How to Cut Red Tape, Increase Velocity, And Create Shared Consciousness

The more red tape we cut, the faster we move

Once you’ve set a direction, there are two ways to lead.

One is to micromanage the process, coordinating every action with instructions, rules, and procedures. But in a world where speed and adaptability are critical success factors for every organization, this kind of rigid control amounts to a whole lot of red tape and puts the success of any project in the hands of a few. The outcome is reduced velocity, bottlenecks, and a weaker chance at success overall.
 

There’s an alternative though - push decision-making further down the stack. This allows for people to make decisions without micromanagement from leadership, and for faster feedback loops because decisions can be made more often, closer to the ground. Hierarchy and process should only unleash your company, not get in the way. 

So how do you empower people while still making sure they move in the same direction and solve problems in the right way? You do that through cultivating an idea-meritocracy and shared consciousness. 

These are two traits of high-performing teams that improve the speed and autonomy of the team without sacrificing alignment.

The best ideas should win. To achieve that goal, leaders must empower everyone in the organization—not just themselves—to make strategic decisions. But how do you do that in practice?

One solution we use is a public decision log. With it, we allow anyone to make an important decision without permission. Our company’s public decision log requires each entry (decision) to include the decision’s rationale, the expected outcome, and a review date. In a way, the decision log feels like a hybrid between the scientific method and the suggested editing mode inside a Google document. 

Including the rationale creates context that’s akin to the observation and measurement elements of the scientific method. It also puts the rest of the team in the shoes of the person who made the decision by exposing us to the pressures, concerns, and imperfect knowledge that were present at the moment the decision was made. 

The expected outcome is roughly similar to offering a hypothesis. In other words, it is a note sent into the future that gives us a benchmark for rendering judgment. 

Finally, the review date creates a mechanism that can be automated as a simple calendar function, allowing the team to “test” the results. So, rather than second-guessing a decision when it’s made, we simply set a date in the future to assemble relevant data and determine whether a decision needs further editing, or merits permanent adoption. 

To some, an idea meritocracy where anyone can make any decision sounds like chaos. Indeed, an outsider might look at our free-flowing ideas and wonder how we’re making progress. 

But in an idea meritocracy, one key metric for success is the rate at which you kill old ideas and generate new ones. In fact, it’s okay to be wrong because what’s important is the velocity of decisioning and the capacity for the organization to learn as it goes. The public decision log isn’t just a record of decisions, it’s a vehicle for creating a shared consciousness. 

That may sound like a new age quote we found on Instagram, but it’s actually a lesson from General Stanley McChrystal’s Iraq war experience. In his book, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, McChrystal explains how he disrupted the military’s traditional “command-and-control” flow of power and “need to know” philosophy by focusing on adaptability and promoting generalized awareness within the organization. 

Essentially, McChrystal’s model amplifies the awareness and adaptability that thrive inside a small unit. Then it scales those attributes throughout the larger organization. As a result, the organization moves faster, but it also moves smarter because a good idea can come from anywhere.

Of course, few businesses are as large, complex, and hierarchical as the U.S. military. So, we thought, if the military can cut red tape, breakdown silos, empower soldiers to work inside an idea meritocracy, there’s no reason any company shouldn’t be able to do the same. 

What we’ve found is that the more red tape we cut, the faster we move. Just as important, a good idea is a good idea, no matter the title of the person who came up with it. And when we do find consensus around a good idea, the buy-in is immediate, thanks to a shared consciousness.

Josh Lowy is the CEO and Co-Founder at Hugo. Previously a product manager at Westfield Retail Solutions, Josh built wayfinding solutions for brands to convert online shopper intent into offline purchases.  Visit www.hugo.team Connect Josh Lowy Follow @hugoproduct