An ongoing debate that we had in my company and also in my peer advisory groups, was ‘goal-setting’ versus ‘ongoing and continuous improvement.’ I came down squarely on the continuous improvement side of this discussion. I never advocated for goal-setting because I viewed goals as being limiting, and of adverse consequence to engagement and morale, when not reached. When anchoring ongoing and continuous improvement to reliable statistical measures, goals that we would have otherwise set can be exceeded over time, and improvement can always be recognized – which is good for engagement and morale. My experience was that ongoing and continuous improvement in business motivates personal growth and development in ways that goal-setting does not. ‘Ongoing and continuous improvement’ is wholly dependent on meaningful and accurate statistical measures.
I acquainted myself with the writings of W. Edwards Deming and the concept of Total Quality Management early in my business career. I quickly developed affinities for his work- and especially the importance of reliable statistical measures in place of perceptions. From the time I first read Deming, I stopped believing in objective goal-setting. I felt that there was value in setting goals, but that this value was transcended by ‘continuous improvement’ – and that setting goals precluded continuous improvement and the importance of its transcendence.
At a much later time, I started to appreciate the importance of ‘ritual’ in my business, after reading Michael Puitt’s, ‘The Path.’ In this work, Puitt discusses the ancient Chinese philosophers and their belief in the power of ritual. It was at this time that I started thinking about the relationship between ‘ritual’ and ‘ongoing and continuous improvement.’
After reading ‘The Path,’ I was able to reflect on the successful battles I fought in my business and recognized the power of ritual in these successes. ‘Ritual’ is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘habit’ – but there are differences. Ritual is done repeatedly for a purpose outside of the action, while habit is done repeatedly for the act itself. In this sense, random habits or behaviors can be willfully made into rituals and, rituals can evolve into specific habits. If I go to the gym on a regular schedule and do high-intensity interval training three times per week, I am going so that I feel better, look better, and hopefully live longer. This is ritual. If I do it long enough, I may get to the point where I am no longer connecting it to any purpose- feeling better, looking better, or living longer – I am now doing it as a habit. However, the benefit is still the same- it just becomes disconnected from its original purpose. Now, I am doing it to do it, for its own sake – it is a habit. And this is the power of ritual. We can choose to make our random habits or behaviors into ‘rituals,’ and our ‘rituals’ can become our good habits- because they start for an outside purpose, and we only start a ritual for a purpose if we believe the purpose provides a benefit. In my business, I was able to see the synergies between ‘ritual’ and our mission for ‘continuous improvement.’ As individuals, when we use the power of ritual to develop good habits, we increasingly move toward virtue. In business, we increasingly move toward success.
It is essential to have exceptions to ritual, as well. It is necessary to try new routines and new things, and to have new experiences. This is how we grow. But there has to be a base of rituals to have exceptions to them. Striking a balance between ‘rituals’ and the ‘exceptions’ that can often lead to new or modified rituals that provide further self-improvement and growth is essential. Here, ‘awareness’ is key. This is where developing a ritual for meditation or mindfulness practice can guide the balance. Through improved awareness, we can recognize when our current habits indicate developing new or modified rituals.
I recall an incident at a monthly meeting of one of my peer advisory groups. I was the “new member” in the group. The agenda for this particular meeting was ‘goal-setting.’ Each member was supposed to identify new goals for the upcoming year. Stating the goals in an open forum and documenting them to a collective journal was somehow supposed to be sufficient for their realization. When it was my turn, I stated openly in front of the group that I did not believe in goal-setting. I believed in ongoing and continuous improvement through the use of accurate statistical measures. I explained that I thought setting goals was limiting, and if we continuously improve, we will often exceed the goals that we would have otherwise set. And also, that continuous improvement was self-reinforcing, whereas goal-setting could be self-defeating and demoralizing. This idea led to a lively discussion in the room. Despite the disagreement, the group was willing to listen and was open to different perspectives.
Meaningful and accurate statistical measures tell us where we need to improve and provide us with continued measures of incremental improvement as baselines for its continuation. At the same time, ritual can facilitate the improvement to be measured, once identified. Over many years in business, I came to believe that at the intersection of ‘continuous improvement’ and ‘ritual’ lies an effective pathway to greater success.
