What happens when the ability to build solutions starts to outpace understanding of the problem?

That tension is very real at BCN. Fraser Dear, experienced improvement practitioner and Head of AI and Data Innovation, reflects on the highs and lows of introducing AI into environments already built on structured, trusted ways of working, and the growing gap between doing more and doing what adds value.

“Stop thinking ‘I have this tool - how can I ram the tool into the problem?’”

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction and the shift from structured improvement work
01:15 Plenty of data, but still no clear answers
03:29 Trying to introduce something new into systems people already trust
05:47 Three very different reactions, and no obvious way forward
06:43 Moving the conversation away from decisions, and back to understanding
09:09 When people don’t trust the tool because they don’t understand it
10:52 The pressure to move faster, even when things aren’t fully clear
14:14 Building something impressive but not useful
16:08 Going back to the work before building anything else
18:53 When language creates confusion instead of clarity
20:55 Moving too fast and leaving stakeholders behind
22:56 Outro

Make new capability work in practice

Having the capability to build quickly is only part of the challenge. Our performance improvement consultancy helps organisations build the clarity and confidence to make sure new approaches deliver value where it’s needed.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

• Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics
• Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar
• Explore Lean Six Sigma Certifications
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When everyone is working towards the same goal, it’s easy to assume everyone can see the same picture.

Carla Smith, Innovation, Strategy and Planning Programme Manager at the Midlands Cancer Alliances Life Science Hub, reflects on what it took to bring more structure and visibility to a complex mix of stakeholders, priorities and communication styles across NHS and industry partners, and what she learned about data, ownership, and different ways of working along the way.

“There are completely different levels of digital readiness, and that changes how people work, how they communicate, and what they need.”

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction and the challenge of visibility across complex teams
02:01 Why shared goals don’t guarantee a shared view of progress
06:13 Bridging different ways of working across stakeholders
07:16 Building alignment at pace through sprints
09:20 The uncomfortable discovery: the solution already existed
11:31 Making work visible through data and challenging perception
13:53 When too much openness slows progress and the need for clear scope
20:11 Advice for first-time improvers: start with scope, then get the data
21:13 Outro

Help Your Teams See the Full Picture

When progress lives in different places, decisions slow down. Our performance improvement consultancy helps organisations bring clarity to complex work, align teams, and create the visibility needed to keep improvement moving.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

• Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics
• Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar
• Explore Lean Six Sigma Certifications
• Follow us on LinkedIn

As improvement activity grew at Currys, so did the number of ideas.

Phil Knowles shares what happened when that pipeline became harder to manage, and how focusing on specific operational challenges, with clearer governance and faster feedback, helped create the conditions for improvement to work across the business.

“If colleagues only see the polished success stories, then they assume that failure is unacceptable.”

In this episode:

00:00 Introduction and the challenge of scaling improvement
01:57 Why improvement was inconsistent and reactive
05:23 Building a bottom-up framework across 2,500 colleagues
08:12 The metrics that proved it was working
11:22 The gaps in the sustain model and early rollout
14:41 When the ideas pipeline becomes the problem
19:14 Moving from generic ideas to targeted challenges
22:38 Keeping change relevant across different teams
25:11 Outro

Making improvement work across the business

Building momentum is a significant step. Our performance improvement consultancy supports organisations to put the structure, clarity, and capability in place to sustain improvement at scale.

Explore Consultancy: https://pmi.co.uk/consultancy/

Visit us at pmi.co.uk for more:

• Dive into our Knowledge Hub for more tools, videos, and infographics
• Join us for a PMI LIVE Webinar
• Explore Lean Six Sigma Certifications
• Follow us on LinkedIn