How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done
-
0:01 - 0:07Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize
[winner] in economics, once wrote: -
0:07 - 0:12"Productivity is not everything,
but in the long run, -
0:12 - 0:15it is almost everything."
-
0:16 - 0:17So this is serious.
-
0:18 - 0:23There are not that many things on earth
that are "almost everything." -
0:24 - 0:31Productivity is the principal driver
of the prosperity of a society. -
0:32 - 0:33So we have a problem.
-
0:34 - 0:37In the largest European economies,
-
0:37 - 0:40productivity used to grow
five percent per annum -
0:40 - 0:43in the '50s, '60s, early '70s.
-
0:43 - 0:47From '73 to '83: three percent per annum.
-
0:47 - 0:50From '83 to '95: two percent per annum.
-
0:50 - 0:55Since 1995: less than
one percent per annum. -
0:55 - 0:57The same profile in Japan.
-
0:58 - 1:01The same profile in the US,
-
1:01 - 1:06despite a momentary rebound 15 years ago,
-
1:06 - 1:10and despite all
the technological innovations -
1:10 - 1:12around us: the Internet, the information,
-
1:12 - 1:16the new information
and communication technologies. -
1:16 - 1:21When productivity grows
three percent per annum, -
1:21 - 1:24you double the standard of living
every generation. -
1:25 - 1:30Every generation is twice
as well-off as its parents'. -
1:31 - 1:34When it grows one percent per annum,
-
1:34 - 1:38it takes three generations
to double the standard of living. -
1:38 - 1:43And in this process, many people
will be less well-off than their parents. -
1:44 - 1:46They will have less of everything:
-
1:46 - 1:50smaller roofs, or perhaps no roof at all,
-
1:51 - 1:57less access to education, to vitamins,
to antibiotics, to vaccination -- -
1:57 - 1:58to everything.
-
2:00 - 2:05Think of all the problems
that we're facing at the moment. -
2:06 - 2:08All.
-
2:09 - 2:13Chances are that they are rooted
in the productivity crisis. -
2:15 - 2:17Why this crisis?
-
2:18 - 2:24Because the basic tenets
about efficiency -- -
2:24 - 2:29effectiveness in organizations,
in management -- -
2:29 - 2:33have become counterproductive
for human efforts. -
2:34 - 2:38Everywhere in public services --
in companies, in the way we work, -
2:38 - 2:42the way we innovate, invest --
try to learn to work better. -
2:43 - 2:47Take the holy trinity of efficiency:
-
2:49 - 2:55clarity, measurement, accountability.
-
2:56 - 2:58They make human efforts derail.
-
3:00 - 3:04There are two ways
to look at it, to prove it. -
3:04 - 3:06One, the one I prefer,
-
3:06 - 3:12is rigorous, elegant, nice -- math.
-
3:13 - 3:16But the full math version
takes a little while, -
3:16 - 3:18so there is another one.
-
3:18 - 3:20It is to look at a relay race.
-
3:21 - 3:22This is what we will do today.
-
3:22 - 3:29It's a bit more animated, more visual
and also faster -- it's a race. -
3:30 - 3:31Hopefully, it's faster.
-
3:31 - 3:32(Laughter)
-
3:32 - 3:37World championship final -- women.
-
3:37 - 3:39Eight teams in the final.
-
3:39 - 3:42The fastest team is the US team.
-
3:43 - 3:46They have the fastest women on earth.
-
3:46 - 3:49They are the favorite team to win.
-
3:49 - 3:53Notably, if you compare them
to an average team, -
3:53 - 3:55say, the French team,
-
3:55 - 3:56(Laughter)
-
3:56 - 4:01based on their best performances
in the 100-meter race, -
4:01 - 4:07if you add the individual times
of the US runners, -
4:07 - 4:14they arrive at the finish line
3.2 meters ahead of the French team. -
4:14 - 4:17And this year, the US team
is in great shape. -
4:18 - 4:20Based on their best performance this year,
-
4:20 - 4:25they arrive 6.4 meters
ahead of the French team, -
4:25 - 4:27based on the data.
