TALES FROM THE DEN

In a corporate world packed with projects that sound important but have little impact on the bottom line, sometimes it helps to put just one out of its misery. You’ve undoubtedly seen the movie Office Space—if you haven’t, go rent it this weekend—with its running joke about the TPS reports that endlessly irritate the staff. (Of course, the movie also does an outstanding job of skewering management consultants whose sole goal is to decrease headcount.)

As with all comedy, the TPS report gag has its roots in several painful truths:

· There are lots of busywork makers in the world and a horrifying percentage are in positions of power.

· Nobody likes to fill out reports.

· A cool-sounding acronym may save you microseconds in talk time but it doesn’t make something any more valuable.

An associate of mine once told me about a Disney operating principle called “Low Ride Out.” In essence, the least-used theme-park ride was retired on an annual basis. We could do worse than to borrow an idea from Disney. So here’s my challenge for you this month: Eliminate one piece of busywork from your corporate environment. It could be a form that’s become obsolete, or a weekly meeting that has no point (and sometimes no end). If you’re an executive or manager, make sure you involve your staff in the decision of what to delete—define the parameters and then create a contest to choose what’s going to rest in peace…and don’t forget to conduct a mock funeral.

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