What does evaluation have to do with readiness?
In recent articles, I’ve been exploring the engagement readiness practice. One of the things that I find isn’t necessarily thought about as part of readiness is evaluation. I understand why. The act of evaluating is something we do ‘after’ and readiness is about the things we do ‘before’. But in my experience, evaluation is a key component of readiness. And, although informally, I often see it used as an input to help make decisions about what will get and/or needs attention when we engage. It shows up as, “…last time this happened and people liked it so, we should do that again” or “…we didn’t get anything worthwhile out of that so, we need to do something else”.
There is nothing wrong with relying on what we learned or know from previous experiences. In fact, those conversations are an important part of a readiness practice. I describe them as being in the Presumption Zone. It is the space where inclination and impression are used to inform what should be done. However, if we only spend time in this zone, we fall into the trap of what Daniel Kahneman describes as what you see is all there is (WYSIATI) [1]. He shares that this is where our minds naturally go, the known knowns or things we’ve observed or have experienced already. The risk is that we will miss out on important knowledge and understanding that could make a difference to our engagement readiness and overall effort. Getting purposeful and considering what Kahneman calls the known unknowns, the things that we know to be relevant but about which we have no information, helps avoid potential pitfalls of the Presumption Zone.
So, part of an engagement readiness practice should have what Rita Gunther calls, a plan to learn [2]. This involves recognizing that there are limitations to our experiences and what we know about current circumstances and, we should be deliberate about creating the conditions to support discovery. I call this activating the Discovery Zone, the space where investigation and inspection happen and integrated with inclination and impression to help:
accelerate understanding;
find clarity in uncertainty; and
connect our presumptions with new knowledge to reveal options for our engagement.
As you think about your readiness practice, consider the ways in which you can get into the Discovery Zone. Think about what you and the team don’t know and what you need to learn. It is likely that this conversation will lead to identifying what you need to measure and monitor as you implement your engagement. In other words, what you need to evaluate. Doing this as part of a readiness practice increases your chances of getting the right information, at the right time, from the right people. And you’ll be creating a stronger foundation upon which to continuously improve your engagement outcomes and impacts and, ultimately, your investment.
[1] Kahneman, D. Thinking Fast and Slow. Published by Anchor Canada 2013.
[2] Gunther, R. The Destructive Power of Assumptions. Fortune. July 13, 2016