In the Judeo-Christian philosophy, there are seven good years and seven lean years. Personally, I prefer the Asian view of one bad year and three good years. For many businesses and people in the United States, 2009 was a bad year. That means for me 2010 is going to be a better one.

One of those funny characteristics I have as a person is to be an incurable optimist. I’m always able to convince myself the glass is half full. I believe it is a responsibility of management—or better said, the leadership—to be positive and straightforward.

In the world in which we find ourselves, there is much doom and gloom. There are many families and individuals hurting financially. Many people are out of work, have suffered a pay cut, or been furloughed. This is not a good time for them. But I believe we have an opportunity— particularly in these times and these circumstances—to make an impact.

We can institute change and improvement in everything we do. Perhaps everything you do at your company is already perfect and improvement is not possible. Congratulations if that’s the case. However, I’m not sure many of you would say you are in that position.

So let’s use this time as an opportunity. President Barack Obama’s chief of staff is known to say, “Let’s not waste this recession.”Well, I agree, although from a different perspective. People will be more willing now than at most times to embrace change. The old adage that “when the ship is sinking, everyone is more focused” is extremely valid. So let’s have a “checkup from the neck up” of every process, procedure, system, form, or file. Is there anything we can do in each of these areas to make things better?

Process
The people who are doing the job should know the job better than anyone else. Ask them, “What could we do to make this task easier?” Think of it like this: If you had a magic wand, what would you do to make the job better? We should do this for everything that we do—a parts sales order, a work order, a purchase order, an invoice, a receipt, everything.

Procedure
Do you have a procedure manual? Is there an operations manual tied into the use of your computer software system? I usually find the attitude that “we know how to do everything, so we don’t need it to be in writing” to be a problem. A close friend of mine worked on the lunar landing as a project manager for IBM. His standard comment was, “If it isn’t in writing, it doesn’t exist.”

So ask some questions.When were the procedures last reviewed?Who did it and what did they find? Again, let’s take this opportunity and go back to zero and review every procedure and make sure we can’t do it any better today than when the procedure was introduced. And one other question that shouldn’t be overlooked. Do you really need to have the procedure at all?

System
Technology, as we discussed last month, should be an ally. It should improve communications, customer service, or profit, and hopefully all three. Systems are not just computer systems either—they can be payroll systems, phone systems, and timekeeping systems. Let’s check them all out.

Forms
Some time ago when I was a “data processing manager,” we did an inventory of all the company’s forms. It was quite shocking.We had several hundred forms. Many were multi-copy forms and that was expensive.

Do you have a list of all forms in use in your company? If you do have a list, go back and review to see if you still need them. If you don’t have a list, make one and then do the review. You will be glad you did.

Files
In this day and age, I’m shocked at how many things are found in filing cabinets.With current law regarding document retention and the state of technology, we don’t need to have one paper file copy anywhere in any company. Please note I said “paper file copy.”We already have most, if not all, of the paper file information on computer files.Why do we need two sets of records? And if there are the usual skeptics out there thinking about the need for signatures, I ask you to think about the signature pads for sale in all the retail stores you frequent today. They are relatively inexpensive. I believe this is an unbelievable opportunity for each and every one of us to improve ourselves and our businesses. In fact, I would like to create a safe haven for our businesses in our employees’ lives. Give them someplace in this economy where it’s exciting to go, where there is positive work going on, and where getting better should be the catch phrase. It shouldn’t just be about surviving.

I had an interesting experience recently in the midst of a two-day training class. I was on break and found a television that was showing the news with a man watching intently. I asked him if there was anything good on. He replied, “No . . . it’s the news.”

I think we can and must do better than that. Like I said, I subscribe to the Asian view of one bad year followed by three good years. And even more directly, I believe that when we check out our process, procedure, system, forms, and files, we will find opportunities for improvement.What that will do is make us all better in serving our customers, fulfilling the needs and wants of our employees, and providing a reasonable return on investment for our owners.

Care to join me in this pursuit? I’m confident you do. See you in 2010.