I read a great blog post this afternoon called, "A Mug Full of Change", and I couldn't agree any more with the message that the author was trying to convey. He starts by talking about how every night, before going to bed, he empties the loose change from his pocket and tosses it in his "change" mug (in this case, change referring to quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies). In a moment of reflection, he realizes that the mug is actually from a change (i.e. quality transformation) initiative that his organization had run a few years back. He goes back to work the next day and is explaining the irony of the whole episode to one of his co-workers, in this case, an employee who had been with the company for nearly 30 years. The employee laughs, points to the cabinet in his cubicle and slides the door back to reveal "literally a wall full of mugs" from change initiatives from the past.
Why is it that we feel the need to label major initiatives with a catchy label? It is pervasive in a number of industries, including health care. For example, there are a number of health care organizations who are (rightly) focusing on reducing serious harm events, such as central line infections, pressure ulcers, and codes outside the intensive care unit. The ultimate goal for these patient safety initiatives are to reduce the number of these serious harm events to zero. Pair the word "zero" with any number of words, and you have the name of any of a number of patient safety initiatives at a number of major health care organizations across the United States. It doesn't just involve patient safety. I have heard phrases like the "Triple Aim" (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) to describe the goal of improving population health, reducing cost, and increasing patient experience. Add a fourth goal of improving the provider experience, and you now have the "Quadruple Aim".
Please don't misunderstand me - all of these initiatives, every single one, is absolutely the right thing to do in health care today. These are the right goals to set for ourselves. Many of these initiatives have been relatively successful. However, I do agree with the author (Ken Miller) of "A Mug Full of Change" - the need to brand every single change initiative with a catch-phrase is not necessary and may, in fact, be counterproductive. Miller offers several reasons why in another related post, "What's in a Name?":
1. Catchy names often lead to the "Flavor of the Month" syndrome. It's as if the employees are saying, "Here we go again. Another month. Another quality improvement project." By translation, the "Flavor of the Month" syndrome leads to "initiative fatigue," which is a killer of change.
2. Labeling the change initiative creates a target. As our Board of Trustees Chair likes to say, "The only people who like change are babies with wet diapers." There are going to be nay-sayers. By labeling the change initiative, you have essentially given them a target. "I have X." "Here we go again - X." "This month, X. Next month, Y." The nay-sayers may even change the words around that turns what was meant to be positive into a negative ("Tomorrow's medicine today" becomes something like "Yesterday's medicine today" as one example that I have heard during my career).
3. By naming the change initiative, we separate the label from the actual work. More time and energy is focused on the branding than the actual execution of the work.
4. At times, we spend more time and energy launching the campaign with the catchy brand that not enough energy is left for us to do the actual improvement work. Miller says it's like we are celebrating BEFORE the work is even started!
5. Miller doesn't list this one, but I think that at times, the catchy name assumes a life of its own. It becomes so all encompassing, that people just get sick of hearing about it.
So what does Miller recommend? Above all else, avoid the temptation to use a catchphrase or trendy label for your next change initiative. Don't create T-shirts or have big parties until the work is done. People will get excited about change - there are other ways to motivate and inspire. Leave the change mugs for exactly their original intended purpose - to collect loose coins!
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