“You ARE a process guy… right?”

This is one of my wife’s favorite lines and part of our friendly married couple banter.

For some background, I started with Anderson Consulting (now Accenture) in May of 2000.  At the time, the consulting workforce was organized into 4 main groups. Strategy, Process, Technology, and Change. I was placed in the Process group. My wife Katie and I had just gotten engaged a month earlier.

My first project involved reengineering customer call center process flows for a major telecommunications company. It was the first time I got to use Visio to do flow charts. I loved working with people to capture their processes, getting them documented, and analyzing them to make them more efficient. I was enamoured by swimlanes, ensuring a process was designed effectively, and making sure that every shape was aligned, etc. I was really into it. Then I learned about Lean, green belts, black belts, etc. I didn’t even know this kind of job existed when I was in college.

So I would bring my work home, staying up late at night to put together the perfect process. Back then, I would try to describe my job to friends and family and they would give me a funny look. I resorted to referencing commercials for companies like Subway, and say I was a ‘process artist’ instead of a ‘sandwich artist’. Another go-to comparison were the BASF commercials, “we don’t make the products you use every day, we just make them better.” Blank stares. It turns out that apparently, not everyone likes to watch commercials as much as I do (That is a topic for another blog).

In the meantime, Katie took on the noble profession of teaching elementary school. But I quickly learned that her way of thinking was very process oriented and she applied it to everything she did. So now that she knew what I actually did at work, and that I thought I was pretty good at it, she would keep me on my toes.

Getting home schooled!

• At the grocery store:  Why did I need to go back to a section we had already been? She planned her route before we even walked in the door.
• Meeting up downtown:  Why don’t I take the bus in the morning and she’ll meet me there that evening? That way we will only have one car coming home.
• Going upstairs for something:  Why don’t I take those things that she staged at the bottom of the stairs while I’m at it? Ohh and put them away since they are already in my hands.
• Driving:   Why would I go to the gas station that requires a left turn, when there is one on the right side of the road? There really isn’t a need to be loyal when they sell the same thing at the same price.
• Changing Diapers: Why would I not have a process in mind for changing the diaper before starting the changing process? Yes, it was possible to change a diaper without using 10+ wipes.
• Toothpaste: Why would I squeeze the tube there, when her method yielded a clean and efficient way to get the toothpaste out? Ohh and since you are there, wipe out the sink, please.
• You ARE a process guy… right?

So it turns out Katie is the true lean operator of the household. She was my Alexa, Siri, Watson, Waze, and Uber long before they were in our lives. I used to call her MapQuest, because even if she had only been somewhere once, it was like she dropped a pin and knew exactly how to get back.

It’s amazing to see the speed at which we are improving processes and unlocking efficiency in everything we do and touch these days. We live in exciting times, but sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming. I just have to remember that it is all just processes, and I am a process guy… with a better process girl by my side.

If you liked the blog, please share it!