Photo courtesy of projectbamboo 10 Steps to Take Action and Eliminate Bureaucracy
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” - Leonardo da Vinci
Article by Leo Babauta. (Follow me on Twitter.)
I’ve worked in a few offices where the paperwork, endless meetings, and other bureaucracy was ridiculous — so much so that the actual productive work being done was sometimes outweighed by the bureaucratic steps that needed to be taken each day.
When the focus is on action instead of bureaucracy, things get done.
I’ve worked for both private businesses and government agencies, and let me tell you, both require too much paperwork, too many steps to get things done, too much reporting, too many meetings, too much planning and too much training. Each of these things is usually management’s answer to a problem, but they add more problems, including a tendency to slow things down and get less done.
A better answer than adding extra steps and meetings to a workday is to focus on action. Create a culture of action and hire people who get things done. Eliminate as much bureaucracy as possible and get things moving.
Today we’ll look at some good ways to do that, based on my experience both as a worker and a manager. Believe me, I know the tendency to throw training and meetings and reporting and planning at a problem, but I also know how frustrating that can be for an employee who just wants to get the work done as effectively as possible. Why am I sitting in on another meeting when I could be getting work done? Why am I filling out more paperwork instead of actually doing the work?
Here are some ideas to get to the action and cut out the bureaucracy:
1. Know what you want to get done. Often bureaucracy happens when people focus on processes and forget about what the end result should be. Where are you trying to go? Find the shortest route to get there, rather than making things complicated. Visualize your desired result, and keep the focus on that.
2. Know your priorities. Keep in mind the most important work your company or organization does. It almost certainly isn’t paperwork or meetings (with a few exceptions, possibly). Of course, if you’re going to have a meeting with a potential client in order to sign him up, that’s probably a priority. But for many employees, the real work will be something else: writing code, writing articles, designing, making calls, crunching numbers, etc. Know the important work, and focus on that.
3. Eliminate paperwork whenever possible. How many forms does your company have? Much of that uses the same information. Can a simple computer program or online form be used instead, so people don’t have to fill out paperwork but can just fill in an online form where the basic information is stored and re-used so it doesn’t have to be re-entered? Often using a computer program (online or off) will also automate things so paperwork isn’t needed. Or just eliminate the paperwork altogether if it’s possible — sometimes it’s just better to take action without having to fill in things.
4. Cut out processes. Are there steps and approvals and work that people have to do that can be eliminated altogether? Keep an eye out for these processes and eliminate when possible. Every time someone is doing something routine, ask whether it’s really necessary, or if can be reduced or eliminated. Can several steps be cut out to make things quicker? Often the answer is a resounding “yes”.
5. Empower people. Often a manager becomes a bottleneck, requiring his approval before anything can get done. Worse yet is when approval is needed several times along the way, meaning it has to be bounced back and forth a bunch of times. Better: give people clear instructions about how to handle things and when approval is authorized, and allow them to handle it. Monitor things closely at first to ensure that they know how to follow the instructions, then give them more room to work independently and just report to you every now and then. Make sure the instruction include the circumstances when they need to alert you to any major problems.
6. Don’t put off decisions. Worse than a manager becoming a bottleneck is a bottleneck where decisions are delayed and things pile up. When a decision is required, try to make it quickly. Make sure you have all necessary info, know what criteria you’re using to make the decision, and then make the decision immediately. The longer you wait the worse the problems become. Indecision is the enemy of action.
7. Have the information you need ready. If you don’t have information, you can’t make decisions properly. This is often the reason people put off decisions, but they don’t always realize it. As a result, they sit on a decision for awhile. Instead, go and get the info you need so you can make the decision immediately. Better yet, have the information sent to you beforehand, so you have everything you need to make the decision when it’s time. Figure out what information is needed for your regular decisions and have it regularly on hand.
8. Keep “Action” at your forefront. Put up a sign on your desk that says “Action”. Make this your mentality throughout the day. When you are putting something off, remind yourself to take action. When you have a bunch of steps you have to do, remind yourself that eliminating steps leads to taking action sooner. When you’re in a regularly scheduled meeting (like, every day), ask yourself if this is preventing action.
9. Look for action-oriented people. When hiring or selecting a team, look for people who get things done. This can be seen in their track record. Give them a trial and see if they tend to focus on actions and decision, or processes and paperwork. Action-oriented people will get things done more effectively.
