Processes

Good process is a great way to scale your impact. Bad processes stifle creativity and stop progress dead.

So when you think it’s time to add a new process, be really honest with yourself why you want to add it, and ask yourself a few key questions.

Firstly, is it actually going to help? Does it solve the problem you are trying to stop, or does it makes things worse? Get some people to throw some rocks at the proposal. Imagine what happens if you follow the process to the letter, as people’s judgement will fade over time, you can’t rely on that.

Assuming it passes these tests, and is likely to lead to better outcomes and good behaviours, ask yourself if it’s worth the cost? If the impact is big, then it might be worth a new process. If it’s small, why are you bothering? Don’t add overhead you don’t need.

Then ask if it’s really worth the cost. If you add an approval step to every release, then you’ll release more slowly. If three people must sign off a slide, then triple whatever the original cost to create was. If it’s your process, then you’ll need to own these costs. Nothing comes for free, it’s never just pure upside.

Finally, ask yourself how you’ll get rid of the process, or update it when the time comes. It’s easier to add than subtract, especially when you create jobs to enforce a process. What’s your way out? How will you know when a process is embedded into culture? How do you know if you are going through the motions for no real benefit?

Good process accelerates change. Bad process stifles it. Do the work to make it good, don’t just launch and forget.