Plan Do Check Adjust

There is a great book out there called Launching A Leadership Revolution. In it, the authors describe a method of evaluation that can be applied to many different things. They describe it as PDCA, or Plan Do Check Adjust.

Develop a plan. Some people never plan and therefore, always hit their goals. Meaning they never really achieve what they want. Without proper planning and developing a system for following that plan, it becomes difficult to stay focused on the tasks ahead. Some people are great planners, but never move beyond that. They plan and plan, but never realize "the plan" because they never move on.

Do. This is an action step. It means looking at the plan of action you have developed and began the work. This not only develops your abilities, but moves you closer to your goals.

Check. Check you results and look and possible ways to improve. This is the time to evalute progress to determine if the goals are realistic and if the execution is proper.

Adjust. Adjusting the plan, or the action steps is key to progress. This isn't the time for major sweeping changes, jumping from one system to another, rather small adjustments to evaluate the success of the changes.

By applying the principles of PDCA, results can be made through a sytematic approach of discovering what the best course of action yields the best results.