Muhammad Ali famously said that he hated training, but he understood it was a necessity that would make him the champion he knew he could be. Many organizations have similarly lofty goals – to be the best in their field, to change the face of their industry and to reach new and unrivaled heights – but what might be missing is a commitment to training for it. For businesses, process management is the workout that can make their visions a reality.
Ali described his training as “suffering” and sometimes adapting to the ever-changing demands of business can feel that way too, but the old mantra of ‘no pain, no gain’ is one to bear in mind. The challenges of establishing and maintaining effective business processes pay off in increased efficiency and effectiveness, and the attainment of those goals that the organization has set itself.
The three vital steps to pave the way to process optimization success
Know the path to the goal
You cannot reach your objective if you do not know the way there. You need to understand not just the big picture of success, but the specific objectives that make it a reality. These are your outputs and the results you are looking for. With those in mind you have an outline of what your processes should achieve. This is the first step to mapping them and understanding the steps you need to take in each operation to bring them about.
Process mapping is a powerful tool for capturing those flows of effort, information and products through your business. Be sure to share the effort and use a great process platform that brings your teams in on the exercise. Consider them your personal trainers, helping shape the direction of your workout.
It is all about intensity
Ali said he only started counting sit-ups when they started hurting, because that is when they were doing something. Every business has processes, but they are not necessarily doing you any favors if you are not examining them and improving on them.
Use tools like time analysis to identify bottlenecks and redundancies. Look for lags that occur where handoff points are not optimized and data or resources sit unattended. Those are your pain points and, again, your teams probably already know them well. Efficiency in your processes means that every iteration is adding value to your business and building toward your goals.
Measure your results
It was not just his charisma which took Muhammad Ali to the heavyweight championship three times. He worked for it and the results speak for themselves. Once you have invested in capturing your processes and focused on eliminating pain points, look at what you have got. Use reports and outputs to evaluate the effectiveness of your processes and hold that data up against the goals you have set.
Chances are it is a good step in the right direction but you will still have work to do. It is known as continuous improvement because the work is never done and that is how you go from being a contender to the greatest of all time. Revisit your processes, both the micro details of the steps that are involved and the macro flow of how those processes serve your strategic direction. Look for disconnects in operational purpose and breakdowns in delivering your outcomes. Refine, revise and review again.
Progress requires action
Every step forward is one closer to the goal, but it does not happen by itself. Becoming a champion takes hard work. Any business that wants to succeed will have a vision of what that looks like but will need to put the work in to bring it about. Process excellence is at the heart of that journey and makes up the core of the effort that is required to turn a hopeful into a world champion.
Are there any key steps that you would add to create process champions? Let us know in the comments below.