A process is useless, yet processing is essential.

How often do we read or hear about the importance of focusing on the process. Not on output but performance – only then will we be able to fully understand how we can achieve high performance and get rid of outcome bias.

Many times, I have read about ‘trusting the process.’

But how many of us understand ‘The Process’ or even any process for something?

One definition of process is, ‘a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.’

So, tell me:

• What is the process for improving your business performance over the next quarter?
• What is the process for improving your Park Run time at the next attempt?
• What is the process for getting a better sleep tonight?
• What is the process for [insert your own goal here].

100%, I bet you don’t know or couldn’t write down a replicable list. You might think you do and could but have a pause and think about it. How long would this list need to be?

And that’s OK if this is the start of deciding where you are now and taking stock so that you can determine where any progress needs to begin.

Is trusting the process a cult-like approach?

In Steven Bartlett ’s book Diary of a CEO, he talks about creating a cult mentality (Law 29), where people (usually the first employees of an organisation) act in a cult-like way when building a company. Part of this is blindly committing to a vision or goal, creating a them and us, and developing values of an organisation.

If one of the values of an organisation was ‘trust the process’, what would that actually mean for you if you were in it?

Consider any of the organisations that you have been in and consider their values? If you got everyone to write down or describe how they define these values, how many do you think would be the same?

Is that important or not?

Now consider when you may say things like ‘trust the process’ – are you acting in a conscious, deliberate way or are you just following a well-trodden path of stating a phrase that ‘leaders’ talk about, so you parrot them? Are you simply repeating what someone else says?

Is processing more important that the process?

President Eisenhower stated that a plan is useless, yet planning is essential. And in that way, is a process useless, yet processing is essential?

If you are processing something – and, most importantly, you are aware that you are processing something, then surely that is the aim?

If we want to improve then surely, we must accept that a process will always change, so why focus on ‘the process’? @Dave Brailsford would surely agree, with his focus on marginal gains and continuous improvement.

‘Trusting the process’ exactly what we shouldn’t be doing?

I know I am into the semantics and detail of examining ‘processing’ versus ‘the process’ yet too often I continue to see lists of LinkedIn that tell us the steps need to be successful. How many of us adhere to these and say this is ‘the process’?

Let’s instead, break free and commit to processing what is happening and consciously considering where we are, what our goal is and how to progress towards it.

Processing is navigating.

This idea of processing is no different to navigation. We know where we are, we know our destination, we plot a route.

As we go, we review our progress, we check how well we are going compared to the plan, and we adjust accordingly.

If we followed the process, there would be no flexibility, no adaptation based on progress. It would be rigid and unthinking.

Be conscious. Process. Navigate.