Getting your organization back on task

If you were to take a close look at your company or organization, how on-task would you say it is? What I mean is, what percentage of the activities taking place within actually help deliver its goals?

If you’ve been around for a while, the answer usually is: very low.

Over time, organizations accumulate sludge.

The boss reviews a presentation, and makes a comment about the nice design. Now, everyone spends more time making sure their presentations look good than on the content.

Someone misplaces a box, so now a form is needed, signed by three people, before boxes can be moved (true story).

Most sinister is when an organization faces a crisis. When that happens, all risk taking is punished and many new processes get put in place to avoid the crisis every happening again. Result: innovation is killed and people focus on busy, but largely unproductive, work.

Is your organization focused on its primary task?