-
4:27 - 4:29We are going to look at the race.
-
4:29 - 4:31At some point you will see,
towards the end, -
4:31 - 4:38that Torri Edwards,
the fourth US runner, is ahead. -
4:38 - 4:44Not surprising -- this year she got
the gold medal in the 100-meter race. -
4:44 - 4:49And by the way, Chryste Gaines,
the second runner in the US team, -
4:49 - 4:52is the fastest woman on earth.
-
4:52 - 4:57So, there are 3.5 billion women on earth.
-
4:58 - 5:01Where are the two fastest? On the US team.
-
5:01 - 5:04And the two other runners
on the US team are not bad, either. -
5:04 - 5:06(Laughter)
-
5:06 - 5:11So clearly, the US team has won
the war for talent. -
5:12 - 5:16But behind, the average team
is trying to catch up. -
5:16 - 5:18Let's watch the race.
-
5:18 - 5:23(Video: French sportscasters narrate race)
-
6:07 - 6:09(Video: Race narration ends)
-
6:10 - 6:12Yves Morieux: So what happened?
-
6:12 - 6:16The fastest team did not win;
the slower one did. -
6:17 - 6:19By the way, I hope you appreciate
-
6:19 - 6:25the deep historical research I did
to make the French look good. -
6:25 - 6:27(Laughter)
-
6:29 - 6:34But let's not exaggerate --
it's not archeology, either. -
6:34 - 6:36(Laughter)
-
6:36 - 6:37But why?
-
6:37 - 6:39Because of cooperation.
-
6:39 - 6:41When you hear this sentence:
-
6:41 - 6:45"Thanks to cooperation, the whole
is worth more than the sum of the parts." -
6:46 - 6:49This is not poetry;
this is not philosophy. -
6:49 - 6:51This is math.
-
6:51 - 6:54Those who carry the baton are slower,
-
6:54 - 6:56but their baton is faster.
-
6:57 - 6:58Miracle of cooperation:
-
6:59 - 7:04it multiplies energy,
intelligence in human efforts. -
7:04 - 7:07It is the essence of human efforts:
-
7:07 - 7:13how we work together, how each effort
contributes to the efforts of others. -
7:14 - 7:17With cooperation,
we can do more with less. -
7:18 - 7:23Now, what happens to cooperation
when the holy grail -- -
7:23 - 7:26the holy trinity, even --
-
7:26 - 7:32of clarity, measurement, accountability --
-
7:32 - 7:33appears?
-
7:35 - 7:36Clarity.
-
7:36 - 7:41Management reports are full of complaints
about the lack of clarity. -
7:41 - 7:45Compliance audits,
consultants' diagnostics. -
7:46 - 7:51We need more clarity, we need
to clarify the roles, the processes. -
7:52 - 7:56It is as though the runners
on the team were saying, -
7:56 - 8:02"Let's be clear -- where does my role
really start and end? -
8:03 - 8:08Am I supposed to run for 95 meters,
96, 97...?" -
8:08 - 8:10It's important, let's be clear.
-
8:11 - 8:14If you say 97, after 97 meters,
-
8:14 - 8:17people will drop the baton, whether
there is someone to take it or not. -
8:19 - 8:20Accountability.
-
8:21 - 8:25We are constantly trying
to put accountability -
8:25 - 8:26in someone's hands.
-
8:27 - 8:29Who is accountable for this process?
-
8:29 - 8:32We need somebody accountable
for this process. -
8:33 - 8:37So in the relay race,
since passing the baton is so important, -
8:37 - 8:41then we need somebody
clearly accountable for passing the baton. -
8:42 - 8:44So between each runner,
-
8:44 - 8:49now we will have a new dedicated athlete,
-
8:49 - 8:53clearly dedicated to taking
the baton from one runner, -
8:53 - 8:56and passing it to the next runner.
-
8:56 - 8:59And we will have at least two like that.
