It is almost a patterned response within management circles. Identify any problem or task that is challenging or time-consuming. Someone will invariably suggest creating “a process to solve it”. This “process” will be introduced as a way to make an individual or a team “more efficient”. It seems to be a near automated reaction for Leaders to look for solutions via process.
Consider:
A best friend needs your help mining for gold. What do you bring?
Targeting efficiency alone, most would choose the option that moves the most dirt! This is why most focus on minimizing Effort with more Efficiency (Process). It is almost always an attempt to solve any Problem by creating a Process.
If you are digging a hole and it’s in the wrong place, digging it deeper (or more efficiently) isn’t going to help. -Seymour Chwast
I’d rather have a shovel in a Gold Mine than a Bulldozer in the Desert!
Let us be clear – Process does not solve Problems! Problems needs Solutions (that we can hopefully productize into a Process). A workable Solution is needed that will address the Problem before one can attempt to create a Process.
If you have experienced success solving Problems with Process, it was not skill; it was luck!
It is much better to focus on Effectiveness of Efforts. The difference between Efficiency and Effectiveness is focus. Efficiency focuses on the work being done; Effectiveness focuses on the Intended Result expected from the work!
Beware of teammates, co-workers, partners, etc. who keep seeking to “make things more efficient”. Ask instead what can be done to be “more effective”! The more teams focus on Effectiveness; the more likely they are to have a vision for the Intended Result (and more likely they are to achieve them).
