I was just recently reminded of an invaluable anecdote that I read. The story goes like this:
Several airport workers were painting new lines on the tarmac. At one point, an employee knocked over a can of red paint. To cover up his mistake he painted the spilled paint into a nice smooth circle. Nobody was the wiser. Year after year when the crews came to refresh the paint at the airport they would repaint this red circle. Finally, decades later someone simply asked the question: “What is this red circle for and why are we painting it?” Of course, no one had a valid answer since there was no logical reason for it.
Are there any red circles in your business or in your life? Are there any activities that you do out of habit that may not have a meaningful purpose?
Red Circles are activities, habits or processes that don’t have a valid purpose.
I’ve always loved to challenge the status quo and I always listen for statements like “because we’ve always done it that way”, or even “company regulations require we do it this way”. As a leader, those kind of responses should give you pause. When questioning why processes or habits are a certain way, an average leader may say “this is a tried and true process, this is what we’ve done for years”. A good leader can substantiate the reasons with data. A great leader is laser-focused on spotting red circles and bringing new and effective ideas to the table and listening to the team and those affected by the processes (especially downstream) for input.
I have had my share of red circles over the years. The best example of this is when I am heads down working hard on something, I get distracted when I see new emails come in. I guess I’ve been in the habit for many years to try and answer my emails quickly before getting overwhelmed with dozens (or hundreds of emails). While I had good intentions, the unintended consequence was that I wasn’t focusing on what really needed to be done as I was distracted throughout the work day. When I put my thinking cap back on, more emails would come in, and by the time I got back to what I was supposed to be doing, I lost track of where I was, causing a lot of wasted effort. You get the picture, right? BIG…RED… CIRCLE…
I think because I was always an analytical-minded and data-driven person with an engineering background and training in six sigma, once I got into my first leadership role back in 1993 I regularly looked for red circles in our team’s processes and was surprised at how easy it is to save money, reduce cycle time, or improve quality. I am convinced that even my team appreciated my questioning mindset because it saved them a lot of time doing menial tasks and allowed them to focus on valuable activities that were more challenging and rewarding.
Even now as a recruiter, I can spot red circles with ease. Here are a few of the red circles I witness on a regular basis:
- Using standardized but generic job descriptions that the hiring manager had no part in creating and that don’t really match what is required
- Requiring the exact same type of candidates (same experience, same background, same degree) that you have always hired (yet wonder why there is no diversity of thought and no out of the box thinking and creativity)
- Taking the time to post jobs online and expecting top tier talent to fall into your lap
- Not having a process to communicate to candidates that don’t get the job (employer brand is on the line!)
- Interview processes that are too long and drawn out, causing candidate frustration
- Unnecessary approval processes are required before a candidate can be hired, causing you to lose out on great candidates
- Not building a talent pipeline before the actual hiring need arises (being reactive instead of proactive)
- Not having a success road map for the new employee’s first week as well as their first 30, 60 and 90 days on the job
Sometimes it may not be easy to spot red circles yourself. Often times an outsider can more effectively diagnose issues and bring them to the forefront. Don’t be afraid to ask your friends, family, or colleagues to take a look for you. An “audit” of your business or your work habits to challenge the status quo can be a good idea from time to time.
So be courageous in confronting the red circles in your career and in your business. Be on the lookout for those red circles and you’ll surely find them! If you can’t find them, ask others for their input, and then FIX them!