Eliminating Business Execution Bottlenecks

With the shakeup of Covid-19, now is a perfect time for eliminating business execution bottlenecks. Going back to “normal” when we get past this might mean going back to gridlock in your organization. The processes you put into place years or decades ago might be causing your business to run less efficiently. 

Anyone who’s been to Silicon Valley knows the traffic is horrible. The freeway system put into place decades ago no longer works for the amount of volume the system needs to handle. The growth outpaced the way drivers are managed. The problems it causes in delivering commuters to their destination is a serious cause of frustration. It costs commuters time and costs businesses money. People who live there accept it, but does that make it okay? 

If you look at the freeway system and public transportation system in Silicon Valley, it looks efficient “on paper”, just like your systems might look efficient to you. But, the best way to gauge efficiency is to ask people who use the systems every day. Your business bottlenecks might feel “normal” to you, your employees, and your customers. However, given a choice, the customers and employees would welcome an alternative that’s faster and more efficient. Is that going to be you?

Take a step back to look at where you have bottlenecks and gridlock. Inquire with your team to see if they have any suggestions to improve efficiency. 

The best way to stay on top of efficiency in your business is to engage your employees. Offer a bonus check reward to employees who:

1. Identify gridlock (current and approaching issues).
2. Create a solution to the problem.
3. Are willing to tackle implementing the solution (or work with a team to implement). Meaning, they take ownership of the improvements. 

Doing that one simple thing not only has your employees keeping an eye out on your behalf but being involved in the process of efficiency gives your employees pride of ownership with the processes. 

Organizational gridlock often requires business process changes and, in some instances, new technology. In order to dominate your market, you have to create an environment that can keep moving.

Thought for the week:

“One of the weapons Marvel used in its climb to comic-book dominance was a willingness to invent new characters at a dizzying speed. There are so many Marvel universes, indeed, that some superheroes do not even exist in one another’s worlds, preventing gridlock.” – Roger Ebert