Good enough isn’t enough

I spend a lot of time on Facebook. Not always active, but it's usually in one of my Firefox tabs. Occasionally, something really hits me. Yesterday, one of my professional colleagues posted this, about 19 things to stop doing in your 20s. Number 4 spoke to me, personally and professionally. It reads:

Stop trying to get away with work that's "good enough." People notice when "good enough" is how you approach your job…

I've done this- I used to refer to it as "sinking to the top". There have been situations where I was overqualified for a task, and really only did it "good enough". It was still better than expected. There have also been times when, not understanding all that COULD be done, I failed to explore or made things harder, or more uncomfortable than they needed to be. If a simple solution met the goals, did I need to stretch to be uncomfortable? Wasn't I already too busy, especially since this was "good enough." but doesn't this also apply on a broader scale to the way that you do business?

I have gotten several calls this week from companies who say that they want to "Go Paperless" and then ask for a price to scan in their documents to a CD, DVD, or Disk. While we have the technical capability to just scan in their documents and put them on a CD or DVD, (which is what they've asked for), I am well aware that their needs are probably deeper than that. The only benefit that this allows them is reducing the space required to store these documents. That their request for service that they thought they needed was based in their ignorance of how things could be, and so rather than take their money for a job that would likely be "Good enough" and be exactly what they ask for, that I would postpone the process in order to educate them. Unfortunately, this is frustrating for some of them. They are failing to realize that while I could charge them $500.00- $1000.00 now for a down and dirty conversion job, if they don't put some planning into the architecture of how they will do this, both today, and going forward, they will end up with an electronic basement with CDs and DVDs that are haphazardly organized, if at all. This is effort put forth for something that will likely have to be redone. To handle this, I talk to them about how we need to sit down and talk. How determining how they use this data, how they need to retrieve it will allow us to structure a system that can grow with them, even if they still elect to just get us to scan their documents to a CD. At least that won't be lost when they DO decide to take the plunge.

But there is still a hesitancy to move forward with this education. Perhaps some of it is pride, and not wanting to admit that they didn't know the world of technology that now exists to support static documents. Now that technology is so mature now that it has moved from a state of capturing documents to archive to capturing documents to process, and THEN archiving them. This may be true and is understandable, but the immediate excuse is that they are "too busy" to have to think about these things. Funnily enough, there are two additional things to stop doing in your 20s that speak to this:

                    Stop being lazy by being constantly "busy."

Stop allowing yourself to be so comfortable all the time. Coming up with a list of reasons to procrastinate risky, innovative decisions offers more short-term gratification than not procrastinating. But when you stop procrastinating to make a drastic change, your list of reasons to procrastinate becomes a list of ideas about how to better navigate the risk you're taking.

The idea that there is a way of doing business that you haven't thought of yet is intimidating, but people are doing it- Lots of people. They've tested the ropes, they've broken in the systems. It's time now for the pragmatists to come on board. Yes, you've always done it that way, but there's a new way, a better way to handle things now. And this isn't going to stop. There's always going to be a new way. It might not be comfortable, but don't be lazy, and never, settle for being "Good enough". As we move into a new age of technology adoption, it's also time for the paperless office to emerge out of its proverbial "20s" and into the maturity that it now deserves.

 

 

-Eren

Thanks to thoughtcatalog.com for providing the inspiration for this post.

 

 

 

 

Reaction from a Tweet . . .Clarification on Paperless Office

Today I was going through my saved twitter searches. As one of them is "paperless” I am often bombarded with everything from "I haven't used a pen in a year", to bank statement errors after someone switches to new “paperless" billing, to today's find, which may be my favorite.

"A paperless office makes about as much sense as a paperless bathroom"

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? This leads me to another favorite quote.

"Try being informed, and not just opinionated."

Perhaps that was harsh- perhaps not, regardless, it does indicate that more education is needed in the "non-scanning geek" sector.

And the biggest problem here is that the concept of "paperless", while useful for a myriad of reasons, is more about the authoritative record of a company, and less about saving trees- though, properly implemented, reducing the resources consumed is an ancillary benefit, as is space-saving, and reduced risk of loss.

Ultimately, the paperLESS office is just that. .. LESS paper- as it relates to corporate information and records. This should not be confused with paperFREE offices, which might, as AfantasyDiva contends, be as useless as a “paperfree” bathroom. (I’m sorry, we don't accept cash/ checks for payment- we're paperFREE here. . ..)

There IS a place for paper, even in a "Paperless office". . . paper has some benefits, including portability, and that the only hardware requirement is your eyes. Incoming documents are often paper-based, and cannot be controlled, which contributes to the existence of paper whether a paperless office system has been implemented or not.

In continuing on my "twitter journey" I see that many people complain about the proliferation of paper, which seem to worsen after implementing electronic routines to replace formerly paper routines ( ie, email instead of a letter, or an e-form instead of a paper form). Some companies have implemented “mailroom” scanning, where every incoming paper document is scanned, and routed electronically. While it's true that this can reduce the risk of loss, it is also easier to recreate these documents in paper format, which means that discipline becomes the key to a successful "paperless" initiative. (There is no reason to look for the original copy if you can simply press "print" and recreate a duplicate of the original.)

So how does one control the amount of reprinting that takes place when it is often faster to simply print a copy than seek the one you know you already have?


We have implemented two different methods to address this:

1) Restrict the amount of paper they are allowed to use within a certain time period, or

2) Restrict the print function

At one large client, we implemented a system to capture and manage emails that were formerly printed and filed as a part of a client record. While this addressed the issue of retention and completeness in a customer record, the old habits of the employees of printing the emails to read them were hard to break. Finally, we offered the following solution. Each employee gets 500 sheets of paper per year. They can use it at will, however, once they have used that, they are responsible for bringing in their own. The unnecessary waste stopped once the employees felt the pain in their own pockets.

The second option, restricting the "print" function, stemmed from privacy regulations, such as HIPAA. Because of the sensitive nature of medical records, if a record was going to be printed, it could only be printed for certain reasons, such as a need for insurance reimbursement. While it would be simple to restrict all users from ever printing, this left no room for exceptions. With an advanced audit trail, anyone printing a record is prompted for their reason for printing. Because they have logged in, the system can report the users who are printing electronic documents, and their reasons for doing so.

Initially, this functionality was an advanced audit trail function, which could cost a significant amount of money. With the advent of all inclusive BPM products such as Laserfiche Avante, and Rio, this functionality is now included at a more reasonable price point, reflective of the number of users in the system.

Doing this requires planning, processes, and procedures- acceptable reasons for printing must be defined, and users must be trained to be comfortable with an on-screen replication of what they used to be able to hold in their hands. This can take time, however, is rewarded by easier user adoption of a completely new way of doing business.

Ergonomic advances, including double monitors, resolution, and magnification can be used to ensure a user's ease in transitioning to this. As with any change, involving the users, understanding concerns, and setting expectations are all among the more critical pieces of a successful "paperless" initiative. Expounding on the benefits to the users, and "selling them" that changes to their ways of working will be beneficial to them personally, will all assist, and keep the amount of redundant paper down, hopefully, resulting in a win for everyone, a more productive office, with fewer wasted resources.