Have you ever thought about charting the enterprise? To boldly go where no one before you in your organization has gone? I know, it sounds like an episode of Star Trek, but in reality, there are times when creating charts of organizational processes is exactly that. No one before you has ever documented or charted the processes. This is an area where most companies are weak in that the process happens, things get done but no one is exactly sure of how it all happens and if questioned to defend your practices, could you?
I find it amazing that companies will focus on efficiency and effectiveness but fail to fully understand how everything works. Oh, I have heard many say they know the process because they built it or they have been doing it this way for 100 years, but do they really know the detail? Do they really know the amount of redundancy and why it is there? Do they really think it is exactly the way it was originally? I would guess not. Many processes happen out of serendipitous need and when it works, that is the way things are done going forward. There is no plan, design or refinement, all of which are vital to continuous improvement.
In my view, you need to be on the forefront and boldly go where no one has gone before. Take the time to map and chart your organizational processes not only to understand what is happening for real, but also to learn from and improve upon them. How can you improve something you really do not understand and cannot validate as real? Faith based process is not the best approach in running a business. You must know for real what is happening. You must be able to document, analyze and improve with a solid set of goals and measurements to prove the change is working and providing the expected benefit. Set your course and chart your processes. The time is now.
If you are ready to move forward and are finding yourself stuck or unfocused and are not sure where to begin or what to do next, seek professional assistance and/or training to get you started. Be sure to investigate AIIM'sBusiness Process Management training program. And be sure to read the AIIM Training Briefing on BPM (authored by yours truly). Click on the image to download and read. http://pages2.aiim.org/DownloadBPM.html
What say you? Do you have a story to tell? What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you have a topic of interest you would like discussed in this forum? Let me know.
Bob Larrivee, Director and Industry Advisor – AIIM
Email me: blarrivee@aiim.org
Follow me on Twitter – BobLarrivee
www.aiim.org/training
#BPM #BusinessProcessManagement #training