Perpetuating Business Process Overwhelm or Clarifying It?

Business process overwhelm happens. In fact, for many organizations of all sizes, business process overwhelm is the standard operating procedure.

When continuous discontinuity becomes the workplace norm, dysfunction is out of control. This overwhelm negatively impacts productivity, profitability and client retention.

Wow. Sounds like something all of us would jump at the chance of becoming part of, doesn’t it?

Actually, business process overwhelm presents an opportunity to liberate ourselves from the status quo.  

When we identify business process overwhelm – within our own organization or our client’s – this scenario should raise a red flag. Always.

Then, we have a professional decision to make.

Either we perpetuate the overwhelm, making ourselves indispensable as the Only Person capable of herding cats and organizing continuous chaos. Taking on this role reinforces our status quo value and perpetuates The Way Things Are. This perspective is All About Us.

Alternatively, when we choose to clarify causal factors creating overwhelm, we collaborate with internal colleagues and external clients. Traversing that roadmap positively impacts business outcomes: current and future. Our choice is All About All of Us, Collaborating Together.

Which scenario sounds most familiar? Then again, which scenario sounds most appealing?

When the choice is All About Us, we become entrenched, causal factors perpetuating the drama of business process overwhelm. What is more, we do not share what we know.

In our minds, we hold the keys to the solution kingdom. Often, we do not share, because our perceived value rests our own ability to fix crises. Also, we have history choosing the alternative. When we offer long-term process concepts for business and operations improvements, we are marginalized and ignored.

Not only that. Everyone in our organization operates in the same, reactive, non-collaborative manner. Our colleagues also become solo client overwhelm specialists, continuously fighting fires.

After all, when things go well, no one focuses strategically. Except that we do not know whether things are going well, or not. Why? Because collaborative problem-solving and organizational convergence are non-existent business processes.

As a result, business processes gradually morph into a reactive business model, focused on perpetuating business process overwhelm.  Ever wonder how status quo leadership, management and employee processes and mindset are created and then, perpetuated?

Alternatively, when clarifying business process overwhelm, we know the right people, data, resources and collaborative methodology. And we are happy to share. Continuously.

We share our knowledge, because people listen, even when nothing is wrong and there is no crisis. In addition, “crisis of the day” tactical, fire-fighting mode no longer exists. Instead, our recalibrated business processes continuously poke holes in yesterday’s corporate silos.

Also, our business model focuses on the value that every employee brings to the business table – ours and our clients – each day. In addition, employees understand their value, in relation to every other leader’s, manager’s and employee’s value. Consequently, the workforce is more engaged and committed to creating extraordinary and enduring client outcomes.

Answer these five questions. First, take a 30,000-foot eagle’s eye view of your organization, no matter what your job description. Then, ponder:

1. Is the workplace tactically focused on perpetuating client overwhelm?
2. Or is the workplace continuously moving towards better and better client outcomes?
3. Is your own perception of self-worth focused on All About You or, alternatively, All about All of Us?
4. What type of organization would you prefer to work in? Lead?
5. Don’t you think your clients feel the same way? Then, isn’t it time to do something about this scenario, even if you currently are not in crisis mode?

Babette Ten Haken serves organizations as a corporate catalyst and innovative speaker, strategist, coach and storyteller. Babette’s One Millimeter Mindset™ Workshops and Speaking programs leverage collaboration to catalyze professional innovation, workforce engagement and customer retention, especially in challenging Industrial Internet of Things environments. Babette’s playbook of IIoT team collaboration hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon. She is a member of SME, ASQ, SHRM and the National Speakers Association.

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