Everyday Stories…Is there a place for “process”?

As a sequel to the previous post on “process” here are some everyday situations to provoke your thinking. Just read, take a step back, turn it over in your mind…share your conclusions.

Storytime_logo3Story 1: The airliner had been cruising smoothly at 30 thousand feet over the Atlantic on its way to London, Heathrow. Suddenly light turbulence begins to cause a bumpy ride and the captain turns on the seat belt sign as a precaution. In the next few minutes the turbulence becomes more regular to the point the airplane is moderately shaking and bumps become more significant. The flight attendant asks passengers to return to their seats. The captain contacts air traffic control to request a change of altitude to 35 thousand feet to climb out of the turbulence…

Story 2: A creative film producer is working on a commercial piece for a large company. After understanding the company’s product, its benefits and key messages to be communicated, the creative part begins…Brainstorming on messaging, narratives and possible media types – customer journey, day-in-the-life, animation, sci-fi, etc. The team finally arrives at a storyline that is validated with the customer and production begins – storyboarding, scripting, actor selection, shooting footage, etc. With 7 days left until the first screening, it’s time to bring all the pieces together…

Story 3: Wow, finally the house is quiet – kids are in bed, time to relax. Jon and Mary have spent the evening cooking, cleaning the kitchen, reviewing homework and helping the kids make their lunches…Now it’s “parent time.” Jon makes a hot cup of tea for Mary and brings it to the table. “Let’s talk about what we’re going to do for summer vacation” Mary says. Together they start brainstorming ideas and begin to make a list. After listing 5-6 ideas they talk about how they’ll decide between them – the kids summer camp schedule, Jon’s vacation days, the price, relaxing vs site-seeing etc…

These “story snippets” are from everyday life – nothing extraordinary, not “industry specific,” both personal and professional…As you casually read over them, think of them through the “process lens” and ask yourself these questions:

What about process? Does it play a role? To what degree?

…trying to provoke your thoughts…Share them!

…more to come…

Picture: www.akronlibrary.org

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  1. In all of your stories a ‘process’ is being used.. but the ‘actors’ are clear that there are some areas of flexibility. The ‘process’ is to fly at 35,000 feet but the pilot has the option to choose a different course of action if necessary…but he has to check with someone, air traffic control. If there’s someone flying right into his path, the turbulence may be the lesser of the evils! So, process definitely has a place but the people in the process have to know when they can (and SHOULD) circumvent it for the good of the organization!