Resistance pushes back against documenting through our fear of showing off our dismal status quo.
Document fearlessly. If there is a secret on ramp other than the “required” in box, then document it. If there’s three ways of challenging the “final” status, document those. If there is no process to track the work, and customers have to email periodically to check if their request is still actually getting any attention, then document that.
The only way you can change a bad process is to first document the bad process. Only then will you see the weakest links where improvement can be made.
You probably have ten ways to improve your process. If the process isn’t yet documented, then there’s probably ten more you’ll realize through the process of documenting. And only then will you have enough information to decide which of these now twenty weak points to improve first.
Maybe you are ashamed of your bad process. It’s fine to feel nervous about airing your process’ dirty laundry. We live in a fallen world and should be skeptical of everything humanity has wrought. Not wanting to look bad is completely normal and reasonable. Avoiding looking bad is not our highest priority though. Hope for a better future should certainly supersede our fear of looking bad. Wanting to improve the lives of our coworkers and customers should supersede our fear of looking bad. Just selfishly wanting back the sanity we are wasting by wringing our hands about a bad process should supersede our fear of looking bad.
If you are afraid others will see your backwards process and mock you, here is a great judo move. Just ask to see their better process’ documentation. They will become very quiet very quickly. If their process is so great, then it must be documented, or else how did it become so good. There’s no way for us to benefit from their wisdom in a timely fashion without something to read. Maybe they are smarter than us, but if there’s no way for us to benefit from their superior wisdom, then it’s of no use to us.
Begin by documenting what you’re doing now, today, as it is, warts and all.
John DeHope 