May 1st, 2010
There is the camp (i.e., Jim Collins) that believes that if you have “the right people on the bus” you will have a much better chance of accomplishing your goals. Then there is the camp (i.e., Michael Gerber) that believes it’s mainly about systems and process. Both sides agree the two are not mutually exclusive, but both argue that more is to be gained from focusing your efforts on their respective camp.
This week I heard another take from a fellow process consultant which was, “If you don’t have the right people, you have to have the right process.” People are your greatest asset, however, you will not always have great people. Sometimes you will - some of you will be lucky enough to keep great people for years. But circumstances change and people leave for various reasons. A responsible business owner cannot afford to allow an employee to take part of their business with them. Having good processes, documented and consistently updated, allows you the insurance that when someone leaves, your company hasn’t lost valuable institutional knowledge.
Tags: people, process
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February 8th, 2010
With the SuperBowl last night and the Olympics coming up soon, professional athletes and their strategies have been on my mind. Over the weekend I flipped on the TV and saw an Olympic trainer being interviewed. What she said was counteractive with what we’ve heard in recent books such as The Secret. She said that she trains athletes not think of the crowds cheering and seeing themselves on the gold medal stand, but instead to concentrate on the process, doing the same things over and over again and continuing to do our best to improve each day. This is what creates success.
A colleague of mine teaches this same concept using Michael Phelps as an example. His argument is that what made Phelps successful was, of course natural ability (which we all have in some form), and then his process of each day practicing the same things over and over and pushing himself to do better.
As business people we imagine the next big deal we are going to land or if we could only hit $xxxxxx in revenue this month. But isn’t it really the practice of making a certain number of calls that help us land that big deal or increase our revenue? Determine what these practices are and turn these practices into habits. Build a process for creating the success you want. In the meantime, listen to your employees, have fun with your family, and read that book you’ve been wanting to read. After all, once we hit our goal, we will only have more.
Tags: habits, practice, process
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June 23rd, 2009
This thing I do called process mapping is very structured. It has its boxes and straight lines all connecting to something else in a sequential order. Of course I find it a blast, but I realize that many of my clients actually dread it. I think it’s the creative companies that I work with that fear it the most however, when they get into it, they find that it actually is fun. You know why? Because it actually does use quite a bit of that right brain in the creative process!
I must admit that I was surprised to learn via a Facebook quiz that I was right brained. :) I have always been a super organized, logical flow type of person, but maybe I do use more of my right brain than I think I do. When I get together with clients to map out a process flow, my brain has to be a complete blank slate. From nothing, I must create something…a picture in my mind of how everything goes together. When I write this in the whiteboard and the company sees their process visually, that is where the fun begins. You can actually see areas for improvement and the endless possibilities included.
One of the marketing companies that I work with has found the process mapping practice to be one of their team building events. The endless possibilities facilitate a sense of involvement, excitement, and ownership amongst the staff. All the while improving internal and external processes. Sounds like a good reason for your company to give it a try. What do you think?
Tags: creative, process, process mapping, team building
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