Innovative thinking does more with less

Bilbo Baggins summed it up in “The Fellowship of the Ring”: “I feel, thin. Sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

Sound familiar?

“Doing more with less” has been the mantra of the workplace since the 1990s. Workers are asked to do more work with the same, or even fewer, resources, and that often translates to working longer hours, giving up family time, and, ultimately, creating burnout and cynicism.

The solution to this paradox has eluded organizations and individuals. We are facing a workplace whose expectations for performance are higher and more complex than ever before. Sadly, with the uncertain economy driving significant changes in the work place and many job losses, “doing more with less” has become the norm.

When I say everyone is stumped, I mean everyone. Organizations are mindful of the toll this is taking on employees, and responsible leaders want to find solutions. Yes, we need to do more with less. Not many people would disagree that we are in a new world. We are giving up beliefs such as “strive for perfection” or “start from scratch on every project.”

Let’s consider a retro phrase that may offer insight: “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” This phrase was first used decades ago to focus action on the health of our planet. I have re-interpreted it within the context of thinking differently about how we get our expanding workload accomplished with fewer resources.

The 3 Rs

Let’s start with “Reduce.” Often the solution to any challenge or problem is to buy more stuff. The stuff could be more technology, software, tools, training, or supplies. What if we just used what we already have? Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel – to what degree are we using the software on our desktop today to minimize effort? I know I’m not fully utilizing the capabilities of my BlackBerry. How about you?

Next, “Reuse” also applies to our work habits. When you take on a new task or project, do you start from scratch or do you think about ways you might reuse previous work efforts and adapt them to the new task? With this approach, you have reduced the level of effort, while maintaining your level of quality.

Finally, how can you “recycle” or repeat a process to produce a successful result? Have you developed your tools and processes with repetition in mind? Do you employ generic tools and processes that can be relied upon to structure any task to move it forward quickly? Do you track hours to be able to estimate tasks with a high degree of precision? The process of creating repeatable processes has been the key to success in franchised businesses for decades. We know that McDonald’s and Wendy’s use repeatable processes to ensure consistency in the products they produce.

What will be required to make these three strategies work? What will each of us have to give up or change in order to adopt a “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” work strategy? Here is a place to begin:

n Learn and collaborate. Assess your technology tools and get training on the components you are not using fully. There’s online training out there, and much of it is free. Get a book. Seek out younger colleagues who may be more familiar with technology capabilities.

n Share, trust and build as a team. Talk with your teammates about how you might leverage each other’s work products. Begin to collaborate on a more specific level. Let go of the old “not invented here” attitude that says, “If I did not create it from scratch, it is not good enough.” Get over that. Trust your expertise and judgment knowing that you will improve on the previous product automatically.

n Technological assistant. Armed with new knowledge, make technology your assistant. Change your routines in order to integrate new capabilities. In systems theory we know that a small change can make a huge difference for work products and performance. Outlook is rich with process improvement opportunities on a personal level.

n Think of your work as an entrepreneurial effort. Seek ways to make your work processes generic and repeatable while being able to customize for different types of tasks. Think about the many seminars and workshops you have attended in the past and revisit that material. Share ideas and collaborate with your teammates.

“Reduce. Re-use. Recycle.” can be applied in many ways. Consider ideas from past seminars that you may not have implemented, leverage the technological capabilities of the tools you already have and, finally, make your work processes repeatable. I know that these strategies work because I “systematized” my work. The results have been improved quality and quantity, an ability to manage my work hours and enhanced customer satisfaction.

You can do it. You have to do it! This is a key to work/life balance and a return to taking the stairs two at a time because you are excited to go to work.

Shirley Esterly is a master facilitator who assists her build sustainable practices. Her company, QuantumWest, is based in Greeley and she can be reached at [email protected].