CUT RED TAPE: REDUCING BUREAUCRACY, RAISING STANDARDS

[My personal musings, inspired by Page 2 of 'The Brainaissance Program of iCAPitalism Seminars with... The World's Most Powerful Learning Systems for... The Learning Economy', by Dilip Mukerjea]


Dilip Mukerjea poses a very pertinent question here:

"Is red tape the only thing that's keeping your organisation together?"

To me, red tape also applies in the personal setting.

Just like bureaucracy, red tape is the opposite of efficiency.

In actual fact, 'bureaucracy' & 'red tape' are synonymous.

They suggest a lack of initiative, a bias for inaction, & excessive adherence to archaic rules & inflexible routines. Even more serious, they create an impersonal force dominating the life of oneself as well as others.

So, how does one deals with the bureaucracy running amok & the tyranny of red tape, so to speak, in a personal setting?

I offer a few suggestions:

- examine your own work performance (key result areas), with the view to cut down time & effort-consuming activities;

- apply Pareto's Law or the 80/20 Rule, & focus on high leverage activities that move you forward;

- explore & adopt alternatives & options that generate the greatest net benefits to yourself, as well to others around you;

- review regularly what works & what doesn't work, especially your habitual routines, to ensure relevancy & effectiveness;

- consider: what do I need to do more of? what do I need to do less of? what do I need to start doing? what do I need to stop doing?

- talk regulary to other people, especially stakeholders;

- embrace adhocracy by benchmarking against other high-performance individuals &/or organisations;

- develop a personal bias for initiative & action;

[Readers can go to this link to download a free copy of the book, 'Busting Bureaucracy: How to Conquer Your Organisation's Worst Enemy', by Kenneth Johnson.]

IS INNOVATION PURSUING YOU OR ARE YOU PURSUING INNOVATION?

This is the Age of Competitive Intelligence!

It has given birth to The Learning Economy. And thus, the need for Human Resources, humans standing in reserve, waiting to be used, has been replaced by the need for Resourceful Humans!

In a globally interlinked world, business success is based on cognitive success. Cognitive has two equally significant meanings: “to know” and “to beget.” When blended, these two meanings suggest that all birth is an awakening to knowledge. To know and to generate are inseparable.

Red Alert!

Are the actions, transactions, and interactions of your business processes perpetuating the decaying status quo, or are they alive and infused with novelty, value, and passion?

Are your people able to convey unforgettably brilliant first impressions?

Does your organisation recognise that its lifeblood must be open communications of information:

thoughts, feelings, and ideas?

Is innovation pursuing you or are you pursuing innovation?

If innovation is pursuing you it means that the rate of change outside your organisation is much greater than that within it. That spells trouble.

Today, innovation must trump bureaucracy, for red tape has morphed into red alert! The choice is clear: innovate or disintegrate.

Is The Red Tape The ONLY Thing That’s Holding Your Organisation Together?

What are YOU doing about it?

[Excerpted from the 'Leadership, Learning & Laughter' edition of The Braindancer Series of bookazines by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]

Say Keng's personal comments:

Although Dilip Mukerjea has written his essay from the organisational perspective, I am sure he has also intended that the pursuit of innovation applies in the personal setting.

In the personal context, The Red Tape refers to poor habits, old ideas, outmoded routines, irrelevant practices, dogmatic rules as well as disempowering beliefs .

I hold the view that, at the personal level, the pursuit of innovation, excellence as well as anticipation is the hallmark of peak performance & success achievement in today's rapidly-changing world.

By doing so consistently, I am confident that one gets to increase the personal rate of change faster than the environmental rate of change.

This is the basic tenet of the 'Law of Requisite Variety', originally conceived by Dr W Ross Ashby from the world of cybernetics, which applies to both organisations & individuals.

So, I like to rephrase Dilip's pertinent questions:

Is The Red Tape The Only Thing That's Holding You Together?

What are YOU doing about it personally?

THE LEARNING ECONOMY

This is the Age of Competitive Intelligence! It has given birth to The Learning Economy.

And thus, the need for Human Resources, humans standing in reserve, waiting to be used, has been replaced by the need for Resourceful Humans!

In a globally interlinked world, business success is based on cognitive success.

Cognitive has two equally significant meanings: “to know” and “to beget.” When blended, these two meanings suggest that all birth is an awakening to knowledge. To know and to generate are inseparable.

RED ALERT!

Are the actions, transactions, and interactions of your business processes perpetuating the decaying status quo, or are they alive and infused with novelty, value, and passion?

Are your people able to convey unforgettably brilliant first impressions?

Does your organisation recognise that its lifeblood must be open communications of information: thoughts, feelings, and ideas?

Is innovation pursuing you or are you pursuing innovation?

If innovation is pursuing you it means that the rate of change outside your organisation is much greater than that within it. That spells trouble.

Today, innovation must trump bureaucracy, for red tape has morphed into red alert!

The choice is clear: innovate or disintegrate.

Is The Red Tape The ONLY Thing That’s Holding Your Organisation Together?

What are YOU doing about it?

[Excerpted from the 'Leadership, Learning & Laughter' edition of The Braindancer Series of bookazines by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]