Everything eventually comes down to Process. Process over anything. If you can nail down the process to anything. You need not worry much about the end result. The process will always guarantee the end result.
I had a Director that nailed this down in my head. It was never about the results. Because everyone once in a while can gamble here and there and create the results. But to create a process that consistently delivers the same results, now that’s a different thing.
And the process doesn’t have to be complicated. It must be simple enough for you to plug into it easily. One of my personal processes is the “To-Do-List.” The process is simple, I don’t start the day until I am clear on the things for that day. Sometimes one of the To-Do-List is as simple as ‘Have Lunch with person A.” But the point is, I really don’t close the day until everything is ticked off and if not ticked off, there must be a valid reason.
Then I will have an Action log and tracker with myself. Again, simple process, I write down everything I need to do and the date when it should happen then I track that with traffic lights. It is this simple process that holds me together. The To-Do-List holds my day. It delivers the results of every day. And once I have the day in check, then I will have the week in check, then month in check.
The process should be unique to you and you should keep improving it.
Recently I realised if you have a problem and approach it with different tools, you will have different outcomes.
For example, if you start with pen and paper, different outcomes. Start with Excel, different outcomes. Start with MS word or powerpoint, different outcomes. PowerPoint tends to short-cut the thinking process. Pen and paper produces novel thoughts. Word exposes you. And excel is great for connecting different concepts and threading them. Again you as a person, you must know, do you think better in Excel? In Pen and Paper?
And not having a defined process is itself a process. Only that it’s such randomised process. Or to signal intelligence, I will call it a stochastic process. Huh! Fear a woman with the process.
My director used to say, “if you don’t have a process for it, you won’t sustain it.” Even maintaining great friendships, it’s a process. Process is about choreographing the results.
Don’t obsess about the outcome. Obsess about the process. Process is what makes the driving permit renewal process smoother than the passport renewal. And as I often say, automation won’t save you from a poor process.