What picture comes to mind when the word "CAST" is mentioned? Well, if you are a fisherman, think of flinging out a line with a baited hook to see if you can successfully catch fish. After a while, you may need to change the bait or rigging, especially if the fish aren't biting. Once the fish start biting, don't you stick with the setup until the fish stop biting? After all, why switch the process when the fish are biting? Then again, why not change the process if it isn't catching the fish you're after, or stops catching fish?
There may be some of you who haven't had the pleasure of experiencing the slime and aroma of fishing. Think back to when we were children. We have all enjoyed the freedom of running around wide-open spaces, climbing trees and playing sports with the other neighborhood kids. Well, accidents happen and people get hurt. We have all experienced our share of injuries, including a few broken bones. So, how do you fix a broken bone? You put a cast on it. If successful, the bone mends even stronger than it was before. This is how our C.A.S.T. process works. You identify the broken process (whatever activity is not achieving your desired outcome), and you apply C.A.S.T. to it. Done properly, your new operating process or procedure should be stronger than the one that was previously in place (and probably broken).
C.A.S.T. is an acronym for Culturally Aligned Skills Training. This problem solving technique, developed by Visioneers LLC, is customized to your specific industry's business activity processes. The successful application of C.A.S.T. is based on the principle that, in order for your organization to achieve the desired outcome, you must fix the activity or process.
Except for bones, people aren't broken, so you can't successfully "fix" people. Besides, when was the last time someone revised your current process? Is that person still working for you? If not, who is responsible for making sure it still works the way it was intended? Was the effectiveness of the process affected by changes in technology or society? Who knows! Does anyone care?
So why C.A.S.T.? How many of you have undergone a management directive dictating that you will get better? It doesn't matter whether it is to increase productivity, customer satisfaction or reduce injuries. Traditionally, the increased emphasis on the problem works because the short-term fix is successful. The problem is, the increased emphasis only addresses a symptom of the problem and as a result, it is just a short-term fix. Once the attention disappears, so does the result. The organization reverts back to the way its always done things and, therefore, the results fall back to pre-targeted levels. Initiate enough of these short-term stopgap measures and pretty soon, you've left a "flavor-of-the-month" taste in everyone's mouth, delicious but somehow always leaving them wanting more.
