Paradigm shift

Paradigm shift – a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.

Are you locked into the same way of doing the same things. Are there things you need to change? In this article, we will be looking at processes to change. It is time to take a step back and evaluate your major and minor process.

Did you ever hear the story of baking the ham in the pan story?

A young bride was having her mother-in-law over for dinner for the first time. She was baking a ham and before putting it in the oven, she cut off the two ends. Her mother-in-law asked her why she was doing that, to which she replied that’s what her mother had always done…

Not satisfied with her own answer, the bride wanted to see if she could find a better answer to her mother in-law’s question:

She called her grandmother, who said “Well, when your mother was young, we didn’t have much money for fancy pans, so I had to use the same old small pan for everything. A ham didn’t quite fit in it, so I always had to cut it down to fit my pan before I could put it in the oven”

How many tasks and processes do you do because you have always done them that way? Can you provide a rationale answer as to why it’s done that way? We tend to get caught up in the day to day tasks and processes and not question why it is being done a certain way.

How much are those old processes and paradigm’s costing you? In employee time? In other resources? In duplication of work? In employee engagement?

How much would you save by updating, automating and re-evaluating those processes?

One of your major responsibilities as a manager/leader is to find efficiencies. You need to be creative and uncover better, more cost effective ways to accomplish your work and that of your departments.

Here is one tool that you can use to disrupt your processes and uncover better and more efficient ways to work.

 Flowcharting

Making a flowchart of the  process will help you develop a clearer understanding of a process. In this case bring your team and all the people involved in the process to together. On a whiteboard or other large area where you can map out all the steps involved in the process. A sample of a process flow chart is below.

Once the flowchart is complete, look critically at the map and make some hard decisions on how the process could be improved. Remember, this is about paradigm shifts not control or we should do it this way because we’ve always done it this way. You are looking for efficiencies in people, time and equipment.

As a manager/leader it is your job to open up possibilities and find better ways to accomplish the work.

Let me know what process you took on and what the outcome was.