Volume 1 Edition 1: Back to the Future

?Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Traveling along the TLS Continuum Newsletter.

?Excuse the license but I could not find a better title for the first issue then the title of the iconic films by the same name. (if it has been a while or you have never seen the films with Michael J. Fox, get on your favorite streaming app and watch them both) The title presents a dilemma that we all face when traveling the continuum.

?Back

Take a moment and think back on your days in high school or college and the first session of one of your science classes. What was the very first thing the instructor covered in class each semester? (I know the answer because I taught science for six years). He/She most likely walked you through the foundations of science and the scientific method. I tis how we conduct experiments. It is how we discover answers to plaguing questions.

The scientific method is constructed with specific steps on the path of that discovery. We begin with a hypothesis which is our problem or goal. From there we measure the problem to obtain data on the performance of the ecosystem we are investigating. The we need to analyze the data and reach some conclusion on what the experiment told us. The we have to communicate our results to the world. The scientific method is designed for the natural environment.

?Future

Eliyahu Goldratt told us. Frederick Winslow Taylor told us. Mike Rother told us. The key to a successful journey along the TLS Continuum is the generation of scientifically based inquiry into the nature of our processes. The TLS Continuum is based on a concentrated process grounded in a path of discovery.

The TLS Continuum process is no different. Both the scientific method and the TLS Continuum methodology are designed to solve problems. The TLS Continuum is specifically designed for the business world. I call the TLS Continuum the business scientific method.

Like the scientific method, the TLS Continuum provides a roadmap for cross-functional teams to complete a process centered on improving the quality of your organizational transactional services or the products you produce. The only difference in the presentation of the two is that in the TLS Continuum we have changed the nomenclature.

We begin by determining the nature of the current business ecosystem and then preliminarily define the future state of the system. As Mike Rother tells us the in-between space is the unknown, the challenge to get to where we try and get to. So how do we begin?

We begin by establishing an understanding of the nature of the System construct of our organization. We look at the nature of the operation and determine what is working correctly and what is working inefficiently. It is from that we can begin to determine what we do next. The Theory of Constraints tells us that we need to establish the response to a series of questions.

First, we must identify the constraint. We do this by conducting an experiment of sorts to find what is causing the problem that is confronting us. Once we have found the constraint, we must make it priority number one. Like in the scientific method we now have our hypothesis.

Second, we need to determine the nature of the constraint. We do this by measuring the data that the process is telling us. Part of the experimentation process is to obtain those data points. Some will be obvious; others will need some digging. As Dr, Mikel Harry told us we don’t value what we don’t measure. It is through the measurement system that we find the true causes of our problem.

Third we must take those data points and analyze their effects on the system as a whole. Think of your organization as a natural ecosystem. Everything that goes on within the organizational socio-technical system affects the other parts of that system.

Once we have completed the analysis, we need to then introduce the steps to resolve the target conditions or challenges of the process improvement Similar to the conclusion stage of the scientific method.

System thinking tells us that one of the guideposts of the methodology is to enter into a sense of inquiry. A sense of inquiry is an experiment. An experiment is expected to be conducted in a certain way.? Call it the scientific method or call it the TLS Continuum. They are both a best method of finding the answers along the Continuum.

Let me leave you with a different focus on your position within the organization. You are not a human resource professional. You are a human capital management scientist. Your responsibility is to question everything. Everything you see. Everything you hear. Everything you do. It is also not to jump to conclusions when a problem confronts the organization.

As a human capital management scientist, you need to take scientifically based steps to resolve the issues by identifying the nature of the problem and its resolution on the business ecosystem. Your responsibility to build an answer to the next step in the continuum through the production of scientifically based evidence that is creditable, reliable, verifiable and repeatable.

Next week’s issue will take this one step further as we explore how you view the organizational problems that confront us every day.

?Need assistance with your own journey down the TLS Continuum? Drop an email to [email protected] or book a time at https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/TRavelingalongtheTLSContinuum@ NETORG5223078.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/ and request a half hour free Microsoft Teams session with us to discuss your situation and how we may be able to help.

?About the author:?Daniel Bloom?knows HR and Change Management. He’s a speaker on transformational HR, a strategic HR consultant and trainer. Thank you for subscribing to this newsletter. The best strategy that I ever undertook was earning my SPHR and the Six Sigma Black Belt. You can take the same path with our Road to Organizational Excellence Seminar. Starting July 15,2024, you can start the same path as we present live our Road to Operational Excellence - The Human Capital Edition for the following six weeks.

For more information visit https://dbaiconsulting.com/tls-continnuum-master-seminars

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