I’ve noticed a disturbing trend over the past two decades, and although it can be most easily seen in the corporate world, it lurks in most corners of society.

Our businesses and organizations, our institutions, at times our very culture, are often being stifled and strangled by an over-reliance on “process”.

The un-examined reliance – sometimes bordering on fanatical promotion – of process as not only the solution to our ills but often the very path to prosperity. If only we employ the “right process” … so the notion goes … we can fix Problem A.

Often times the mere complexity of these processes can jam things up. In the worst cases, these best-laid plans carry us backward and harm the very projects, organizations, and people we seek to serve.

Other terms may be used to disguise the fact that process is the problem. One of the most dangerous in the business world is: “methodology” … when you hear that word – RUN.

There was a movie, not too long ago, in which the future population of our country decided to replace all of the water we use – for drinking, plant irrigation, etc. – with sports drinks. (That story was premised on a population that wasn’t too bright.) But I think it’s a good analogy for taking something potentially useful (or a least neutral) and mindlessly pressing it into service to do things and solve problems which it was never going to solve … and this is what we see happening with process.

A real world example: the mindless application of “standard processes” can result in a business spending hundreds of dollars in man-hours and resources just to collect on a $3 invoice. Who hasn’t seen this happen with the medical practice, the internet-provider, the lawn service?

In our educational system – processes and methodologies rule the day. John Taylor Gatto (in my opinion the greatest teacher of the last fifty years) puts it this way:

“The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders. Although teachers and administrators do care and do work very hard, the abstract logic of the institution overwhelms their individual contributions. The institution is psychopathic – it has no conscience. It rings a bell and the young man in the middle of writing a poem must close his notebook and move to different cell where he must memorize science facts.”

As a consultant, I’ve watched, powerless, as  large-scale projects involving hundreds of employees burn through obscene piles of money … only to deliver … nothing.

In the end, many of those responsible simply blame “faulty processes” …

A useful name for one who mindlessly follows:  LEMMING

Please understand that this talk is not meant as a diatribe against the very notion of process. We all use, and often *need* processes to get us through our daily lives. At work, at home, at play.

However, it is our over-reliance on process, our slavish devotion to these ideas that is – in many tangible ways –  killing us.

It kills our productivity … it kills our budgets … perhaps worst of all – it kills our joy.

In fact, emphasizing process over people is often cited as the primary cause for the estimated 70-percent failure rate of change initiatives in business.

So, how did we get here?

Well, process roars loudest in the workplace. Businesses are gluttons for process … and entire markets have evolved around process design, process analysis, process re-design, and process CHANGE.  Often, meeting rooms and boardrooms echo with the plaintive cry “if we could just find the RIGHT process, and master its APPLICATION … our problem would be solved!”

The Toyota Way teaches:  ”the right process will deliver the right results.”

In my years studying the problem in a variety of industries, I have found that it is often the reliance on “experts” and this un-questioned assumption that the “right process” naturally leads to success which almost invariably leads to disaster. In the worst cases, an almost cult-like devotion to these “truths” can develop.

The high priests of this process cult are called Project Managers … or PMPs. Some people will pronounce that “pimp”. Full disclosure here, I am a certificate-carrying PMP, myself.

Project managers can add a lot of value, and there is a lot to be said for the particular skills required to shepherd a complex endeavor from start to finish. Often, there are indeed useful processes that can be applied. I have my own contributions to the mysterious alchemy of budget and schedule.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about …

A parable of sorts:

During WWII, the US Navy & Marines island-hopped across the South Pacific & the sudden influx of goods and culture brought the Law of Unintended Consequences to bear in a very unique way on the native islanders.

The war ended, and the sailors, planes, and Hershey Bars departed. The loss of what had seemed almost magical to the islanders, spawned a desire to bring them all back. In their minds, it was the external trappings – landing strips, huts, sailors waving the flags at the end of the runway – these were the very rituals – the processes, if you will – that would be necessary to call the gift-bringers back home.

So, they set about creating their “Gilligan’s Island” versions of these things … and to this day (no, seriously, they still do this) they wait and hope.

These new-found religions became known as “Cargo Cults” … and unfortunately the behavior often lives on in science, in business … it’s the “if we build it, they will come” strategy.

A manager witnesses the near-miraculous results produced (so he thinks) by some new gee-whiz process … and so brings that gospel home to his people.  ”If we only follow this truth … success can be ours, too!”

We are in-love with the “magic bullet” and the quick fix! We see it in everything from diet plans to relationship advice to economic policy!

A dual-desire to find an instant fix coupled with an assumption that “someone else has probably already figured out a better way to handle this” too often leads us to make a short-sighted choice to apply a process which – if properly examined beforehand – perhaps never had a chance in our unique situation.

So, how do we get out of here?

For starters, we need to accept the fact that people are different … companies are different … products are different … cultures are different. What works in one place is almost categorically NOT GUARANTEED to work someplace else.

Processes are tools, my friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

A carpenter does not view his job as being in service to the hammer and the saw.

To paraphrase the bumper sticker, we should indeed Question Processes. We should consider whether they are serving us or we them.

RESIST!

Again, I am not suggesting an abandonment of process, but a careful examination of our use of processes. To paraphrase St. Francis:  At all times do your work, and if necessary, use processes!

One great example of this sort of “positive resistance” is a group calling themselves the Programming Motherfuckers.

Like them, I encourage people to examine the “shit” they are fed … realize how often it is just a “con” … and focus on doing what matters: the work.

My hope is that people will consider the possibility that it is people that matter … ideas that matter … our work that matters … and that “process” should be our servant rather than our master.

NOTE:  A video of this topic which I presented at Ignite Cincinnati #7 can be viewed HERE.