Everything is a Process

Author

Zack Estes
July 15, 2024

A classic, Dilbert™ by Scott Adams (dilbert.com)

Everything we do is a process.

From making coffee to launching a product.

Every business is a process. And every process within a business… is a process.

What if… we learned how to improve processes. That would solve a lot of problems, right?

Process 101: The Basics

Every process has 5 components:

  1. The supplier

  2. The input

  3. The process, itself

  4. The output

  5. The customer

The supplier is responsible for supplying the inputs to the process.

The customer, internal or external, is who will receive the outputs of the process.

An internal process happens, you got it, internally. Consider a chef plating in a fancy restaurant. The supplier is a cook. The customer is a server.

An external process happens… externally.

Consider the restaurant as a whole. The supplier is a food distributor. The customer is… you get it.

Example: Process Engineering

  • Supplier — Small businesses

  • Inputs — Sloppy processes

  • Process — Process engineering (interested? email me)

  • Outputs — Lean processes

  • Customer — Small businesses

Example: Making Coffee

  • Supplier — Flatboat Coffee

  • Inputs — Coffee beans

  • Process — Pulling an espresso shot

  • Outputs — Liquid gold

  • Customer — An awake and happy me

Example: Buying a Web Server

  • Supplier — Dilbert

  • Inputs — An unapproved business case

  • Process — Approvals from every Director, every VP, and every EVP… plus Griffin

  • Outputs — An approved business case

  • Customer — Pointy-Haired Boss

A process, simply defined, is a series of actions which are carried out in order to achieve a particular result.

If you recognize everything as what it is—a process—then you can take the necessary steps to improve (reduce waste) your process.

Step-by-Step: Making Processes Work for You

  1. Map out the process — from start-to-finish… from supplier-to-customer.

  2. Identify the waste — defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, inventory, motion, excess processing.

  3. Improve the process — increase quality and reduce waste.

Before — an 8 minute sloppy process

After — a 3 minute 17 second lean process

Process Pitfalls

Process improvement doesn’t come natural to most people. Here is the greatest hurdle I see teams struggle with.

Making work visible.

So many professionals lack the discipline to make their work visible.

Here are 3 recommendations for making it easier:

  • Use Miro for mapping.

  • Use Motion for project and task management.

  • Use Loom for documenting standards.

Get the planning and execution out of your head.

And paper isn’t sufficient. It’s 2024.

Get a tool (like Motion) that uses AI to put your plan on your calendar. And when your plan doesn’t go according to plan, it’ll automatically accommodate for the changes without cluttering up your day.

Time to Process

“But Zack, where do I start?”

I recommend spending 30 minutes each day focused on improvement. And yes, there’s a process for that. Here’s an example of that process (3S) in action.

Share Your Process Improvements with Me!

When you email me at [email protected], I’ll send you instructions on how to message me directly inside of Signal.

I look forward to seeing all of your improvements!