Successful Blog

Critical Skill 4: Part 4-Process Design Tool

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Designing a Process Step-by-Step

Future Skills

Use this worksheet to gather information when you’re designing a complex process as described in Critical Skill 4: Part 2-Designing a Complex Process and Critical Skill 4: Part 3-A Virtual Process.

The Process Design Worksheet

Fill in as much information as you can before you begin the process design. Then use the worksheet throughout the process to guide you. You can use this form even when you delegate process design to a team that reports to you.

1. The Leader of the Process Design Team will be ____________________________

2. Assign the Visionaries and Explorers. Who are the big picture, global thinkers who will help decide on the work flow? Which stages of the process will each of these team members represent?

Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________
Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________
Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________
Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________
Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________

3. What steps will the work follow? Note: This discussion should include the big picture thinkers listed above only at this point. The detail people should not be present. (Take notes on the big picture process discussion using separate pages. Summarize or draw a flow chart to summarize the process the above team designs in the space below.)

The Proposed Process

4. Assign the King’s Guards and Risk Managers. Who are the detail thinkers who will challenge the proposed process design? Which stages of the process will each of these team members represent?
Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________
Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________
Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________
Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________
Name: ______________________ Stage(s): __________________________________

5. When the process is defined, the big picture people share the summary/flow chart with the detail folks before a meeting occurs with all team members. Any member of the team can list questions and concerns here.

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

6. The Explorers and Visionaries present the process design in detail to the King’s Guards and Risk Managers under the moderation of the leader. Now is the time to find the holes in the thinking — to validate the process and the plan.

When that discussion is complete, the process will stand as a working plan. The entire group should agree that this is the process, until the process doesn’t work, at which time, any member of the group can ask the team leader to call a meeting to adjust the plan.

Process isn’t hard if you take charge of it, instead of letting it drag you along.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Critical Skill 4: Part 1-Process Models
Critical Skill 4: Part 2-Designing a Complex Process
Critical Skill 4: Part 3-A Virtual Process
10 Skills Most Critical Skills Series on the SUCCESSFUL SERIES Page

Critical Skill4: Part 3-A Virtual Process

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Picking Up the Gauntlet

Future Skills

If you’re following the soap opera that is Successful Blog, I’m halfway through writing Critical Skill 5 on Originality, as you might know, but along the way I was interrupted with a challenge. Ariane Benefit from NeatLiving.Net wrote an in-depth comment about process and how it works for her, which ended with these statements.

So basically I see the rules you presented that work so well in a corporate setting actually have their counterpart in the virtual, ultimately highly democratic world of blogging.

. . . if my post inspires you to write the virtual version . . . it was worth it. — from a comment exchange on Critical Skill 4: Part2-Designing a Complex Process

I really wanted to leave them on the page and continue on with the piece on originality. It was hard enough writing about process in the brick and mortar world. Still the comment stayed with me. It followed me around the house . . . and popped into my mind every time I went to write about anything else. After all, it had two things going for it. Ariane Benefit is a reader and I have a really hard time walking away from a delicious challenge like that — even when I know it will involve close contact between my head and a few brick walls I don’t need. [Read more…]

Stop. Listen. Hear that Idea?

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It Happens Constantly

Finding Ideas Outside of the Box logo 2

I can almost count on it happening. When I’m stuck on how to write something, when I really need some direction on how to frame a concept, I just start listening for one. Sure enough in a day or two, someone will say something.

I was working on the post for Critical Skill 5: Originality — no small task I might add. How do you talk about being original? I did my usual walking and thinking, but most of my way to original thinking is intuitive, hard to explain in words.

I like challenges, but sometimes they make my head hurt. So I put my question to the universe and left myself open to any answer it might bring me. Sure enough, it did within a couple of hours.
[Read more…]

Open Comment Night

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It’s Like Open Mike Only Different

Here’s how it works.

  • Comment ON ANY TOPIC you like. — Okay, okay, no mean language, no pornography — I am the nice one. (How would you do pornography in a comment? I don’t want to know. Sorry I asked that.)
  • Keep your comment to 100 words or less.
  • Try NOT to connect to any previous comment. Let your comment stand on its own.
  • This one is for comment fun, not for links.

This could be really interesting, if you play along.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

There’s nothing even remotely related to this. Hee hee hee.

Critical Skill 4: Part 2-Designing a Complex Process

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One GIANT Flow Chart

Future Skills

It was an interview with the Chairman of the Board of a publishing company. We had just taken a break. I came back from stretching my legs to find six 4ft. x 8ft. foam core boards that made one GIANT flow chart, supposedly outlining the publishing process in complete and total detail.

I thought, “Ohmygod. They’re one of those kinds of companies.”

He said, “So, what do you think of that?”

I said, “I believe it was very useful for the folks who put it together.”

I usually think of work situations like I would a dating relationship You don’t date a guy thinking you’ll change him. That I took this job thinking I could change this company was just wrong. [Read more…]

Exploring for Ideas at Technorati

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Going Exploring

Finding Ideas Outside of the Box logo 2

I can’t help it. David Sifry hooked me. He did it when he let them name that feature at Technorati Explore. Had he only said, “Okay call it Browse.” Browsing is a nice thing. I’ve even been known to do it. I’ve browsed through books and browsed while waiting. Yes, I know how to Browse.

My life would be so much easier, if only David Sifry had chosen Browse instead of choosing Explore.

But no. My friend, Dave probably was a kid a bit like me. He probably knows the exact appeal of exploring. Maybe he even remembers hearing someone saying, “Where you going?” and answering back “We’re going exploring. Wanna come along?”

Slam dunk marketing that name. Explore. Even better, it lives up to its promise. [Read more…]