I think we can all agree there are very few bad actors out there. But, if you look across your organization and see examples of people using shadow systems, not following policies or processes, or asking for forgiveness rather than permission you may want to do a root cause analysis on why that is the case.
These things tend to be like icebergs, what you see or hear about accounts for 10% of what is truly going on. Bad processes happen for many reasons. They may have been handed down by our work forbearers. Or perhaps, they are an overreaction to a an audit finding or policies that make us pull our hair out. Another likely contributor is siloed workforces and technologies that frankly don’t cut the mustard.
This cartoon should really speak to us because Dilbert is representative of so many people within our Procurement and Supply Chain organizations.
Good people with a job to do, who want to succeed personally and professionally. They are the action-takers that get the job done. We need them!
I doubt on their performance review you will focus on how many times they forgot the cover sheets on their TPS reports. But you most certainly will zero in on things like cycle times, cost savings, cash cycle improvements, internal customer sat scores, etc.
It is our job, then, to empower and enable them to succeed. To optimize our operations (people, process/policy, platform) in a way that maximizes their time spent on those areas of their job where they truly add value to the organization.
Groves & Company specializes in assessing and optimizing organizations, operations, and technologies. We can help you cast bold visions, develop actionable strategies, and deliver measurable results.
