Decide first, think second

My rant lately (besides the water department) has been what I perceive as a shortfall in process. With the economic downturn, it seems like a lot of places cut costs - somewhat blindly - and ended up cutting process that was important, imperative, necessary, and possibly around for so long that you don't remember why you had it so you just threw it away. I'm sure every office / shop / factory has a reason for cutting. Wanting to retain key staff, not enough work / sales, new management who don't understand the justifications of process.
Have you ever read the Toyota Way? It's a great book about process. How a great company goes vets, validates, and refines their workflow. They have an awesome tool called the A3 Report. What it does is distill a process down to key steps:
- Identify the problem
- Understand the current situation
- Root cause analysis
- Countermeasures
- Develop the Target State
- Implementation plan
and all this has to fit on one A3 sheet of paper. It's like a haiku for the business class. It's also one reason why they are the top selling car manufacturer.
Create Process > Analyze > Make more efficient without compromise to product integrity or key product goals.

That last item is key. the product must continue to improve while the process becomes more efficient.
There is no water department. There are no leprechauns.

What would Revit's A3 look like I wonder? Or LEED?
but more on that later.

Free T-shirt to the person who can give the best example of either.