Learn to Improve Your Processes

During my high school years, I worked at a retail shoe store where I assisted customers in finding their next pair of shoes. Like many jobs, we were given monthly sales goals based on historical performance. These goals were reviewed regularly to ensure everyone understood what was expected of them.

However, I noticed a pattern. The goals seemed to be a recurring theme, with slight variations each month. Despite our best efforts, we found ourselves struggling to meet these targets, leading to a rollercoaster of emotions—celebration when we hit our goals, and blame when we fell short.

The managers would intensify the pressure towards the end of each month, urging us to push harder and put in more effort to meet the targets. This cycle of setting goals, exerting effort, and sometimes falling short felt endless and draining.

I reached a point where I decided to break this cycle. Instead of relying solely on increasing effort, I focused on refining the sales process. I experimented with different tactics, essentially conducting A/B tests before I even knew what they were. This continuous improvement approach became second nature to me as I constantly tweaked the process to increase the likelihood of a positive outcome.

My efforts paid off, and I started consistently hitting my goals, eventually leading the district in performance. My manager noticed my success and asked me to train the rest of the store on my refined sales process.

However, not everyone was receptive to change. Some employees resisted the new approach, choosing to sabotage the process rather than improve their performance. They preferred to be right about the process not working than to be successful.

Those who embraced the new approach found that it made their lives easier. They were hitting their goals without the usual end-of-month stress. As our store's performance improved, others took notice, and our district began outperforming others.

Over the past 25 years, I've helped businesses design and improve their processes, and I've come to realize the simplicity and effectiveness of this approach. It involves developing a standard process, measuring outcomes, and adjusting accordingly. This shift from focusing on goals to focusing on systems has proven to be a successful strategy.

In Atomic Habits, James Clear says, “Imagine you have a messy room and you set a goal to clean it. If you summon the energy to tidy things up, then you will have a clean room – for now. But if you maintain the same sloppy, pack-rat habits that led to a messy room in the first place, soon you’ll be looking at a new pile of clutter and hoping for another burst of motivation. You’re left chasing the same outcome because you never changed the system behind it. You treated a symptom without addressing the cause.”

By changing our focus from goals to systems, we can continuously improve without the pressure and stress of constantly trying to motivate ourselves. Better systems lead to happier and more successful outcomes.