New Year’s Resolution

North Americans may have a hard time understanding this, but in Brazil there are laws that “stick” and laws that “don’t stick”. We say that a law didn’t stick when everyone – from the people on the streets to the law enforcement agencies and the courts – decide to ignore it. For example, the Brazilian Constitution says that one cannot charge interest rates higher than 12% a year (don’t ask why that’s in the Constitution). Even so, most banks charge nearly that much a month, and no one thinks that’s strange.

It’s funny how the people that complain the loudest that we need processes are the first to ask for “exceptions” when the processes are in place. In the company I work for, people are always saying that “this order is exceptional” as an excuse for not following the processes. Sure, they used to complain that the processes had to be created; they helped design them and agreed to follow them. Guess what? Every order is exceptional.

This year I’m making a resolution: everyone will follow all processes. I’ll be relentless in the pursuit of this goal.

Of course, I made this same resolution last year, and it was as successful as the resolution to exercise regularly and to lose weight.

Why is that? For the same reason: it takes effort, day after day after day. We may follow a blitzkrieg diet and lose five pounds in a week, but how long can we keep it up? This is why I don’t believe in diets, I believe in reeducating ourselves. I’ve managed to keep a reasonable bodyweight over the years because, instead of saying “no pizza at all” (which is ridiculous), I say “OK, two slices are enough”.

So may I be able in 2008 to reeducate our people instead of trying to deploy processes by fiat. Things just don’t work that way – not only in Brazil, but all over: if you don’t win people over, you’re bound to fail (see my previous post, Stakeholders can kill you even if you're not a vampire).

The way to go is not to say “you helped design the process and you agreed to follow it; now stop complaining and follow it”. A gradual rollout, giving everyone time to get used to each small change, is easier to accept. Baby steps instead of grand gestures.

Maybe this way the business processes we put in place will stick.