It seems like a no-brainer, but taking the time to root out stupid routines can mean the difference between a company’s success and failure

Finding inefficiencies in my business is something that drives me nuts, but so often it doesn’t make sense to fix them.   One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn is that sometimes it’s ok if a business process doesn’t work perfectly.  There are so many things that we don’t do at all or that we don’t do well, so I try to focus my time on fixing the major problems.  Once we get other things working more smoothly, we’ll come back through and try and clean up the things that we missed on the first pass.  I know that’s how ’stupid routines’ get ingrained, but at this point in our company growth, I have to pick my battles.

…an outfit such as Penguin Books might well be positioned to teach a high-tech company how to outsource intellectual capital more effectively. After all, a publisher’s entire business rests on this model. There are insights to be gleaned, as well, from peeking inside hospitals, theaters, and arts organizations. “Too many companies benchmark themselves against others in their industry,” says Handy. “They should be comparing themselves to totally different organizations.”

I 100% agree with this article. Some of my best ideas have come when I’ve been reading news about other industries or things completely outside of the business realm. Like I posted previously about Geek CEOs, I think that having well rounded interests, especially with my nerdy predilections, will play a major role in helping me to stay ahead of the competition.

CEOs Must Know IT–Or Else
A massive study links effective leadership with corporate projects driven by advancement in information technology.  However, some doubt whether the current generation of CEOs is able to adapt, able to get their heads around IT. For those who don’t the message is clear.  BT Global Services CEO Andy Green said: “If CEOs don’t understand, someone else will come along and eat their lunch. CEOs have to be prepared to learn.”

Key CEO issues:

• how to create long-term transformational value rather than implementation of one-off IT projects
• the need to build capability for ongoing change so that IT shapes new business models instead of being the business model
• how to establish a climate of open communication so that employees understand what is expected of them and stakeholders know what to expect
• the need to manage risk with confidence
• reorganising the need for personal IT capability and learning about new IT issues so that IT change is driven from the top down