10. Reward action. Reward team members as well as yourself for action taken. Rewards could be as simple as praise or as big as a promotion or a bonus to the most action-oriented employees. These rewards tell your company or organization — or yourself — that action is a top priority.
“Action is eloquence.” - William Shakespeare
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- Posted on 16 November 2008 in Productivity & Organization |
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Comments (34)
Success Professor - Danny Gamache Says:
November 16th, 2008, 19:39 pm
Leo,
These are great thoughts. Unfortunately, most people are not at a high enough level of leadership to completely change their organization. The good news is, that many of these tips can be useful to people at lower levels of the organizational chart. Even people with no positional authority can make a difference by knowing what they want to get done and knowing their priorities.
Leo Says:
November 16th, 2008, 19:46 pm
@Success Professor: You’re right, this article is aimed more at higher levels of management. However, as you said, I believe it applies to all of us, even those of us who are self-employed. As a manager, I tried to apply these ideas, but I also used them as an employee.
The keys to using them as an employee are 1) to realize what you can control and to focus on that; 2) to learn to work with management to change your work environment for the better; 3) find ways to get out of meetings when you know they’re not necessary. :)
Ryan McLean Says:
November 16th, 2008, 19:50 pm
Eliminating paperwork is a great tip. One of the things I love about working online is no paperwork. Great tips leo. Your blog inspires me to do better on my entrepreneurs blog. You are a legend
Michael, Go Success Now Says:
November 16th, 2008, 19:59 pm
Great tips,
But, what really must be changed are the people who make the bureaucracy happen, and thats the hard part. Sometimes you can eliminate paper work but not meetings or the other way.
A Dawn Says:
November 16th, 2008, 20:28 pm
Action is what counts most. We can talk about doing something, make plans, and go through countless meetings but nothing is going to happen unless we start taking action.
Cheers,
A Dawn Journal
http://www.adawnjournal.com
Eric Hamm Says:
November 16th, 2008, 20:31 pm
Leo, I’d have to agree that your tips can be applied in most any situation. Maybe it’s more clear how they should be applied in the conventional managerial position, but as you said, even an employee can look at their personal sphere of responsibility and become as efficient as possible.
As a small business owner (one man show) I can still use, for example:
5. Empower people.
I may not have employees, but I have many ways that I can outsource the work that is keeping me from reaching my true potential by taking away the time I should be using for more important tasks.
Well thought out insight, Leo. I’ll be happy to share it. Eric.
Jessica Stalley Says:
November 16th, 2008, 20:35 pm
some great ideas, leo. My day job right now has more meetings than actual work sometimes, and my biggest job during the day job is moving statistics from one spreadsheet to another. nobody looks at the spreadsheets EVER and i wonder what the point is. but hey, at least i have a job, right?
II’ll definitely be implementing some of these things for my at-home work though…so thanks!
Simple Sapien Says:
November 16th, 2008, 21:52 pm
Leo,
This doesn’t exactly apply to my situation right now, but I can definitely see how it would be useful. In fact, certain parts of it might apply to me now.. I am an unemployed blogger :) Numbers 1,2, and 8 can all be applied to blogging. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
- Jack Rugile
Simple Sapien
Fit Bottomed Girl Says:
November 16th, 2008, 22:19 pm
I just got a new job and it’s a much action-oriented environment. In fact, my boss had to remind me that there, you just do and you’re trusted. I was like, wow, what a novel (and awesome!) concept. I’m absolutely loving it.
Sarah Hudson Says:
November 16th, 2008, 22:36 pm
I absolutely loved this and found it extremely helpful.
I think it’s tough to completely eliminate a bureaucratic system though, when it can often be pretty efficient… Not entirely by any means, of course. But I think in a way, getting into action with tips like these- whether you use any or all of them- will inevitably adapt itself into a bureacratic system anyway. By doing this, you’re not coming up with a new method everytime you do a similar task to one you’ve done before. You’re not re-inventing the wheel, I guess. But by using tips like these, and I hope I consistently do, you’re definitely tightening up the process. It might be a shorter and more to the point system, but it still will be a process or system. As an independent designer, I have to go through a process for each project that includes initial paperwork, a couple meetings to get designs approved, and then getting things done as quickly and as efficently as possible. I couldn’t ever completely ditch that part of the system as much as I want to at times.
