Slaying The Headless Chickens

When will running around, trying to go faster than the day before through sheer physical exertion, stop being the strategy of choice for many businesses? You know the common phrase 'running around like a headless chicken', don't you? We joke about it, but it can waste a huge chunk of time from our working weeks.

When I first start working with a business this is often the approach that we are trying to overcome.

You probably know the kind of thing I am referring to, something happens that causes a problem in the business, something that we have to stop and deal with. Instead of taking the time out to get some facts and decide on an effective course of action, we make a swift decision and push on with the rest of the working day.

The swift decision sometimes don't properly address the problem and we then find that this problem resurfaces days, weeks, or months later. Instead of us spending a little bit more time upfront we end up paying for this issue several times over.

So, is it better to spend two hours properly solving a problem, or is it better to make a quick decision and then repeat the same decision making / aftermath on an ongoing basis?

I know what my answer is, but so many people seem to take the 'chronic' option. Sure, there are times when you haven't got the two hours to spare, but you can still pencil a slot in your diary for later that week to take a proper look.

Too many people say that they haven't got the time to do the important things in business. Interestingly, these same people do have time to fire-fight... when the quick fix comes back to haunt them.

Are you ready (and prepared) to slay some headless chickens?

Giles Johnston
...optimising MRP systems and re-engineering business processes

P.S. If the above applies to you, then check out my book 'Business Process Re-engineering', available on Kindle, iBooks, or as a PDF download.

Click above to read a sample of the book.

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