“Face the brutal facts.” That is a lesson Jim Collins included in his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t. This book continues to provide an excellent blueprint for any organization that wants to be great. Sometimes the work a company is doing is good; it’s just not enough to achieve the desired goal. It takes courage to look at the brutal facts—about performance issues, market challenges, or other uncomfortable data or insights. It can be discouraging.

I was meeting with my leader on a project I was leading. He asked me for the current results. I moved quickly into all the hard work we were doing. He then asked, again, for the results. He said it is good we are working hard, but the hard work is not achieving the needed results. The message was that activity is nice; however, if the activity is not achieving results, something needs to change.

In Good to Great, Collins explains that making changes and doing things even better is particularly hard to accept when the current results are good. This was brought home when a number of people attended a conference. As they sent their learnings from the conference, some of them went into detail on all of the good things their departments are doing. This can mean that if the same actions continue to be taken, the results will continue to be good. Will they create better results? No. Even when results are good, some new actions—or improved actions—need to happen if we’re to get better. That’s what greatness requires.

When outcomes are not good, it does not always mean that what is taking place is not important. If those actions were not taken, the results would be even worse. In Escambia County, Florida, the percentage of preterm births is 15.7. The state average is 10.6 percent. This does not mean the organizations working to reduce preterm births are not doing good things. It does mean that it is time to conduct a deeper analysis of the situation.

When outcomes are not achieved, my cousin Al will say, “How is that working for you?” After a while, the person will admit that it’s not working as well as they had hoped.

Two tips:

1. Dig into the details. Measurement is a vital part of taking steps to improve. Drill down into the data as much as possible. A group of physicians shared that they were concerned about nursing staff departures. In looking at the overall number, it was concerning. In digging deeper, it ended up that the departures were an issue in one large inpatient unit. This provided a clear road map for where work needed to be focused.

2. Look at the (potentially brutal) facts. It takes courage. This does not mean that what is being done is not good. It may mean that what is being done is not enough or at times other actions are needed.

If you are getting great results, congratulations. Teach others. If the results are not what is needed, this does not negate the good work you are doing. However, accept that changes are needed to achieve better results.

Great organizations don’t hide from the numbers. They look hard at reality, keep what works, change what doesn’t…and move the needle.