May 10, 2005
Policies & Procedures
Policies and procedures are ONE WAY STREETS that direct people to move in a particular direction. The planning process must include the question: what policies and procedures are hurting us and what new ones are needed to help us?
I’m reminded of the newlywed who decides to cook dinner for his new wife. First, he cuts the pot roast in half. His new bride is surprised and asks why? He replied, "That is the way my Mother always cooked a pot roast." A few days later, the son was visiting his mother and asked why. She explained, “Son, we didn’t have a pot big enough for a roast to fit without cutting it first.”
A leader’s job is to encourage the team to question policies and procedures that don’t make sense or don’t appear to be helping. The right policies and procedures can help, but the wrong ones hurt.
P. S. Notice how times have changed. I have the husband, not the newlywed bride, doing the cooking!
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Filed under Management, Planning by Tom Collins