You Didn't Fill Out the Form

Yet another post inspired by a conversation over pints at our local brewery with friends who work at large corporations. This is the second of 3 topics I picked up that evening. A very productive evening spent “researching” things to write about that came at the perfect time as my stock of potential topics was getting low. But that’s for another post.

These friends, like many others in the corporate world, particularly those over 50, are frustrated with the hoops they are required to jump through to get even simple things done. In one case, the issue is compounded by a consensus culture that requires ensuring everyone involved in every decision is on board. Those of you in such a culture know how exhausting that is. Putting a presentation (“deck”) together is one thing but having everyone involved giving “input” into what they’d like in your pitch turns it into a balancing act to appease the masses. And all that is after everyone involved has approved the PowerPoint template that will be used.

This type of culture also thrives (though stifling its own productivity) on meetings. There has to be a meeting with ALL the stakeholders present in order to make a decision. Getting that group together can take days or weeks and creates more frustration with the delays it can cause. Then there is the meeting (or meetings) to get ready for THE meeting. The higher the level of approval required, the more prep meetings necessary so all the lower-level managers and directors can put their stamp on the proceedings. Oh, and they have to be met with individually starting at the lowest level and working upward.

Now that the meeting has been held, it’s time to make sure all the paperwork is completed correctly to capture the decision and request whatever resources are needed to implement it. The more complex the project, the more paperwork required, and the more likely one is to hear the dreaded words, “You didn’t fill out the form.” The layers of paperwork, many times duplicative, are enough to crush even the strongest spirit. In many instances it is still actual paper forms. So much for the advent of computers and the paperless workplace.

Add to all this the trend to outsource functions, especially when it comes to project management and technical support, and bingo, yet more layers to work through. Now not only is approval needed within the company, but the vendors’ approvals – and approval processes – are piled on. If the vendors’ staff are not familiar with the company, its idiosyncrasies, facilities, and stakeholders, those gaps must be filled in before getting the project off the ground. Not to mention the need to bring all those people up to speed on the background of the project so they understand why it is being done and how it fits in with other projects. All this limits the ability for creative problem solving and allows for a lack of ownership for the results – at least on the vendors’ part – putting the employee(s) on the team in an even tougher situation.

The above are things I hear over and over from friends still in the corporate world. The bigger the company, the more barriers to productivity there are. So many people I speak with who are over 50 are looking to retire early to escape this craziness. That’s where early planning comes in as I’ve written about before. I wish for them all to be able to make the jump and move on to their next phase of life – without having to fill out too many forms. One thing I can’t help but wonder though is how companies will fair when these masters of communication are gone and the texting generation takes their place. It will be interesting to watch, and thankfully I’ll be doing that from a safe distance.

www.RetiredandInspiredat55.com 5-08-2023