Elon Musk posted his algorithm for improving processes. I thought it was great. Here it is for you - and for me to find when I have forgotten. I have paraphrased it.
1. Question the requirements. This is the first step. Do we really need to be doing whatever it is? If the answer is yes, then do we really need to be doing it the way we are doing it or can it be changed?
2. Delete it. Start deleting things. Musk says that if you aren’t putting back 10% of what you have deleted, you aren’t deleting enough.
3. Simplify it. Musk says that the most common mistake of engineers is that they optimize before they try to delete. This step brings a smile to my face. My natural inclination is to make something more complicated. I know that about myself. So focusing on simplification is important for me.
4. Speed it up. Now that you have something that is required, necessary, and bare-bones, it is time to speed it up.
5. Automate it. Now is the time to automate. Imagine that you started at number 5. You automate. You speed it up. You simplify it. Then you delete it and or find the requirements were unnecessary. Musk said that he got tired of doing it in reverse order.
This is where having me or somebody like me on your team can be a huge advantage. I have a large body of knowledge. Yet, I won’t know your specific problem. I can ask the questions and take you step by step through the process.
It can be amazing what you learn by having someone question what you are doing. After graduation from chiropractic college, I drove an hour each way, once per week to follow a senior doc while he saw his patients. He said, “Feel free to ask me anything. If I don’t have an answer, maybe I shouldn’t be doing it.” He wasn’t asking me to improve his processes, but he demonstrated the right attitude toward questioning.
Want to improve? Visit people who are doing more than you. Watch what they do. An associate and I took a day off from practice and visited three practices that we thought were the busiest in the state. We went unannounced. I was surprised at my findings. The offices were open. Staff were busy. None of the doctors were there. I assumed that they were doing things to promote their practices so that when they were at the office they were busy. Staff was preparing for arrival of the docs so that they were ready to rock and roll.
I once visited another chiropractor who saw more patients in an hour than I was seeing in a day. I refused to simplify my process because I thought what I was doing was necessary. I didn’t have any data to back up that assumption. Now, I might do things differently.
Life is all about growth. I’m finding that people my age have often given up. They aren’t learning, growing, and helping others. They are often lonely and bored.
Just remembered that I once hired a former chiropractor. He was retired and didn’t have a license so what he could do was limited. He was a great employee and delighted to come to work for minimum wage and do whatever he could. Hiring him improved my processes and brought more joy to my life.
Something else to throw into the equation. What makes you happy? What brings joy to your life? Answers to those two questions always trumped efficiency for me.
Somethings to think about to improve your processes.