A Paean to Process… March 29th, 2018
As I gazed at the ceiling, I thought about how, even in a household of just three people (including our helper, Rosie), failures can happen. A shortage of beer, a lack of AA batteries at a critical moment in a Netflix original, even a perilously close brush with an absence of toilet paper. How easily and quickly can a simple administrative issue degrade without continuous attention.
If this can happen in a household, how much more prone to failure is the situation in companies! Hundreds of people, thousands of tasks, constantly shifting priorities, continuously evolving environments. A myriad ways to fail!
And thus, I realised, the insistence on and the absolute necessity for systems and processes. These are the bedrock of an organisation. Processes ensure that nothing falls between stools, that day-to-day activities happen consistently and efficiently, that human oversight is minimised, if not eliminated. Whether the systems are based on antiquated ledgers or whether on modern software, these are what anchor us in a constantly shifting tide.
Yes, sometimes we complain about cumbersome procedures or never-ending documentation, but these checklists and templates and flags are what keep an organisation running smoothly, delivering service, satisfying customers, earning income.