Don’t get me wrong though- I’ll always be working on trimming down my processes, paperwork and talk and just focusing on action as much as I possibly can. Even more so now that you’ve spelled it out for me!! I think these are great, GREAT tips Leo. Thank you. :)
Tabitha (From Single to Married) Says:
November 16th, 2008, 23:09 pm
I couldn’t agree more - especially the part about empowering your people. From personal experience, I’ve seen the negative effects that not empowering your managers and employees can have on a company. It can be an ineffective way of working especially for those who are not delegating and taking on too much of the work. Because of this, I think the other points mentioned such as taking action, need to begin with leadership as it has a trickle-down effect on the organization.
Rahul Says:
November 16th, 2008, 23:24 pm
Firstly, thanks for this great article. Secondly, since I am always interested in experimenting new things for human resources these tips would be just great for development and capacity building and boosting the employee morale.
I work at such place where these kind of things rarely happen. But, I try to make sure that they happen quite often so that we as employees can give our 110%.
Bill in Detroit Says:
November 17th, 2008, 1:21 am
I hope you don’t mind but I read everything on this page.
Meetings are called for two basic reasons: pressure from above ‘to keep on top of things’ where holding a meeting = a way to quantify that this has occurred. (malarkey!) and to cover ones butt.
Actual information and consensus can use other channels better.
I’m self-employed now. I call meetings when there is definitely something to be gained by them (rarely) and just ‘pass the word’ when a meeting is more trouble and expense than it is worth (often).
Mike Tieden Says:
November 17th, 2008, 1:31 am
Great article! I always try to cut out bureaucracy whenever possible. Sometimes it seems necessary, but often times it’s not. Bureaucracy is great for archaic people who sit behind a desk all day, but for the people who actually do the work it is absolutely ridiculous. I love the Sprint/Nextel commercial with the firefighters voting on things…hilarious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6DORwBzuA
-Mike
Shannon Says:
November 17th, 2008, 3:25 am
I agree with your point about empowering people, but not about cutting out process. Evaluation & analysis is the first step to accomplishing any goal - you must know what it is you’re trying to achieve, where the parameters of success lie, what your constraints and risks might be, etc. This is routine stuff, and should be repeated at the beginning of every project, and requires meetings to sort out properly. What you call bureaucracy, I call necessary.
Your post about the effective lazy man had a few good points, but I highly disagree about the meetings… if you’re a good meeting planner/manager your meetings should ONLY discuss specific topics with a focused objective (ie: problem that need resolution by the entire group), so you waste NO ONE’s time. Maybe most people are just not qualified to lead meetings ?
johnlazy Says:
November 17th, 2008, 3:53 am
Nice article leo eventhough I can’t relate in working condition. This will help a lot for all those managerial position.
James @ Organize IT Says:
November 17th, 2008, 4:23 am
Great read. My last job was so bureaucratic. It was about work for work’s sake. The manager wanted her money’s worth out of you so you had to do something, anything throughout all the time you’re working. This meant a spotless warehouse 24/7 (no dust!), flawlessly filled in paperwork and just general busyness. I’d love to see a work environment that takes the 80/20 rule and effectiveness into account for a change.
Miss Attica Says:
November 17th, 2008, 4:38 am
I might print this and sneak it onto my bosses desk… ;-)
jessica Says:
November 17th, 2008, 6:15 am
good thinking, miss attica…maybe i’ll email it to management and see what they say :)
Chris (from Lifestyle Project) Says:
November 17th, 2008, 6:25 am
10. Reward action - I think that this is a very important point. To often are the people that do the longest hours, or send the most emails or attend the most meetings are seen to be the most productive workers. Often these people are full hot air and don’t really deliver any tangible benefit.
Rewarding action should be encouraged, and employees should be measured by results not the hours they work.
I constantly reinforce this point at work, highlighting what I have delivered over the hours I work.
Phil Says:
November 17th, 2008, 8:30 am
After working in the federal government for over 30 years I find your 10 steps to be “spot on.” In my years working in several departments I observed both the worst and the best of the bureaucratic process … and the best was when the “process” was minimized and “action by empowered people” maximized.
I wish I that I had been issued your 10 rules at the beginning of my career rather than having to learn them the hard way.
Re: meetings — one of the most effective meeting techniques that I observed in a job that required regular face-to-face meetings was the “stand-up.” In these meetings the 20 or so participants couldn’t sit down to give their quick reports. It is amazing how efficient and productive these meetings were.
Keep up the good advice and insightful thoughts.
Cheers!
