Growing an Organization in Stages

Something that has been on my mind for a while now is, how do you grow an organization's maturity without going too quickly or too slowly.

First, a definition -- what is Organizational Maturity?

With due respect to Terence J. Cooke-Davies, I believe an organization is mature when its ability to carry out its core functions is fully developed - meaning all its core functions are understood, well defined, documented, and its staff are trained on how to execute them. The highest level of maturity would include the ability to learn over time and gradually improve performance with careful changes and careful measurements - and those measurements have to be meaningful.

The two core concepts here are Predictability and Repeatability. When an organization is operating well, its core functions are predictable and repeatable, and its results are as well.

So, how quickly can an organization (or one of its core functions) be brought along towards maturity?

I believe there are a series of steps that need to be taken in a specific order. Rush these or take them out of order, and you will suffer a setback. (Tip of the hat to the CMMI for these.)

1. Discipline - you have to be able to Repeat yourself, to do things the same way twice.
2. Definition - you have to be able to Train others to do what you did. If you try to train without discipline, the training won't stick.
3. Measurement - only when people are trained on the process does it make sense to measure the process. If people aren't well disciplined and trained, the measurements are meaningless.
4. Management - real management can only come after accurate numbers exist. You cannot manage what you cannot measure.

As each of the above is brought to an organization, you should pause and assess whether it's sticking. If people begin to slack off on their self discipline and stop doing things in the defined manner, the numbers stop being meaningful.