Topics Covered In This Episode:
- In this episode we started with a discussion on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the operating manuals for businesses, highlighting the need for their constant update and distinguishing them from project plans.
- Jeff and Mercer debated whether SOPs should be attached to every task in a project and explored the balance between trust in an individual's capabilities and following SOPs. The "broken windows theory" with subway cars was brought up as an analogy.
- They discussed the frequency of keeping SOPs updated, emphasizing the importance of building SOP maintenance into a company's culture. It also brought up the metaphor of taking out the trash in relation to SOP upkeep.
- The conversation then moved to the importance of keeping up to date with technology and proposed creating an SOP for the podcast to streamline its delivery.
- Mercer and Jeff deliberated whether teaching should be separate from the checklist, arguing for the need to educate people on their roles.
- We wrapped up by stressing the importance of a clear organizational structure and strong enforcement of SOPs. We highlighted the need to define a company's culture explicitly and reiterated the idea that everyone in a company has a responsibility, likening it again to everyone taking out the trash.
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