This was troubling, since I consider myself to be organized and in-front of the next deliverable always.
But there I was, overwhelmed, and you may be as well. So let’s fix that.
Systemize to Optimize
The basic premise is this: everything you do throughout your week can be deconstructed into a process. This process can then be documented into a checklist or standard operating procedure (SOP).
By writing the process down, you can identify waste and eliminate it. You may also find opportunities to merge tasks or batch your work. (Batching refers to scheduling work of a similar type into one period of time. For example, if you manage numerous projects, you may batch all the work associated with status updates into a specific day.)
You might also identify tasks you no longer need to be doing, allowing you to delete or delegate the task entirely. In the case of delegating, the SOP you’ve established can be handed-off to the person who will now accomplish the task.
Success Via Consistency
My move towards documentation of my processes, and a commitment to follow them repeatedly, came as a response to work overload. I took these particular steps based on my experience working with checklists during my U.S. Air Force career as well as my learning about LEAN principles.
In the Air Force, we used checklists to reduce risk and increase consistency in outcome. In many situations, if you missed a vital step in the process you might cause someone to lose their life.
With regard to LEAN concepts, all efforts are focused on eliminating waste and optimizing the process to ensure a consistent outcome.
Putting the two together, I can think of three primary reasons to go through the effort to document your tasks into a checklist or SOP. They include:
1. Ensure Consistency and Reduce Error. Each of us wants to reduce error, eliminate risk and increase the probability of success, resulting from our actions. If you have a particular process that delivers desired results for a specific task, it makes sense to put the process into an SOP so you can follow the steps over-and-over again. Consistency comes through adherence to process. Of course it will be important to ensure that process does actually generate desired results. Otherwise you may have a consistent process that consistently gives you the wrong results!
2. Increase Efficiency. When you have a written process in place, you increase your efficiency because you no longer have to think about what to do next. It’s written down. You simply refer to the appropriate checklist or SOP and sequentially perform each step. That’s how this article was put together, how I conduct a strategy review session with a client, and how I plan for a trip. No thinking about process, only thinking about result.
3. Enable Elimination and Delegation. Borrowing again from LEAN concepts is the act of eliminating waste. Once I began documenting my actions into SOPs, I identified several that weren’t adding value but consuming time. Naturally once these were illuminated they were eliminated. More recently, I’ve begun working with an assistant to whom I’ve been able to delegate a good number of tasks. Since these tasks were already documented in written SOPs, it was very easy to task-transfer actions to her.
Success comes through small steps taken consistently. However, it’s easy to forget this and easier still to not be consistent. But with written processes or checklists you greatly increase your ability to be consistent. Over the long-term, you also increase your likelihood of being successful.
Christian Knutson, P.E., PMP is a leadership and strategy coach, practicing engineer and program manager. He is co-founder of The Engineering Career Coach, a company providing engineers and engineering companies core skills, leadership, and lifestyle design services enabling them to execute their personal and business vision's.