Turning Caring about CAD into Curing CAD Troubles

Moving from Single to Group

One of the first steps is to interact with those that you have identified as caring and getting them into some form of group. Groups often make greater impact than individuals. Working alone limits the impact of your efforts. Working with groups expands the impact you will have. Groups are essential to overseeing CAD.

Gathering individuals into groups will work better if you pay attention to the group makeup and dynamics. I will address these in another post at some point. For now, lets just get the ones that you have identified as caring into a group. Start with a meeting to overview their involvement. Let them know what is expected and allowed. Discuss roles and responsibilities and limits of authority. Get the ground rules in place.

Moving toward the Cure

Moving people from individual to group is an adventure. Moving them from “caring” to “curing” is a challenge. Taking the raw materials of the people outlined above and turning them into a cohesive team that works on CAD issues beyond their own drawings, projects and offices takes some time. First you have to find them, gather them together, get them pointed in the right direction and encourage them to continue toward the goal.

Moving from caring about their project to caring about the entire firm requires that you constantly remind them that others have the similar needs and concerns like they have. Remind them those others people have valid ideas and also have limitations that they may not know about. Urge them to take a grander view of the overall needs of the firm, not just their needs of their project. Their immediate need will be to get their projects out the door and secure the processes that they have. They will want to do things in ways they have proven successful to themselves and their immediate coworkers. They will have advocates in their projects and offices pressing them to get their ways embedded in the standard. They all come with agendas. Some hold tighter to them than others.

So broaden their view to the entire company and then move them to caring about the entire company as well. Understanding someone else’s perspective does not make you embrace it or seek to satisfy it. Moving people toward seeking a balanced answer that works for all can be hard work. Never let them forget that the right answer works for all, not just for some.

Getting them to the “Curing” level is what it takes to move them toward solving other people’s problems and not just their own. Expanding their view helps, but getting them to actually work for the good of all is best. As the team builds and gains cohesion, this will start to happen. Reward those that find the best. Mention them to others and good team players. Give them the accolades they deserve.

The ultimate responsibility for Curing your CAD woes stays firmly on your shoulders, but the groups you use will help you make progress.