I ONCE WAS A MEMBER of a PIT (process improvement team) that improved ... well, nothing. Oh, we defined the process, articulated why it needed changing, enumerated the process steps, and made changes that charted really well.

The funny thing was that the new process didn't really solve the old process problems. We didn't tackle the biggest problem that faced us, namely the elephants, the company's unwritten rules that controlled the process. Unwritten rules, like elephants, are gray, have considerable weight, and don't move fast; but they can be trained and put to work.

Like many teams, we were afraid to even talk about the unwritten rules that could prevent real changes from taking hold. The odds are likely that you, too, are a member or have been a member of a PIT that ignored the herd.

In my experience, the PITs that do meet their missions, that is they successfully change team, department, or corporate processes, explicitly or implicitly acknowledge the unwritten rules. Successful PIT members also understand the role that rules play in a process and in pushing through change.

It doesn't matter whether management conducts the department's business in an ad hoc fashion or with an iron fist. Unwritten rules direct the enterprise's daily business. The day-to-day work of the enterprise is dependent on these informal and unrecognized guidelines.

These rules define and communicate the norms, practices, politics, culture, and mores of the organization. Consider corporate culture: It is really an unwritten set of rules that the enterprise's most successful employees understand and manipulate. Unwritten rules even give shape, context, and meaning to an organization's written rules.

Although the rules are unwritten, they are not silent. Sometimes they whisper reminders to a staffer about the form of that person's individual efforts in the context of a larger unit, such as a team, department, division, company, or client company. Other times these rules stand up, stomp their feet, and demand attention. Usually such displays are accompanied by a call for respect and the phrase, "you can't do that."

How do you identify the unwritten rules that could prevent your PIT from meeting its goals? All you need is observation and communication.

Observe workflow: Where are the bottlenecks in workflow? Who skirts the sanctioned -- and presumably more logical -- production path? How and why? Current workflow, both approved and improvised, indicates where unwritten rules slow the workflow and which rules can be broken.

Observe politics: Whom do others defer to in meetings? Who gets good assignments? How are staffers motivated? Politics work in tandem with unwritten rules; both are reflections of top management's behavior.

Chat with others: Talk with everyone up and down the corporate ladder. But don't come right out and ask, "What are the unwritten rules that prevent improvements in your department?" People will clam up. Instead ask open-ended questions about workflow and motivation. "How does the system really work in this department?" "Forget what others say, what are the most important aspects of your job?" "What are the key elements of the workflow?"

Between observation and communication, patterns, unwritten rules and the side effects will emerge. The PIT can then assess workflow, the steps to be changed, which unwritten rules have to be broken, and which will actually support change.

Got your own way to train a heerd of elephants? Send me your suggestions at briefing@infoworld.com.

» posted by ITworld staff

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