-
9:00 - 9:07Well, will we, in that case, win the race?
-
9:08 - 9:10That I don't know, but for sure,
-
9:10 - 9:13we would have a clear interface,
-
9:13 - 9:16a clear line of accountability.
-
9:16 - 9:18We will know who to blame.
-
9:19 - 9:21But we'll never win the race.
-
9:21 - 9:26If you think about it,
we pay more attention -
9:26 - 9:30to knowing who to blame in case we fail,
-
9:30 - 9:34than to creating
the conditions to succeed. -
9:35 - 9:39All the human intelligence
put in organization design -- -
9:39 - 9:42urban structures, processing systems --
-
9:42 - 9:43what is the real goal?
-
9:44 - 9:47To have somebody guilty in case they fail.
-
9:48 - 9:53We are creating
organizations able to fail, -
9:53 - 9:56but in a compliant way,
-
9:56 - 10:00with somebody clearly
accountable when we fail. -
10:00 - 10:04And we are quite effective
at that -- failing. -
10:05 - 10:06Measurement.
-
10:07 - 10:08What gets measured gets done.
-
10:08 - 10:13Look, to pass the baton,
you have to do it at the right time, -
10:13 - 10:15in the right hand, at the right speed.
-
10:15 - 10:18But to do that, you have to put
energy in your arm. -
10:18 - 10:21This energy that is in your arm
will not be in your legs. -
10:21 - 10:24It will come at the expense
of your measurable speed. -
10:25 - 10:29You have to shout early enough
to the next runner -
10:29 - 10:32when you will pass the baton,
to signal that you are arriving, -
10:32 - 10:35so that the next runner
can prepare, can anticipate. -
10:35 - 10:38And you have to shout loud.
-
10:38 - 10:42But the blood, the energy
that will be in your throat -
10:42 - 10:44will not be in your legs.
-
10:44 - 10:47Because you know, there are
eight people shouting at the same time. -
10:47 - 10:50So you have to recognize the voice
of your colleague. -
10:50 - 10:52You cannot say, "Is it you?"
-
10:53 - 10:54Too late!
-
10:54 - 10:55(Laughter)
-
10:55 - 11:00Now, let's look at the race
in slow motion, -
11:00 - 11:03and concentrate on the third runner.
-
11:03 - 11:07Look at where she allocates her efforts,
-
11:07 - 11:10her energy, her attention.
-
11:11 - 11:14Not all in her legs -- that would
be great for her own speed -- -
11:14 - 11:18but in also in her throat,
arm, eye, brain. -
11:18 - 11:20That makes a difference in whose legs?
-
11:20 - 11:22In the legs of the next runner.
-
11:23 - 11:26But when the next runner runs super-fast,
-
11:26 - 11:28is it because she made a super effort,
-
11:28 - 11:31or because of the way
the third runner passed the baton? -
11:31 - 11:35There is no metric on earth
that will give us the answer. -
11:36 - 11:41And if we reward people on the basis
of their measurable performance, -
11:41 - 11:44they will put their energy,
their attention, their blood -
11:44 - 11:46in what can get measured -- in their legs.
-
11:47 - 11:49And the baton will fall and slow down.
-
11:50 - 11:52To cooperate is not a super effort,
-
11:52 - 11:54it is how you allocate your effort.
-
11:55 - 11:57It is to take a risk,
-
11:57 - 12:01because you sacrifice
the ultimate protection -
12:01 - 12:07granted by objectively measurable
individual performance. -
12:09 - 12:12It is to make a super difference
in the performance of others, -
12:12 - 12:14with whom we are compared.
-
12:15 - 12:17It takes being stupid to cooperate, then.
-
12:18 - 12:20And people are not stupid;
they don't cooperate. -
12:21 - 12:26You know, clarity, accountability,
measurement were OK -
12:26 - 12:28when the world was simpler.
-
12:29 - 12:32But business has become much more complex.
-
12:32 - 12:34With my teams, we have measured
-
12:34 - 12:37the evolution of complexity in business.
