Bureaucracy????

Have you ever been speeding on the highway/freeway?

It is not unusual to drive down the freeway and exceed the speed limit.  It’s not unusual to veer off into the left lane and pass someone who is going the speed limit.  You might be anxious to get somewhere.  You might be late for a meeting.  It might be a nice day and you simply want to drive fast.  You might have a fast car and be tempted by the horsepower under the hood. 

As a manager you should have the same attitude towards bureaucracy.  Go around it.  Get rid of it.  Pass it by and leave it in the rear-view mirror.  

The word bureaucracy is of French origin.  It means “an administrative system in which the need or inclination to follow rigid or complex procedures impedes effective action”. Bureaucracy is anti-simplicity and anti-common sense.  

Companies that “do things” because of bureaucratic traps fail.   ISO, FDA, policies, and procedures should never be used as an excuse to do something that goes against good common sense.  Policies and work process must constantly be reviewed for bureaucratic creep.  As a manager the day you finish streamlining your process based on your good common sense is the day you need to review it again. Bureaucracy will return.

Look for these signs.

•  Documents that require more than 2 signatures.

•  Assistants to assistants.

•  Functions that are not core or critical to what the company does or how it makes its money.

•  Policy manuals.  Note:  we should have 1 policy.  Always do what’s right for the company and the customer.

•  Endless planning.

•  Monthly reports.  Note:  the exception is financial summaries.

•  Large meetings where some attendees attend on a regular basis for information sharing.

•  Because ISO said so.

•  Because we always have done it this way!