Do It, Do It Right, Do It Right Now!

Last week I had a posting called, "Just Do It!" after the Nike slogan, used so often in their advertising. Before, "Just Do It!" was even considered by Nike, I was serving a mission for my church in the late 70's. One of our church leaders had a placard on his desk which said, "Do it, Do it right, Do it right now!" Everyone knew that this was his credo and we made it ours. It has since stuck with me.

So what does the mantra, "Do it, Do it right, Do it right now!" have to do with investigations? The following are my thoughts on the matter:

1. Do It: This simply means "Take Action." If no action is taken, nothing gets done. A Loss Event has occurred. You are aware of it, or previously unaware of the Loss Event, it has been assigned to you for investigation. Take Action. Begin the investigation. Understand the events surrounding the Loss Event and use that understanding to determine Root Cause. The point is, that unless you "Do It," nothing will ever be resolved. No Root Cause will be found.
   
2. Do It Right: When taking action, during the course of your investigation, be sure you are taking the right action. Question everything. Require the appropriate data to support or disclaim all your hypotheses. Talk to the SME's and SMI's, both. Don't be afraid to challenge. Don't be afraid to be challenged. Gather all the data and information you can. Organize it, codify it and prepare it for review and/or approval. Most of all, be sure your Corrective Actions are appropriate and sound and prevent future Loss Events of like kind.
3. Do It Right Now: There is a sense of urgency in business. Any business. The business of work, the business of community, the business of family, all require some sense of urgency to resolve issues and resolve them quickly. Understanding this as investigators, we should take action and we should take the right action. However, waiting does not help at all, we need to take action now! The sooner we take action, the sooner resolution will take place, the sooner we improve whatever process we are investigating, and the sooner we reap the benefits of such.

Life is full of challenges and choices. These are compressed even further in the traditional business environment. Investigators are leveraged to understand why some of those challenges occur and how to prevent their recurrence in the future.

When you are faced with the challenges and choices of life, in your work or otherwise, as an investigator, just remember...

Do it, Do it Right, Do it right now!