Hi,

Your wisdum really gets me through the day zern. You are the guru of gurus. I picture you as a rich man who sips cocktails all day while wearing sunnies and board shorts with heaps of beautiful ladies around you while you’re typing business wisdom on your laptop by your mad-ass swimming pool. I envy you.

Mate, I have a question. I work in a medium sized company. My department does not have any processes in place and I think they are very important. I believe in efficiency and making the best use of everyone’s time and ensuring everyone is on the same page. I’m not a left-wing tree hugging fart who believes that business can be done based on impulse and emotion like my BOSS. He can’t seem to see the importance of processes. He just makes ad-hoc decisions based on how he feels that day. And if he ever does reference a process, he is talking about something in his head or a stupid sentence in an email 6 months ago. It’s very annoying mate.

What are my options? I don’t want to come across as a deviant but I wanna make a difference and be accepted.

Thanks – and send some of those ladies my way.

Allan, Sydney

Hi Allan,

I like processes too! Just because a business has heart does not mean processes are dispensable. The more people you have to work with, the more important processes become – especially, as you have pointed out, when it comes to keeping people all on the same page.

Processes are especially good for repetitive stuff that you have to do, that has specific rules to follow, and that does not require creative on-your-toes thinking. Examples are order fulfilment, filing, backing up, accounting and so on.

Of course, on the other extreme is a process-crazy bureaucracy where everyone rushes around madly serving the process as an end in itself.

Can you start implementing processes yourself? This could be as simple as writing down the steps you need to take to do something that can be processified. Just for your own use of course, initially. Then you start sharing that around with your colleagues – those who need and get it. Maybe that is a way to make your life easier?

BTW you may want to amend that image of me sipping cocktails in board shorts etc. I think you are confusing me with someone who died a few years ago. LOL.