Banji - LessonInLife Says:
November 17th, 2008, 9:05 am
Another reason people support bureaucracy in an organization is to easily identify who actually screw up in the end. If for example, a shipment is late, they can trace back from all the forms and approval who is to be blame, or which area can be improved.
I guess in a way bureaucracy creates a sense of security to the people working with it. Any ideas on how to create such sense of security without the red tape?
Israel Says:
November 17th, 2008, 11:43 am
There is a company I know of that should seriously consider bringing you on board to help streamline their procedures, etc. I printed this out and am mailing it to the director of ops.
Adam Says:
November 17th, 2008, 15:03 pm
Ugh! I hate meetings. I’d miss half of the meetings I was suppose to be in because I was…ya know..actually working.
Great tips for any business. Or life in general for that matter.
Neil Says:
November 17th, 2008, 16:50 pm
I work in retail banking so bureaucracy rules my life. When you’re dealing with people’s money it’s a good thing, but it does make it harder to get things done quickly. Also, it tends to works its way into parts of the organization that don’t require any bureaucracy. However, the mindset of ‘this is how we do everything else’ takes over.
Great list though. Even though bureaucracy dominates my industry, I can still apply your steps to how I deal with it and streamline my own processes.
Silke Says:
November 17th, 2008, 17:15 pm
As a long-time business owner I know I have fallen into the bureaucracy trap. I have to say, though, that good paperwork can make a huge difference. The right checklists, agendas, or other decision-making tools can make the outcome better. Now my focus is all on efficiency be it for paperwork or other factors (I just wrote a post on making tasks doable - in which I mentioned paperwork).
A warning though: I grew up and now live in the Wash DC area and I don’t know if that has anything to do with my opinion.
Live for Improvement Says:
November 17th, 2008, 17:38 pm
I cannot scream “Hell yah” loud enough. I work in the public sector, and still use dos based software from 1972, I fill out forms to fill out forms, carbon copy/hard copy everything, we don’t accept credit card, and to top it off……Our current invoices are only available on Microfiche. I know what you mean.
Lori Says:
November 17th, 2008, 23:39 pm
This post read my mail. This exact scenario has been driving me and my co-workers nuts. What I find especially frustrating is that the people required to develop the plans, create and track the paperwork/processes and attend the non-stop meetings are also the people who have to turn around and do the actual work (while being micro-managed).
Krizm Says:
November 18th, 2008, 0:00 am
You have put the finger on much of what is wrong in education. Administrators are running so hard to avoid being smacked by the dreaded No Child Left Behind Act that teachers are no longer being treated as professionals; we are being treated as if we are paid to handle paperwork instead of children. I do not know whether this is true for primary grades, but middle and high school has been all about the paperwork for about five years now.
FrugalNYC Says:
November 18th, 2008, 1:42 am
I agree with Shannon regarding processes. If a company has a minimal staff in one department and gets hammered with requests, the only way it can be effective is if everyone followed a process. If only a few did, much of the requests will fall by the side, since it may not get to where it needs to be. Processes were put in place for a reason, to make things easier. The real problem is, some people uses these processes as excuses to do less work. Most government jobs end up like this.
Your tips are very valid and I agree with them all, but only in an ideal environment where you can make a difference. These tips should definitely be practiced in your personal and self employed roles.
@Live for improvement
I recently wrote a post on my FrugalTech blog, about DOS. You’re the second person within a week that has said they still use DOS at work. I guess there is a reason why Dell still sells machines bundled with DOS
Vincent Says:
November 18th, 2008, 3:49 am
Hi Leo,
Sometimes when organization get bigger, they tend to add in tons of processes which requires more people. The same process can actually be accomplish by just a small group of people and it will be much more efficient by cutting away much of the bureaucracy.
Sometimes more doesn’t equals good, it is choosing the most simple and efficient method in getting things done. Am I right Leo?
Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger
Stephen Martile Says:
November 18th, 2008, 17:03 pm
“6. Don’t put off decisions.”
Oh my! This is the virus that plagues the company I used to work for.
Nobody has the where-with-all to make decisions. We would save a lot of needless work if all employees were taught how to make decisions.
Peter Edstrom Says:
November 26th, 2008, 0:23 am
Love the advise. Though I find the bureaucracy is often a simple coverup because they don’t want to empower people (#5) and because if you meet on every last decision, then everyone is to blame (and thus no one is to blame) when something doesn’t go right.
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