best we can, focusing on the most important thing.

 

Looking Ahead

I've been doing this long enough to know that maintaining that type of growth is really hard. But I've been encouraged by the success of many small changes over the many weeks. I'm committed to continually seeking out and implementing other IGGs, week by week (or more accurately, sprint by sprint -- two week intervals). By regularly evaluating our processes and making deliberate, incremental improvements, we are setting ourselves up for ongoing success. At the very least we're honest about what's been making ourselves successful and where we've been coming up short -- and putting some thought about ways to mitigate problems and foster the areas we've had success. It doesn't stop here though. This is steady, incremental growth; changes we can plan and predict. But there are some changes that generate productivity improvements by orders of magnitude. That's likely a conversation for another day.