A few years ago, I began training for a triathlon, which meant relearning how to swim. I began by spending my time swimming laps, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that I didn’t “glide” like the swimmers around me. While they had an “otter-like” flow to their stroke which looked effortless, I was a snowplow struggling with each movement. I was in pretty good shape, so I was frustrated that I was slow and exhausted when the others were enjoying themselves.

So I hired a coach to help, and she said something which struck me as odd: “To improve (i.e. accelerate) your swimming performance, you need to reduce your drag. Once you reduce the drag, you will be able to go farther and faster with much less effort.”

I thought about this and realized that organizations are no different. Operational effectiveness is a function of people, processes, systems and culture. If you reduce the drag placed on any of these 4 areas, you will accelerate operational performance without additional effort or expense. The benefits are almost immediate.

People

1. Right people/wrong skill set – As organizations grow, the skills needed in many positions change. Some employees have the ability to adapt to the new responsibilities, while others can’t … without some help. To make sure these employees continue contributing to the organization and remain engaged in their positions, you should either develop their skills (through training) or move them into positions which align with their skills.

2. Wrong people on the team – As Jim Collins stated in his book “Good to Great,” sometimes you need to get the wrong people off the bus. (Nothing hinders an organization’s ability to grow more than having the wrong person being part of that organization. By wrong person I mean bad attitude, selfish, incapable, backstabber, etc.)

3. Management capability – The managers of the organization need to be able to work through their teams to execute on the vision of the organization. Weak management or inexperienced managers need to be trained and given opportunities to grow and develop. This positions them for success.

Processes

1. Outdated processes (“We have always done it this way”) – Need I say more? Nothing stays the same forever, so processes should be reviewed for efficiency and effectiveness on a regular basis.

2. No defined process – “We don’t want to go corporate.” Ever heard that statement? I agree that organizations should strive to remain nimble (all are nimble in their early years), and creating processes for routine tasks accomplishes this. Otherwise, individuals become bogged down trying to figure out the most basic and routine tasks. (E.g. Submitting a time-off request or reporting time off.) There are many routine process which can and should be formalized without impacting nimbleness.

3. No expectation to follow the process – After processes are developed, and I stress they should be simple, they must be followed in order to be efficient.  If one or more people refuse to follow the process, extra work is created and drag is the result. Hold people accountable to following the process.

Systems

1. Weak Management Systems – Failure to have solid management systems to address items as easy as when and how to communicate or when and how to hold meetings, to more complex issues such as hiring new employees, leave organizations exposed to operational drag.

2. No job descriptions – The dreaded job description. Having no job description or a limited job description causes confusion and limits accountability. Each position should have a written job description which explains the role of the position, the expectations of the position, and how the position impacts the overall direction of the company. This leaves no room for misunderstanding.

3. Informal performance planning – Most organizations begin with a very informal performance planning process. Once a year whether we like it or not!  While easy to implement, this approach doesn’t serve the purpose of continuing to clarify the roles and expectations, doesn’t provide an opportunity to give the necessary feedback for growth, and often causes frustration and disappointment when the employee believes that
manager doesn’t care. Establish a formal process and follow it. It doesn’t have to be difficult, and the efficiency gained will be real.

Culture

As Peter Drucker stated, “Culture eats a great strategy for breakfast.” Above all else, if you have an organizational culture which creates drag on the ability of people to take an action, your organization will struggle. Sources of cultural drag include:

1. Lack of a clear vision/direction
2. Lack of individual and organizational expectations
3. Lack of accountability

Most organizations are comprised of people willing to do their best to help the organization grow. Most employees are capable of extending themselves for the purpose of growing the business. However, many organizations have infrastructures (bureaucracies) which create drag on operational performance. Reduce this drag and watch the acceleration!