creating sustainable results in growth and performance
The Seven Rs of Simplification
Use one or more of these steps to simplify and streamline every area of
your personal and work life.
The first R is rethinking. Whenever you find yourself
overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time, stop and think about
your work. Stand back and ask yourself, "Could there be a better way?"
Especially when you face resistance, stress, or difficulties of any
kind, stop pushing and driving. Instead, put yourself in the position of
an outside consultant. Imagine that you have been brought in to evaluate
your own situation and give yourself objective advice on how to handle it.
Remain open and receptive. Be willing to consider the possibility that
your current approach is wrong.
The second R is reevaluating. When you get new information, stop
the clock, like calling a time out in a football game, and reevaluate your
situation based on the way it is today Jack Welch, president of General
Electric, calls this the "reality principle."
The reality principle requires that you be absolutely honest with
yourself and deal with the situation based on the way it really is today,
right now, not the way you wish it were or the way it might have been in
the past.
Jack Welch, of General Electric, begins every discussion or evaluation
of a problem with the question, "What’s the reality?" You should do this
as well. In The Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce wrote, "Fanaticism is
redoubling your efforts after your aim has been forgotten." Don’t let this
happen to you.
The third R is reorganizing. The purpose of reorganizing your
life or work is to ensure a greater level of outputs from the same
quantity and quality of inputs. In times of rapid change and turbulence,
you must reorganize continually. As one high-tech executive said recently
"In this business, you have to throw out all your assumptions every three
weeks."
Be prepared to reorganize your workspace. Be prepared to reorganize
your schedule throughout the day Be prepared to reorganize your order and
priority of activities. Be open to the possibility that there is always a
better way to do the job than the way you are currently working. Keep
searching for that better way
The fourth R is restructuring. In restructuring you channel more
of your time, energy, money, and resources into the top 20 percent of
activities that generate the most revenues and the greatest profits.
Companies restructure by focusing more of their resources on the products,
services, and activities that clients value the most highly
Simultaneously, they delegate, outsource, and eliminate
non—revenue-generating activities that clients don’t care about.
When you restructure your own activities, you continually focus and
refocus your time and energy on the few things you do that account for
most of your results. You concentrate single-mindedly on your most
valuable tasks.
Reengineering is the fifth key to simplification. This is one of
the most powerful practices for simplifying your work and your personal
life. In reengineering, your entire focus is on process improvement. You
constantly look for newer, better, faster, cheaper, and easier ways to
accomplish the task and achieve the desired result.
You begin reengineering your work by making a list of all the steps in
a particular work process, from start to finish. You then set a goal to
reduce the number of steps on the list by 30 percent the first time
through. You will be amazed at how easy it is to accomplish this task the
first time you do it.
Six Ways to Reengineer Your Life and Work
· Consolidate several tasks into one single
task.
· Assign several tasks to a single person
rather than having them spread out among several people. This is called
job compression by responsibility expansion.
· Outsource particular tasks and have them
done by other companies or individuals who specialize in that area.
· Delegate tasks to other people or other
departments.
· Eliminate certain tasks altogether by
determining that they are no longer necessary or essential to the finished
service.
· Change the order in which tasks are done
to reduce bottlenecks and increase efficiency.
Continually review any complex task consisting of several steps and
look for ways to reengineer it, simplifying it so that you can get it done
faster and more efficiently than before.
· The sixth R in simplification is
reinventing. Here, you re-create yourself completely. In times of
rapid change, you should be reinventing yourself and your job every six to
twelve months. Keep asking yourself, "If I were not doing it this way,
knowing what I now know, would I start it up again this way?"
Imagine that you are starting your job or your career over again. Is
there anything you would do more of? Is there anything you would do less
of? Is there anything you would start doing that you are not doing today?
Is there anything you would stop doing altogether?
You are going to have a variety of different jobs and positions
throughout your life. Keep looking ahead and thinking about what you might
like to do. Ask yourself "What is my next job going to be?" What would you
like it to be?
Then ask yourself, "What is my next career going to be?" What would you
like it to be? If you do not ask and answer these questions for yourself,
someone else may come along and answer them for you.
· The seventh R in simplification is
regaining control. In this step, you set new goals and create new
plans. You make new decisions and commit yourself to new actions. You
accept complete responsibility and take charge of your life. You don’t
wait for good things to happen to you. You go out and make them happen.
You take charge of your time and your life.
