Hi, Larry - thanks for this interesting and valuable post about the need for systems.

I have repeatedly experienced the impact of well-designed systems on work flow, collaboration, and business outcomes.

One particular experience always comes to mind for me when talking about systems.  An organization implemented a comprehensive work flow and data organization system which included what some called a "micro-manager" approach to how people structured their work days and how they retained or deleted/threw away information generated in the course of business.

The goal was to standardize our work, get on top of data curation, and to become a more agile and flexible organization.  After the intital design and training by a consultant, I and one other person were charged with actually implementing the system, first in our corporate office and with regional staff, then later in field units.

The resistance was fierce from some quarters and usually took one of two routes:  "You are treating us like children by forcing us to file everything the same way" and "I already have a system that works for me, so why should I change?"

Both paths reinforced something for me, as I painfully and slowly worked on this project for over four years:

1)  Standardization is often seen as a threat or, at best, an inconvenience.

2)  Individuals who already have their own solutions may not think much of your solution.

The response to both types of resistance, at least in my case, was to clarify and reinforce the reasons why we chose to move to this level of standardization (roughly paraphrased below):

1)  Increased standardization helps everyone understand the individual, departmental, and organizational flow more easily and quickly.  When you understand the system well, you can use the system effectively.

2)  Systems work best when everyone works the same system, which requires some sacrifice from some folks.  BTW, these are the people I recruited to serve as "experts" to help me implement the system.

3)  When everyone across the organization clearly understands the rules and guidelines for what information to keep, what to get rid of, and where to store what you keep, things work better.

4)  Change is hard and may feel uncomfortable.  This is natural and to be expected as we shift to a more clearly defined system.

This last point was interesting because the reality is that organizations do not either have or not have systems.   The worst company in the world has systems ... they just don't work very well:).

An additional point is that not all systems are formal.  Implementing an effective formal system requires us to root out all the informal or even secret systems which have develped over the years.

Enjoyed your post - thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us:)

John