If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you are probably my age – or younger. As I started in a recent role, an older coworker cracked a joke about “not forgetting to make the donuts” referring to the seeming lack of focus in the business as we explored a new opportunity. A few google searches later and I found this and had a good laugh. Beyond the commercial being funny, I laughed at the cascade of reactions I had:
– “Now that’s dedication”
– “What if he gets hit by a bus?”
– “I bet Dunkin has awesome process documentation”
I felt pretty foolish for finding a business truism in such a hokey ’80’s commercial, but it is indeed a truism. Processes are valuable. Good processes are invaluable. Having been raised by an entrepreneur , I know and meet a lot of small business owners. The biggest distinction between the happy ones and the exhausted ones is pretty simple, are they a process thinker or do they say things like “I am the only person who knows how to [do This Critical Thing]”?
Lots of people talk about this distinction as “Working IN your business” vs “Working ON your business”. In smaller businesses that aspire to growth, the difference is especially critical, but it’s a challenge in every business with which I’ve worked. That is why processes are so critical. As you carve out well-worn paths for the activities that keep your business humming, remember to take time to write them down, share them with everyone involved and be deliberate about how best to keep your process documentation current. In the long run, it frees up time to work ON your business.
FastCompany had an article recently about President Obama’s approach to decision making after a piece in Vanity Fair and a phenomenon called “Decision Fatigue”. I think the concept applies to organizations as well. Strong processes remove the decision making from routine tasks so that you and your employees can save your energy for the big stuff like “What’s next for this business?” Imagine if every time Walmart made a sale, the clerk needed to review the cost and then set the price based on what he or she thought were appropriate margins. Or if your local restaurant chose whether or not to clean up every night before turning out the lights. Processes make businesses work and the more deeply you can embed process thinking into your business the better.
I’m a big believer in the development of strong processes, I hope to share interesting ways of incorporating and improving processes with you here.
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I’m super process-oriented :0) While it is my strength it is also my weakness. While good processes are invaluable, they can be a roadblock to innovation, business growth, and driving change. Once a process is in place, you limit yourself to following the same process all the time when there may be a need to break out the box and do things in a different way. Perfect example in my everyday life – I manage my finances going to my bank and credit card sites and tracking expenses on an excel spreadsheet. I’ve been doing this since I started working. It is probably time for me to let go of visiting all these different sites and just move to managing my finances through a site like Mint where everything is already aggregated for me. For the life of me, I just can’t make the switch. The same thing happens in the business world. We just can’t get let go of good processes that have worked for us in the past and still do the job today.
Any thoughts on striking that right balance? When is there too much process? How do you make sure you don’t get trapped in your own processes?