You’ve probably seen travel/leisure articles online or in your Facebook feeds that highlight a particular destination. Essentially, the authors of the articles identify the things that you should definitely see or experience. They also identify attractions that they believe to be overrated.

As I was reading one of those articles recently, I realized that the theory of “see this, skip that” can be used to help organizations get more efficient and productive.

Here’s how:

Operations – keep this, dump that. If you’re still paying for but not actually using a system or product, dump it….NOW. Keep only the things that increase efficiency. Everything else is wasting space and time. Be brave and let those things go!

Service – be this, improve that. Be the shining example of outstanding service in your industry. Mediocrity sucks. Monitor behavior. Fix mistakes immediately. Stop doing things that piss people off (quoting policies, etc.) When you identify the things that you’re GREAT at, improve upon them. Make them better.

Marketing– analyze this, eliminate that. Get used to collecting and reviewing data. It’s not the future. It’s the now. Eliminate wasteful spending by avoiding the use of materials that end up in garbage cans or recycling bins. HINT: you shouldn’t be spending a ton of money on anything that is printed anymore. Put everything on your website and make sure that it is mobile-friendly. Don’t make people squint if they’re accessing your site through their phones.

Training/Professional Development – offer this, lament that. If you want a top-notch organization with top-notch talent, you’ll need to offer professional development opportunities. Your best employees will want it and will expect it. If you don’t, you’ll lament the fact that your best people are walking out the door to go work for your competitors.

What else can you do to get better? Share your comments below!

Have you decided to get ABSURD! yet?  Take a look.