Shoes Say A Lot About A Person: An Exploration of Priority Setting

Posted March 28, 2016 / Bobbi Kilburn

Shoes say a lot about a person……

BY Bobbi Kilburn, BDCC Grants Manager

“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

This past week has proved to be a lesson in patience, understanding, and acceptance that taking action and working towards eliminating bureaucracy is a necessary skill set to develop.

I’ve worked in a few offices, and currently interact with organizations, where the paperwork, endless meetings, and other bureaucracy was/is ‘over the top’ – so much so that the actual productive work being done was sometimes outweighed by the bureaucratic steps that needed to be taken each day.  BDCC has a focus on action instead of bureaucracy, and things get done, even if it falls into the “other” category.  Unfortunately not all organizations maintain a similar culture, and they require too much paperwork, too many meetings, too much planning and too much training, and too much rework.  Generally speaking these things are usually management’s answer to the problem, but arguably they add more problems, including a tendency to slow things down and get less done.

I would argue that a better answer than adding extra steps and meetings is to focus on action.  Why not create a culture of action, and eliminating as much bureaucracy as possible and get things moving?  Wouldn’t this be too the benefit of all, both internal and external stakeholders alike, and presumably this would help in developing the economic landscape.

I would propose the following 10 ideas to take action and eliminate bureaucracy, as well as helping to dictate “what shoes” are needed to guide the path of success:

Know what you want to get done – bureaucracy can happen when people focus on processes and forget about what the end result should be.  Answer the question; where are you trying to go?  Visualize your desired result, keep focus and march forward.

Know your priorities – keep in mind the most important work your company or organization does.  Know the important work, and focus on that.

Eliminate paperwork whenever possible – how many forms do you have, how much similar data do you gather, and how much of each process utilizes the same information?  Do people in your office all keep the same information in personal files?  Why not use a simplified method, online program and work towards automation, look towards continuous improvement and eliminate the need to ‘wade’ through the paper and files.  Sometimes it’s better to take action without having to fill in things

Cut out processes – question if there are steps and approvals and work that people do that can be eliminated.  Assessing work and asking whether it’s really necessary, or can it be reduced or eliminated reduces waste.  A questioning attitude generally results in an answer with a resounding “yes”.

Empower People – eliminate bottlenecks, give people clear ns and allow them to handle the situation.  Monitor things closely at first to ensure that people know how to follow the instructions, then give them more room to work independently and create opportunities for consistent report out.  Most people are eager to run with it!

Please accept this as an open invitation to stop by the BDCC offices, and tell us what your soles say about you.