Is "Process Worship" Killing Your Organization?!?

process worship (proc-es wur-ship): 1. The act of valuing 'the way things are done' over any actual outcome. 2. Strongly adhering to bureacratic rules even in the face of disaster.

In an article on yahoo today, a report requested by the U.S. Pentagon reports that U.S. Marines on the front lines in Iraq are not getting the supplies they need due to bureacratic entanglements.

The report was supposed to be presented in March 2007, but according to the article by Richard Lardner,

"The presentation was canceled by Marine Corps leaders because its contents were deemed too contentious, according to a defense official familiar with the document. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly."

Is your organization suffering from process worship? As a leader, how do you know?

You can find out in the same way this report did: by asking the operators in the field. Whether you have an international sales force or your entire team works out of one office, you can learn about bureacratic SNAFU's if you listen openly to the people on your front line.

Bottom Line: Smart leaders eliminate process worship because it slows their organizations down. In today's global economy, slow organizations are ineffective organizations.