Built to Bend

The Simple Newsletter - Issue # 084

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Adam’s Thoughts

Systems and processes.

We all talk about them.

Be rigid.

Follow the process.

Stick to the plan.

Sounds great, right?

Until the discipline required to stick to the system starts removing the very thing that made the work great in the first place.

Sometimes, you need flexibility.

Yes, certain things need a process.

Certain things should happen the same way every single time.

But those systems should create more room for creativity, not less.

More room for flexibility.

More room for opportunity.

And sometimes we get so obsessed with staying inside the process, improving the system, and following the plan that we accidentally destroy the thing we were trying to improve.

Have you ever felt that?

You get really good at something.

Then you systematize it.

And suddenly, you can’t get any better because you’re trapped inside the box you built.

That’s how it feels sometimes.

At least for me.

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Adam’s Lessons

I think systems and processes really come down to one question:

How do we make this work?

But that question has to work for both sides.

The person delivering it.

And the person receiving it.

Yes, there are parts of a business that should look the same every time.

But most of the meaningful work our clients do, and most of the work Tom and I do, requires some level of customization.

Some individuality.

Some signal.

And that’s actually where the system becomes most valuable.

If the important systems and processes are working well, they should reduce noise.

They should create space.

They should free up time and attention so you can do better work for the person in front of you.

That’s the lesson I’m seeing more clearly.

A system should be built to a point.

And then, at that point, it should almost hand the baton over and say:

Now go be creative.

Now go iterate.

Now go play.

Now go improve.

Now go become more valuable.

You don’t abandon the system.

You let the system support the work that only you can do.

Because if you’re so rigid about following the process and constantly refining it, eventually there may be nothing left to improve.

Except the work itself.

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So here’s my question for you this week:

Where in your business has a system become so rigid that it may actually be limiting the quality of the work?

Comment below and tell me. Tom and I read every reply, and we genuinely appreciate hearing from you.

That’s all for this week.

See you next Saturday.