We’ve chatted about the importance of checklists. Checklists can be checklists literally as well as figuratively (i.e. software). Checklists help us order our thoughts and actions. Yet, the last step on each checklist should be: removing as many checklist steps as possible. This ironic strategy is necessary because steps inherently are friction, and friction is our enemy. We want to help our clients avoid the drag of clicks and thinking.
Embracing lists that we seek to eradicate may seem like one foot on the gas and one on the brake—but that is the life of a great company. In Jim Collins’ book Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, Mr. Collins shares that great companies often possess contradictory skills sets. They are pensive, yet when needed can quickly innovate. They are financially responsible, yet spend handsomely when an opportunity arises.
We want to lay out our processes in linear lists, optimize them, and then shrink them with our ingenuity. We’ll make checklists, and then chip away at them with superior ways of doing things. We’ll use our insights, problem solving, and smart coding to accomplish what the checklist does but without: the checklist.
Bridge's Product Syncing boarding checklist is a good example. I continue to add to this list (which is now up to 19 steps). I recently realized that we can add stock sharing to this boarding list, as well as let brands self-select how their products will be organized, such as by department or collection. The more we flesh out this process, the more we can automate parts of it and reduce it. My next goal: to set defaults for brands that replace these steps with built-in, opt-in features. An ultimate, goal: a brand won’t work at checking off 19 steps, but rather agree to 19 terms via a simple “Yes” checkbox at the bottom. Dare I say, we’ll try to convert checklists to a 'sentient being.' (Saying "Sentient being" reminds of a Transformers movie scene where Optimus Prime, atop the Hoover Damn, proclaims the rights of sentients beings. I hope Optimus Prime’s ‘real' daytime job is towing a trailer of goods to indie shops--he better not be towing a Prime trailer!).
What we do with processes and checklists, the tech team does with code. Our code base is literally an example of growing and then shrinking to improve. Our tech team is creating more code each day, and it’s also finding ways to do things more efficiently and cutting out code. A colleague recently shared with me a story about shrinking the needed code for a process by 70%.
Bridge Team, thank you for helping us have so much great content to refine. It’s fun to make it stronger, smarter, and leaner. When we make checklists and code, and then refine it, it's as if we're converting it to muscle. We’re replacing good baby fat with great muscle. Our goal: more muscle! Thank you for helping us become stronger and leaner this week.