Losing Weight

Have you ever noticed how procedures or “rules” seem to accumulate in an organization much the way pounds do around one’s middle? You hardly notice the impact when you’re adding them one at the time, but one day you wake up and realize that the organization feels rather sluggish and just isn’t moving as efficiently as it once did. Maybe it’s time for the organization to lose a little weight.

You might wonder how the “weight gain” happened in the first place . . . after all, no one really likes more rules, right? In most cases, it’s not the rules that people like, it is a) consistent, predictable outcomes; b) risk avoidance; c) the need for control; and/or, d) an assumption of incompetence.

I am not suggesting that we get rid of all the rules. Clearly, “a” and “b” rules can serve a very important function. “C” and “d” rules, on the other hand, simply bog your organization down. How can you tell which rules serve an important function and which should be part of your weight loss plan? Here are a few good places to start:

• “Because we have always done it that way” rules are the low hanging fruit of organizational weight loss. If no one can tell you what purpose a rule serves other than “because we have always done it that way,” stop it. If it serves an important purpose you’ll know soon enough.
• Rules that don’t make sense should be second on your list. Not sure which rules don’t make sense? Ask your people. I guarantee you they know. Again, it is possible that this rule serves an important purpose, but if it doesn’t make sense there is probably a better way to accomplish it.
• Rules for “highly unlikely but still in the 1-in-a-million realm of possibility” situations should be on the diet plan too. Lots of things “could” happen. But just because there is a remote possibility of something does not automatically mean that you should add 12 new rules on top of the 14 you already have in place.
• Rules that assume your people are stupid annoy most of your staff and probably won’t make a difference for those who may truly be incompetent. Address the individual situation rather than penalize everyone else with five extra steps.

I am absolutely not saying that you should never add new rules or procedures to your organization. Weight gain happens not so much because we add rules, but because we never, ever take any away. My challenge for you today is to ask your staff what rules/procedures make their day more sluggish without bringing any value to the organization and start there.

You just might be amazed how much better your people feel if your organization loses a little weight.