Improvements

Goals

1. Describe improvements.

2. Skillfully improve things in ways that provide positive payoffs.

3. Inspire and guide others so that they improve things.

What?

Improvement means making something—call this X—more rewarding or less burdensome than it was before.

Desirable improvements are those that result in positive payoffs—where the benefits clearly outweigh the costs.

Analysis (Breakdown of Ideas)

X

The variable X stands for anything that can be improved—such as an apple pie recipe, knowledge of anthropology, problem solving, a relationship, a company’s culture, a welding method, a tennis serve, or even happiness.

Better

X is better if it leads to more rewards or fewer drawbacks than before.

Positive Payoff

A payoff is the net result of rewards minus drawbacks that come from taking one or more actions. A payoff is positive when the total rewards exceed the total drawbacks, especially when viewed broadly (e.g. across time, people, or areas of life). Desirable improvements often yield high positive payoffs—such as 1.5x to 10x or more.

Rewards

Informally, a reward is something you like or value that results from taking action—such as satisfaction, better understanding, good results, praise, status, or financial gain.

Formally, a reward is anything that tends to increase the likelihood of repeating an action.

Drawbacks

Informally, a drawback is something unpleasant or undesirable—such as stress, effort, complexity, cost, fear, or hassle.

Formally, a drawback is anything that tends to decrease the likelihood of repeating an action.

Examples

1. Figuring out a better way to shop for groceries.
2. Making a organization more profitable.
3. Serving a tennis ball better.
4. Coming up with a better understanding of fermentation.
5. Making house cleaning more enjoyable, reducing the amount of time, and getting better results (cleaner house).
6. Running meetings more effectively (better results) and cutting the time down by 50%.
7. Getting along better with a coworker by changing how you start conversations.
8. Tweaking your morning routine so you feel less rushed and more focused.
9. Writing clearer emails that get faster and more useful replies.
10. Learning to cook meals that are healthier, cheaper, and take less time.
11. Creating a better system for tracking your to-dos so nothing slips through the cracks.
12. Changing how you explain a tricky idea so that others finally “get it.”
13. Modifying a university so that students learn more, professors spend less time and effort teaching, and student engagement and enjoyment doubles.
14. Modifying a national government so that medical care is improved by 30% while the associated costs goes down by 45% and medical care is accessible to more of the citizen.

Rationale

Here are some reasons why being skilled with improving things is worthwhile.

1. Continually increase your payoffs.
2. Continually make the future better than the present.
3. Feel optimistic and empowered.
4. Positive payoffs feel great.

Concerns

1. Mindset and skill for improvement are uncommon. However, they can be learned just like anything else.

2. Many people believe that things cannot be improvement. However, beliefs can be changed by skilled facilitation.

Improving Things (How To)

Principles

1. There is a best way to do something; this best way can be improvement.
2. There is a best way to make a good or deliver a service; this best way can be improved.
3. Anything and everything can be improved.
4. Improvements can and should provide positive payoffs ideally greater than 1.5x.

Framework

1. Roles: Figure out your key areas of responsibility or concern.

   1. Example (Individual): Spouse, parent, painter, life coach (self), electrician, employee, and pickle ball player.
   2. Example (University): Research, teaching, service, operations, marketing, fund raising, and legislative-relationships.
   3. Example (Soccer Team): Winning games, player development, team culture, coaching development, and operations.

2. Focus: Within roles, figure out the best thing to improve–call this X–based on what will provide you with the highest positive payoffs.

3. Repetitions: Improve X by iterating the follow actions

   1. Goal: Describe quality in X in a way that is measurable or observable.
   2. Research: Get high-quality information that you how to get high quality.
   3. Application. Apply the information. Get feedback. Pay attention. Be metacognitive.
   4. Growth. Improve X via Reflective Thinking (RT).

Discussion (WIP)

The improvement process is the learning process (deliberate practice). Skill with learning = Skill with improvement.

So Learning and improvement are the same process, just viewed from different angles. For example memorizing capital cities is an improvement in the learner’s knowledge base.

• It increases their ability to answer questions, recognize places, and maybe even make better decisions.

• The payoff might be small or situational, but it’s still a positive change, so it qualifies as an improvement.

** Revised Definitions**

• Learning = Gaining or enhancing capabilities (knowledge, skills, attitudes, etc.).

• Improvement = Making something better (i.e., more rewarding or less burdensome).

• When you improve your understanding of something → it’s both learning and improvement.

• When you improve an external process or product (e.g. cleaning faster) → it still involves learning.

** Final Synthesis**

Learning is internal improvement.

Improvement is the outward result of learning.

They are two sides of the same coin—one reflects internal change, the other payoff.