Processes and Results
One advantage of hopping from one job to the other is that it allows you to learn from different organisations and the bosses they have for you. I have worked with one organisation which was more focused on processes. They had a firm belief that you just set up processes and systems and follow them thoroughly, results take care of themselves. The other organisation I worked at believed in achieving results in whatever way possible. There were very few established processes when it came to working towards those results.
The employees of both the organisations used to take stress either from processes or from expected results. In the first organisations where focus was on processes there was always a chance to lose the vision of results. Engulfed in working as per the rules, people could do very little when result expectations changed. The organisation offered little flexibility and sometimes one had to work dumbly by following the orders. The other organisation which focused on results sometimes created such targets which were not based on the ground level systems in place and there were always high chances for misinformation and miscommunication.
I can relate this process and results dilemma to my own current 21 Day Challenge of writing one article a day. It looks like just another activity to keep oneself actively and creatively busy in the lock down period. Whatever it looks like, I have to set up processes as well as keep watching the results.
I have to do some mundane looking things like working with MS Word document and keeping a minimum typing speed. For my internet search using mobile network, I have to make sure I am at the right location in my house. Whatever thoughts I have on a subject, right or wrong, I have to damn type them on the computer. The process sometimes involves deleting the entire write ups, if they do not fit into the logical flow. Sometimes your brain and body do not co-operate at all. You feel sleepy or itchy. Sometimes it requires me to say no to the people around and that includes my son wanting me to be playing with him. That in turn makes me feel a bit guilty.
At the same time, it could seem that after achieving a certain level of results it does not always feel like having succeeded. As you start seeing the limitations of your own writing, you can feel unsatisfied. Sometimes, after previously identified short list of subjects is exhausted, you are uncertain about what you would write next. The all positive reader feedback could also be worrisome. A ‘thumbs up’ emoji coming in the message immediately after the moment the article is shared could make you doubtful whether the article has been read by the receiver in the first place.
It is cyclical. You decide something on the basis of what you have. You start working towards getting the desired results. You align your processes to achieve those results. You start working as per laid down processes. At the same time you have to start majoring the progress you are making towards the results. If the processes are helping to achieve those results it is very fine and you can just follow it. But if you realise that the results you want are not possible using the current processes, they need to be changed.
At the personal level results are like the direction in which you want to lead your life. The processes are the habits which could lead you towards that direction. Some people say develop better habits and you will be on the right path. If you don’t know where the right path is, just having habits could keep you at the same place whether good or bad.
If you found this write up very boring, you can’t do anything about it now, because you have finished reading it.
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The employees of both the organisations used to take stress either from processes or from expected results. In the first organisations where focus was on processes there was always a chance to lose the vision of results. Engulfed in working as per the rules, people could do very little when result expectations changed. The organisation offered little flexibility and sometimes one had to work dumbly by following the orders. The other organisation which focused on results sometimes created such targets which were not based on the ground level systems in place and there were always high chances for misinformation and miscommunication.
I can relate this process and results dilemma to my own current 21 Day Challenge of writing one article a day. It looks like just another activity to keep oneself actively and creatively busy in the lock down period. Whatever it looks like, I have to set up processes as well as keep watching the results.
I have to do some mundane looking things like working with MS Word document and keeping a minimum typing speed. For my internet search using mobile network, I have to make sure I am at the right location in my house. Whatever thoughts I have on a subject, right or wrong, I have to damn type them on the computer. The process sometimes involves deleting the entire write ups, if they do not fit into the logical flow. Sometimes your brain and body do not co-operate at all. You feel sleepy or itchy. Sometimes it requires me to say no to the people around and that includes my son wanting me to be playing with him. That in turn makes me feel a bit guilty.
At the same time, it could seem that after achieving a certain level of results it does not always feel like having succeeded. As you start seeing the limitations of your own writing, you can feel unsatisfied. Sometimes, after previously identified short list of subjects is exhausted, you are uncertain about what you would write next. The all positive reader feedback could also be worrisome. A ‘thumbs up’ emoji coming in the message immediately after the moment the article is shared could make you doubtful whether the article has been read by the receiver in the first place.
It is cyclical. You decide something on the basis of what you have. You start working towards getting the desired results. You align your processes to achieve those results. You start working as per laid down processes. At the same time you have to start majoring the progress you are making towards the results. If the processes are helping to achieve those results it is very fine and you can just follow it. But if you realise that the results you want are not possible using the current processes, they need to be changed.
At the personal level results are like the direction in which you want to lead your life. The processes are the habits which could lead you towards that direction. Some people say develop better habits and you will be on the right path. If you don’t know where the right path is, just having habits could keep you at the same place whether good or bad.
If you found this write up very boring, you can’t do anything about it now, because you have finished reading it.
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