Not Everything You Do Is Necessary

I remember reading once about a logistical transport company in England that was 200 years old. It had two main offices. One near the port where packages were loaded up and another some way out where a lot of admin was conducted. A new CEO investigated why there were two centres. After getting some vague answers about paperwork, he found out that the real reason was rooted deep in company history.

The company was 200 years old. When it started they used horse and cart. The second centre was where they kept the hay for the horses! Now long after the horse and cart had been replaced by trucks they still had the two centres.

Organizations are full of the solutions to yesterday's problems annd most of them frustrate and de-motivate staff. Every internal policy or process was developed to solve a problem in the past. That problem may or may not still exist. It may or may not still present a risk.

Most organizations happily carry on with the habits of the past. It is deeply rooted in organizational culture. Often it is just "hay for the horses" but will be defended as essential or the way we do things round here. 

So how do you spot "hay for the horses"? 

For every process, routine or system that your organization has, ask the following questions:

1. What is the problem that it is trying to fix?
2. How much time does it take to complete?
3. What is the worst that would happen if we stopped doing it?
4. How often would that worst thing happen every year?
5. Who is likely to want the status quo to continue?
6. What else could achieve the same but in a shorter time?

Question three is the key to this. Just stopping things is often the hardest thing for organizations to do. Thinking about the worst case scenario can help remove the natural inertia and fear organizations have. Just cut it. What is the worst that could happen? Removing unnecessary routine, processes and systems can have a hugely positive impact on staff.

Your small improvement for today is to choose a process, routine or system and challenge it against the questions above.