21: PerformanceOS
In the last email (subject: 1+1=5), we discussed how treating tasks as reusable components - just like Lego bricks - could transform the way organisations improve performance.
But what does that look like in practice?
Let's go back to our ‘making a video’ workflow (subject: Guidance Inc.):
Brainstorm video ideas
Research high ranking titles
Write script
Design storyboard
Setup camera and lighting
Record video
Edit video
Write description
Publish to YouTube
Share on socials
Now, let’s imagine two people within two different parts of an organisation both need to record a ‘talking head’ style video. One is in public relations, filming the CEO for a shareholder update. The other is in marketing, interviewing a new hire about the graduate scheme.
These employees don’t know each other. And their projects don’t overlap.
But they’d both benefit from guidance on how to set up the equipment:
What are the best camera settings?
How you use the teleprompter?
What's the optimal angle for the lights?
Why is that blue light on the microphone flashing?
Isn’t it a waste for them to figure this out independently?
And isn’t it a bigger waste for every subsequent person filming a talking head to figure this out all over again?
All that lost expertise. All that wasted time. All that duplication.
Because there’s no system for capturing it.
Think back to the example of my quarterly tax return. Every three months I have to figure out how to do it all over again, because my poor old brain can’t remember the steps.
But because this is now documented in a guided workflow, I could hire someone and delegate it - confident they’ll execute to the desired standard (and I’m sure someone smart could build an agent to do it too).
And whilst Notion isn’t a viable option for most of us - it does show us what’s possible. For decades, we’ve been trying to improve performance with isolated solutions. But technology means we can systematise the support.
An ecosystem of interconnected workflows.
A satnav for work.
A Performance Guidance System.
And there's absolutely no reason why a workflow couldn't support the performance of any employee doing any task!
This isn't just a fancy way of doing employee onboarding or a new name for SOPs. Designing a guided workflow is totally feasible for all work:
Creative director needs a novel new advertising campaign? There’s a workflow for that.
Product manager needs to decide what to build next? There’s a workflow for that.
CEO needs a new business strategy? There's a workflow for that.
People tend to believe a 'process' is only helpful for routine tasks - but even creative activities benefit from best practices. Believing otherwise reflects a seriously outdated view of how work happens.
Clever person goes into an office and works their magic, right?
Wrong.
It's a fallacy.
Even if it's not visible. Even if it's not documented. Even if they can't explain it - they're using a workflow.
So, I'll say that again and bold it this time, because it's an essential concept to understand:
There's absolutely no reason why a workflow couldn't support the performance of any employee doing any task.
And this is where we can add value. AI is making it essential for work to be defined. So, organisations need help designing not only the tasks within each workflow, but also connecting, reusing and scaling them too.
That requires a completely different level of thinking.
Systems thinking.
And it’s our ability to help our clients and employers understand what's possible, that will elevate our status and make us indispensable.
Yours,
- Ant
