Where Productivity (and Profitability) Goes to Die

Question: Where is the best place to hide something?

Answer: Believe it or not, right in front of you! Right out in the open!

So … where did your productivity (and profitability) go? And, how did it disappear? Well … believe it or not, it disappeared right in front of you!

Productivity (and Profitability) Sinkholes:

1.      Poorly Designed Processes – poorly designed processes, or worse processes without design that evolved organically without thought or intention, lead to inefficient and ineffective work habits.

Questions to ask:

·        Is every step in the existing processes absolutely necessary?

·        Are those spreadsheets organized well so they are clear and readable?

·        Are files clearly labeled and stored in easily accessible folder structures?

2.      Poor Work Habits – repeating what was done yesterday because yesterday was a repeat of the day before … because that is what the prior person in the position did … because that person repeated what the person before them did … and so on …

Questions to ask:

·        How was the team trained in their jobs and tasks?

·        Was everyone trained to work in the most efficient manner?

·        Are they repeating tasks or steps that may be out of date or unnecessary?

3.      Poorly Designed Forms and Reports – forms that need excessive explanation and instructions to complete and/or reports that require explanation to the team or the client before they understand the content or the intent.

Questions to ask:

·        Does the team really understand the form and reports?

·        Do the clients understand the forms and reports or are they asking questions?

·        Are you getting the information you expect on the forms and reports?

4.      Unclear and/or Evolving Client Deliverables – deliverables that require frequent clarification about content and/or method of preparation, and deliverables that continue to evolve and grow in nature and form over time.

Questions to ask:

·        Does the team really understand what client deliverables are expected?

·        Is the client constantly asking for changes and alterations in the deliverables?

·        Are there frequent mistakes or quality lapses in the client deliverables?

These situations lead to your work taking longer than necessary to complete and lead to reworking the work product, often multiple times, to successfully complete the client deliverables … tick($), tock($), tick($), tock($) … money, money, money … there goes your productivity (and profitability) right down the drain … are you experiencing any of these?

This brings to mind the expression (sometimes called the “Seven P’s”): Proper Prior Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance!

Time spent ahead of time analyzing and organizing the work and the work product is the most productive (and profitable) use of your time.

How do you analyze and organize your work and your team’s work?

Let me know, please.

Best, 

Todd Krause

PS: If you are an Indianapolis professional I'd be glad to connect via email to discuss how I can help you!  

[email protected]