Bureaucrats often stall efforts by in-boxing them to death. An idea that could be executed in a few minutes of direct attention, will take on a bureaucratic life of its own if put on the in-box highway. Studies show that issues put on this bureaucratic byway usually dawdle for x months.
William G. Pagonis, the three star general who was chief of logistics for the entire United States military effort in the Gulf War, was hired by Sears chairman, Arthur Martinez, to bust through Sears' monumental bureaucracy.
Muffled laughter greeted the idea. How could a general steeped in chain of command thinking, bring more than just spit and polish to Sears?
In fact, Martinez's top aide quickly halved the time it takes to ship apparel from suppliers to Sears stores and, in the best Army tradition, punished suppliers who failed to meet their deadlines by imposing fines. Sears' profits have soared and Martinez gives much credit to Pagonis.
Symbolic of Pagonis' style, he removed the chairs from meeting rooms so that his aides would hop to. Pagonis says chairs encourage longwindedness. Pagonis' meetings rarely exceed fifteen minutes. Bureaucrats feel they must "contribute" to earn their pay. Only attendees with something to add to the matter at hand speak up at Pagonis' meetings.
. . . Studies have shown that the smaller a group is, the more efficient it will be. Psychologically, some people feel the need to have numbers of people working underneath them, even if this leads to greater inefficiency. However, to make true progress, we really need to eliminate all but what is most efficient. Research has shown that 99% of output is a waste of time.
An important example of increasing efficiency can be seen at Black and Decker, which continually simplifies its design and combines parts. Another example includes Intel, which produces one microchip while designing the next 2 or 3. This makes them more productive, efficient and able to make progress.
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