Accelerate Innovation with a Process Thinking Language

Specialized types of thinking are strengthened by the use of specialized languages. Examples include double-entry bookkeeping, music notation, calculus and aeronautics.

Each specialized language has a particular focus. To try that on, think about writing music without music notation, or for that matter writing music using calculus.

Process thinking, which we define as the activity of making mental models of how things work, is also a specialized type of thinking. And it can also be strengthened with the use of specialized process thinking languages. Process methods are the usual sources of such languages.

Again, try it on. Imagine doing process development and improvement work without using specialized terms, formats and understandings, and limiting yourself to standard business terminology.

Or, just think about what happens in most business meetings involving process change, where no process diagrams or other specialized format, tools or structures are used.

Organizational process thinking capability can be increased by broadly distributing a process thinking language. This can help accelerate process innovation, development and improvement by strengthening the thinking, communication and collaboration required in those efforts.

An important consideration is this: the most critical intermediate result of the process methods is not building the documentation. It is changing the mental models of the process stakeholders. No change in mental models => no process change. Better faster mental models => better faster process change. That's where supporting organizational process thinking capability with a widely distributed process language pays off.

Think of it as software for the human mind.

A last idea: to be widely distributed and consistently used, a process thinking language needs to be easy to learn, fast to apply, broadly applicable and highly effective. Different methods can be compared for these qualities.

ActionMap provides such a method, with detailed free training available at https://mapthatjob.com.

What do you think?

Do you see a benefit in using a specialized language to increase process thinking capability?

Is the idea of a specialized language for process thinking too abstract? 

Do you see problems in process innovation, development and improvement from NOT having a specialized language for process thinking? 

Considering the narrow uses, low adoption rates and the difficulty in sustaining commitments to process methodologies, what are some of the challenges that you see for implementing the broad use of a process thinking language within your organization?

What are your thoughts?

About the author(s)

Jim's LinkedIn profile is at: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/jimjohnson/

More about ActionMap can be found at https://actionmap.com

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