If you are familiar with Pareto Principle, it stated that roughly 80% of the consequences come from the 20% for the causes.
To test this, I will challenge you to look into your business and see whether 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your clients.
You should be able to see this from your income statement.
The next test would be to look into your processes within your organisation. This means that only 20% of your processes are the income producing activity, and the rest of the 80% are a waste of time.
So how can you make sure that you are looking into the 20% and not getting distracted about the 80% that don’t matter? One way is to analyse your processes and identify which are the 20% that matters.
If you know how to do this, that is great, you are the 20% of the business that knows how to move forward. If you still dabble on which are the 20% of the process that matter, then you have a problem.
When is the last time you look into your processes? Which processes are done for the sake of doing and not really adding value. These processes are handed down from one person to the others without questioning the why.
This reminds me of the Five Monkey Experiment. Perhaps you have already heard about it, but if not, then keep reading.
A researcher puts 5 monkeys in a large cage. High up at the top of the cage, well beyond the reach of the monkeys, is a bunch of bananas. Underneath the bananas is a ladder.
The monkeys immediately spot the bananas and one begins to climb the ladder. As he does, however, the researcher sprays him with a stream of cold water. Then, he proceeds to spray each of the other monkeys.
The monkey on the ladder scrambles off. And all 5 sit for a time on the floor, wet, cold, and bewildered. Soon, though, the temptation of the bananas is too great, and another monkey begins to climb the ladder. Again, the researcher sprays the ambitious monkey with cold water and all the other monkeys as well. When a third monkey tries to climb the ladder, the other monkeys, wanting to avoid the cold spray, pull him off the ladder and beat him.
Now one monkey is removed and a new monkey is introduced to the cage. Spotting the bananas, he naively begins to climb the ladder. The other monkeys pull him off and beat him.
Here’s where it gets interesting. The researcher removes a second one of the original monkeys from the cage and replaces him with a new monkey. Again, the new monkey begins to climb the ladder and, again, the other monkeys pull him off and beat him – including the monkey who had never been sprayed.
By the end of the experiment, none of the original monkeys were left and yet, despite none of them ever experiencing the cold, wet, spray, they had all learned never to try and go for the bananas.
So what do we learn from this experiment? Some processes are handed down from one to the others, and the original intention was never known. We simply follow the instructions without ever questioning why things are done in a certain way, just like the monkey. It is harsh but that is the truth.
So if you feel that your current process is no longer serving you, then it is time to make that analysis and change. If not now then when?
You can reach out if you would like to know more.
#processimprovement #paretoprinciple #TheProcessGuyDownUnder