The real point of process
Anyone who has ever been good at something has used process to get there. In order to achieve things, to get things done, there must be process. When accomplishments happen from sheer chaos, that’s just chance. Luck. Even eccentric artists follow steps to get their artwork done. I think.
In the corporate world, there are processes for everything. Creating products, designing software, paying bills. They are designed because they make getting a routine job done much easier. In web development, the field where I work, having build processes and testing suites and deployment services all make life easier. Those things let us focus on the interesting parts of the work. With the routine jobs out of the way, we can solve new problems.
Take a look at Michael Phelps. He’s got a pre-race routine that he never, ever deviates from. It’s his meticulous process for getting his body and his mind ready to swim. He can go through the process and then put the real work into what matters — winning races and admitting to smoking pot.
Process evolution
What happens over time, though, is that we let processes take control. We wind up spending so much time working on carefully refining a process that it becomes just as important as the work itself. Instead of using process to simplify and enable, we build our work around the process. This is the definition of stagnation. As soon as a competitor with no such processes sees how you work, they can easily outmaneuver you.
Process. noun: a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.
Big corporations are particularly susceptible to this trap. There are purchasing processes, legal processes, approval processes, operations processes. There are certain ways to write presentations and deliver one-pagers. There are protocols for how you are allowed to order snacks for a workshop. There is a process for getting a new desk put together by a predefined facilities contractor.
In a world where technology enables change at absurd speed, we can’t let guardrails keep us from innovation. Innovation happens for those who chase after it relentlessly. Groups working only within pre-planned processes by definition won’t be able to compete outside of it.
Being pragmatic
I’m not an insane person. I’m not giving tried and true business practice the middle finger. I’m trying to find the distinction between process that serves productivity and process that serves a false sense of security.
I’m not advocating for throwing caution to the wind, or for unnecessarily opening myself up to litigation. I don’t want to leak customer PII or company IP onto the internet. I don’t want to get sued or fired. But, on the other hand, I do want to be able to move faster than my competition at any point. I want to empower my team members to be smart adults and to make smart decisions and ignore processes that don’t work for them. I trust them not to store email addresses in a public Google Doc.
There needs to be a level of risk we are willing to accept if we are hoping to compete in this digital world. Remember, as quickly as we can decide on a new path, we can just as quickly change course. If you’re successful, it’s not likely people are going to complain that you found a better way to get to success.
Just don’t be an asshole/liar/thief about it.