-
12:37 - 12:43It is much more demanding today
to attract and retain customers, -
12:43 - 12:46to build advantage on a global scale,
-
12:46 - 12:48to create value.
-
12:49 - 12:51And the more business gets complex,
-
12:51 - 12:57the more, in the name of clarity,
accountability, measurement -
12:57 - 13:00we multiply structures,
processes, systems. -
13:01 - 13:06You know, this drive for clarity
and accountability triggers -
13:06 - 13:11a counterproductive multiplication
of interfaces, middle offices, -
13:11 - 13:16coordinators that do not only
mobilize people and resources, -
13:16 - 13:19but that also add obstacles.
-
13:19 - 13:24And the more complicated the organization,
-
13:24 - 13:28the more difficult it is to understand
what is really happening. -
13:28 - 13:33So we need summaries, proxies, reports,
-
13:33 - 13:36key performance indicators, metrics.
-
13:36 - 13:41So people put their energy
in what can get measured, -
13:41 - 13:43at the expense of cooperation.
-
13:43 - 13:46And as performance deteriorates,
-
13:46 - 13:49we add even more structure,
process, systems. -
13:49 - 13:52People spend their time in meetings,
-
13:52 - 13:56writing reports they have
to do, undo and redo. -
13:56 - 14:00Based on our analysis,
teams in these organizations -
14:00 - 14:06spend between 40 and 80 percent
of their time wasting their time, -
14:06 - 14:10but working harder and harder,
longer and longer, -
14:10 - 14:13on less and less value-adding activities.
-
14:14 - 14:17This is what is killing productivity,
-
14:17 - 14:19what makes people suffer at work.
-
14:19 - 14:24Our organizations are wasting
human intelligence. -
14:24 - 14:27They have turned against human efforts.
-
14:29 - 14:32When people don't cooperate,
-
14:32 - 14:36don't blame their mindsets,
their mentalities, their personality -- -
14:36 - 14:38look at the work situations.
-
14:39 - 14:43Is it really in their personal interest
to cooperate or not, -
14:43 - 14:47if, when they cooperate,
they are individually worse off? -
14:48 - 14:50Why would they cooperate?
-
14:50 - 14:54When we blame personalities
-
14:54 - 15:00instead of the clarity,
the accountability, the measurement, -
15:00 - 15:03we add injustice to ineffectiveness.
-
15:06 - 15:08We need to create organizations
-
15:08 - 15:12in which it becomes individually useful
for people to cooperate. -
15:13 - 15:18Remove the interfaces,
the middle offices -- -
15:18 - 15:21all these complicated
coordination structures. -
15:22 - 15:26Don't look for clarity; go for fuzziness.
-
15:26 - 15:28Fuzziness overlaps.
-
15:29 - 15:34Remove most of the quantitative metrics
to assess performance. -
15:34 - 15:36Speed the "what."
-
15:36 - 15:39Look at cooperation, the "how."
-
15:39 - 15:41How did you pass the baton?
-
15:41 - 15:44Did you throw it,
or did you pass it effectively? -
15:47 - 15:53Am I putting my energy
in what can get measured -- -
15:53 - 15:57my legs, my speed --
or in passing the baton? -
15:57 - 16:01You, as leaders, as managers,
-
16:01 - 16:07are you making it individually useful
for people to cooperate? -
16:08 - 16:11The future of our organizations,
-
16:11 - 16:15our companies, our societies
-
16:15 - 16:20hinges on your answer to these questions.
-
16:21 - 16:22Thank you.
-
16:22 - 16:26(Applause)
- Title:
- How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done
- Speaker:
- Yves Morieux
- Description:
-
Modern work — from waiting tables to crunching numbers to dreaming up new products — is about solving brand-new problems every day, flexibly, in brand-new ways. But as Yves Morieux shows in this insightful talk, too often, an overload of processes and sign-offs and internal metrics keeps us from doing our best. He offers a new way to think of work — as a collaboration, not a competition.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 16:38
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How too many rules at work keep you from getting things done |