Tackle Ineffeciencies Before Innovation

Posted by Jim Connolly on 11 December, 2009  Email This Post -  Print This Post

I’ve been swamped with organizational restructuring projects for the last 15 months. 

I’ve seen hundreds of processes and practices that needed to be eliminated or restructured significantly, including:

• Irrelevant Processes developed to feed information to software that had been replaced twice since the process was put in place
• Management practices that amounted to “welcome aboard - good luck”
• Leadership practices which indicated that leadership was the first priority right after you got your regular full time job done
• Approaches to organizational change that bordered on “if we don’t acknowledge the need for change we won’t have to change”

At the same time, the latest trend for organizations is the need for innovation.  Organizing in new and radically different ways in order to reduce costs, increase profits and improve competitive position.  Innovation is great, but…. 

Shouldn’t we address the “drafty windows” and the “old furnace” in our organizations before adding “solar panels” and a “windmill”?

Opportunities to improve business results by addressing a long list inefficiencies can yield immediate results and build a foundation for creative and innovative thinking.  Sure, some inefficiencies are politcally off limits.  So, tackle the others so those elephants in the room (related post) stand out more noticeably. 

3 Steps To Improve Business Results

1. Figure out what to stop doing - such as gathering data no one uses, eliminating the five unnecessary steps in the order entry process, etc.
2. Do things differently - improve processes, management practices, etc. and, in the process, get the organization more comfortable with on-going organizational change.
3. Then, and only then, consider how innovation can provide the opportunity to dramatically improve the way you do business.

For more insights on improving business performance and results, reference our other blog post categories here.  For a no-cost and no-obligation consultation to discuss your business challenges with our Founder and President, contact Jim Connolly here.