Attesting to the validity of the term “Status Quo” is the fact that it is universally recognized and understood. It is one of the most frequently used phrases in the lexicon of any modern society. Performing a search on the term using one of the popular Internet search engines can easily return more than one million Web pages containing the phrase.
The term has in fact become so common that most people use it without giving much if any thought to the causative factors responsible for the end result, which, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is the preservation of the “existing state of affairs.” The Status Quo is all about resistance to improvement or change.
Problems always become clearer when any component parts can be identified. Solutions and methods for improvement become easier when the causative factors that allow problems to occur (or to be avoided) are further distilled into a set of maxims or rules, such as TIIMS™.
In the process of developing TIIMS it became very apparent that merely referring to the Status Quo was not sufficient, but that the primary components of the Status Quo also needed to be identified. The Thirteen Principles of TIIMS™ identify the 13 major components responsible for the Status-Quo state of affairs that exists within virtually all organizations of any size. It could be said that the Thirteen Principles address the end results of the Status Quo without defining it entirely, or drilling down to a lower-level view of the individual causes of the Status Quo itself.
The Fishbone diagram found at the end of this text identifies the major factors that contribute to the Status Quo. The diagram, perhaps for the first time, provides a concise yet coherent road map to the factors that drive the Status Quo.
Just as an individual or organization can, by utilizing the Thirteen Principles, address the high-level factors responsible for the Status Quo already being pervasive throughout their existing organization, by using the Status Quo diagram they can prevent the Status Quo state of affairs from arising before it becomes a problem. The Thirteen Principles provide a method for dealing with the end results of the Status Quo, while the diagram provides a preventative method for heading off the Status Quo before it has an opportunity to get started.
Just because an individual or organization is aware that an improved approach is needed does not mean change will come about. That is why TIIMS utilizes sophisticated computational techniques derived from years of research and field work to make possible the automated management and oversight necessary to achieve significantly improved performance and/or revenue, and corresponding reductions in cost and error rates.
The automation afforded by TIIMS makes it possible for a large organization to operate with the speed and efficiency of a small one by providing automated decision analysis and support. TIIMS also enables the automatic processing and routing of communications within a large organization, assuring that each document or email reaches the appropriate recipients, including senior management, without overwhelming them with information that is not relevant.
The below diagram is too big for it to all fit on the screen at one time. However, it can easily be scrolled and viewed within any of the three major Web browsers.