Avoiding Corporate Roadblocks
Roadblocks are caused by a break in process. Often simple tasks or complex projects come to a complete halt. Several factors are to blame.
September 6, 2017 by Brad Bruckner
Roadblocks cost companies billions of dollars each year. Indecision, red tape, poor leadership, and fear can drive a company to failure. Doing nothing is worse than trying and failing. At least in failure, you can learn from mistakes and push ahead. If you do not try to move forward, your competiton will pass you, your clients and employees will lose interest, and your bottom line will shrink.
It is always important to weigh the Cost of Delay vs. the Cost of Progress. Mistakes that occur from moving too fast are far less costly than delays. Delays cost man hours, destroy morale, and cause other projects to get bottlenecked. People feel better about their jobs when goals are met and projects are completed.
Every successful company follows this mantra. Look at Amazon. Elements on their website are tested and retested. They learn from their mistakes, they take calculated risks, and they have become one of the world's largest companies. On the contrary, Blackberry was once considered the leader in Smartphones. By mid-2016, the company’s share of the global smartphone market was less than 2%. The company became stagnant, and sales fell as a result.
What causes a roadblock?
1. Indecision
People often struggle with a decision, rather than trust their instincts. 95% of the time your instincts are the right choice. Just go with it. Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking," gives many examples of how belabored decisions kill progress and waste time and energy.
Just because it needs to get done doesn't mean that you have to do it. Most people fear that if they don't do the job, it won't get done right. Most things that we are asked to do, can usually be done just as well or even better by someone else. People hesitate to delegate because they are afraid that the job will not be done correctly or that it is a sign of weakness. You are most valuable to your company when you are doing the tasks that you do best. Those tasks are usaully 20% of your day. 80% of your day is spent doing tasks that could be done just as well by someone else. Freelancers and administrative help can be found online at sites like PeoplePerHour.com.
We offer our clients many automated solutions that increase their productivity and lighten their workload.
While I certainly could write more about the subject, I want to get this off my plate and move on to my next project. I can always improve it later.
MOVE FAST AND BREAK THINGS
It is always important to weigh the Cost of Delay vs. the Cost of Progress. Mistakes that occur from moving too fast are far less costly than delays. Delays cost man hours, destroy morale, and cause other projects to get bottlenecked. People feel better about their jobs when goals are met and projects are completed.
PUBLISHED IS BETTER THAN PERFECT
Every successful company follows this mantra. Look at Amazon. Elements on their website are tested and retested. They learn from their mistakes, they take calculated risks, and they have become one of the world's largest companies. On the contrary, Blackberry was once considered the leader in Smartphones. By mid-2016, the company’s share of the global smartphone market was less than 2%. The company became stagnant, and sales fell as a result.
What causes a roadblock?
1. Indecision
People often struggle with a decision, rather than trust their instincts. 95% of the time your instincts are the right choice. Just go with it. Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking," gives many examples of how belabored decisions kill progress and waste time and energy.
2. Red Tape
According to Wikipedia "red tape refers to excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making. It is usually applied to governments, corporations, and other large organizations." Sometimes rules and regulations are so rigid that it is nearly impossible to get things done. It is important to keep company policies flexible. There will always be the exception to the rule and there will always be a need for change.
According to Wikipedia "red tape refers to excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making. It is usually applied to governments, corporations, and other large organizations." Sometimes rules and regulations are so rigid that it is nearly impossible to get things done. It is important to keep company policies flexible. There will always be the exception to the rule and there will always be a need for change.
3. Meetings and Managers
Managers can delay productivity by trying to take on too much and/or requiring a long approval process. Meetings without a concrete agenda or goal only act as a distraction. They take employees away from the task at hand. Jason Fried's video on Ted Talks explains how Meetings and Managers (M&M's) delay productivity.
4. Fear and DelegationManagers can delay productivity by trying to take on too much and/or requiring a long approval process. Meetings without a concrete agenda or goal only act as a distraction. They take employees away from the task at hand. Jason Fried's video on Ted Talks explains how Meetings and Managers (M&M's) delay productivity.
Just because it needs to get done doesn't mean that you have to do it. Most people fear that if they don't do the job, it won't get done right. Most things that we are asked to do, can usually be done just as well or even better by someone else. People hesitate to delegate because they are afraid that the job will not be done correctly or that it is a sign of weakness. You are most valuable to your company when you are doing the tasks that you do best. Those tasks are usaully 20% of your day. 80% of your day is spent doing tasks that could be done just as well by someone else. Freelancers and administrative help can be found online at sites like PeoplePerHour.com.
We offer our clients many automated solutions that increase their productivity and lighten their workload.
While I certainly could write more about the subject, I want to get this off my plate and move on to my next project. I can always improve it later.
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