Bring the operator into the design

Career · Little Light original

A new process can look elegant on a planning slide and become exhausting in the hands of the person who must repeat it every day. The steps are approved, the system is configured, and only then does someone discover the extra screen, the missing exception, or the decision nobody has time to make. Bring the operator into the design before the design becomes expensive to change. Ask them to walk through a real case, including the awkward ones. Watch where the work slows and which details experienced hands notice without being told. Their questions are not resistance to improvement. They are information about whether the improvement can survive ordinary use. Expertise is often located closest to the repetition. Leadership does not lose authority by inviting it in; it makes a better decision with fewer surprises. The person who will live with the process should not be the last person allowed to shape it. Give practical knowledge a place at the table while possibility is still open.

Little Light