12.1. Introduction: After an Assessment12.1.1. What Happens the First Day After an Assessment12.2. Who? (Who Drives a Disciplined Post-Assessment Plan? Who Makes It Work?)12.2.1. Senior Management: The Push from Above12.2.2. Two Time-Honored Mistakes12.2.2.1. Mistake 1: Appointing a Process Improvement Manager Who Has No Real Authority12.2.2.2. Mistake 2: Hiring a Consultant to Make Everything Better12.3. When Should Post-Assessment Planning Begin? How Ambitious Should It Be?12.3.1. What Should the Duration Be of a Post-Assessment Plan?Medium TermLong Term12.4. What Does a Post-Assessment Improvement Plan Look Like? How Should It Unfold? In What Spirit Should It Be Undertaken?12.4.1. The Principles of Building a Post-Assessment Process Improvement Action Plan12.4.2. The Contents of a Post-Assessment Process Improvement Action Plan: An Overview12.4.3. A Template of a Simple Plan to Identify and Track the Execution of Improvement Goals12.4.4. The Components of a Thorough Process Improvement Plan: A Template Designed for a Mature Organization12.4.5. A Common Temptation: Trying to Run Before You Walk12.4.6. Why Maturity Levels Can’t Be Skipped12.4.7. Planning for Reiterated Assessments12.5. After the Plan: Managing the Introduction of Improved Processes12.5.1. The Role of Senior Management in Implementing Improved Processes12.5.1.1. Learning to Ask the Right Questions12.5.1.2. Extending the Authority of Senior Management Without Diluting It12.5.2. How to Create a Workable Ladder of Authority: An Example12.5.3. The Role of Process Groups in Immature Organizations12.6. Creating, Tracking, and Implementing a Post-Assessment Plan for Process Improvement12.6.1. Background12.6.2. A Summary of the First Assessment’s Findings12.6.2.1. Organization Z: Final Findings from the First Assessment12.6.2.2. The Assessment Findings: A Summary12.6.3. Organization Z’s Post-Assessment Efforts and the Difference They Made One and Two Years Afterwards12.6.4. Two Years Later: Organization Z’s Second CBA IPI Assessment12.6.4.1. Organization Z’s Second Assessment: Summary of Achievements12.6.4.2. Organization Z’s Second Assessment: Remaining Issues12.6.4.3. Organization Z Second Assessment Findings12.6.4.4. A Sample of Organization Z’s Proposals After a Second Assessment and What Difference They Made One and Two Years Later12.6.5. Four Years Later: Organization Z’s Third CBA IPI Assessment, Undertaken Two Years After the Second Assessment and Four Years After the First Assessment12.6.5.1. Organization Z’s Third Assessment: Summary of Achievements12.6.5.2. Organization Z’s Third Assessment Findings12.6.6. The Payoffs for a Level 5 Organization12.6.6.1. The Bottom Line: Productivity and Performance Improvements in Organization Z12.6.6.2. The Benefits of Reiterated Assessment in Company Z: Analysis, Positive Change, Transformation, and EducationAnalysisInitiation of Positive ChangePositive TransformationEducationA Continuous Program of Assessment and Improvement