Kill the Systems That Don't Work: Some of My Best Ideas Were Terrible
Honest confession: some of my best ideas were terrible.
Stop/go cards that deteriorated and nobody maintained. Dashboards full of data nobody looked at. Metrics I asked my team to track but never used to make a single decision.
I was making my team do work that added zero value to the business.
The Ruthless Simplification
So I simplified. Ruthlessly.
- If I'm not looking at it — stop collecting it
- If it's not driving a decision — kill it
- If the team has better ideas — listen
We went from an extensive tracking sheet to a simple tally. People, quality, velocity, cost. Tallies under each. Done in 10 minutes.
No Ego
Not everything that sounds like a good idea is a good idea. Test it. If it doesn't work, kill it. No ego.
Your team will respect you more for killing a bad system than for forcing them to use one. Every system that doesn't work is a tax on your team's goodwill — and eventually, they stop trusting any system you introduce.
The Question
What system in your business exists right now but nobody actually uses? Kill it this week. Your team will thank you.
About the Author
Luke Davies
Luke is the founder of Davies Design & Construction and author of Dream Home. He writes about home design philosophy, lean construction, and building businesses that put people first.
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