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“Trust the Process” is Meaningless

Too often, “trust the process” tends to morph into “let’s hope the process fixes things for us.”

1/7/2019 | Bill Petrie, Petrie's Perspective

Whether it’s a professional football team or a sales-focused promotional products concern, every organization employs some variation of “trust the process” as a core principle. The hope is that by trusting the process – any process – will carry the company forward and to keep all involved focused. In many cases, it’s as if the phrase itself has the power to help people do better work. This is especially true when things don’t go according to plan:

  • Production times are off? Trust the manufacturing process.
  • Revenue numbers are down? Trust the sales process.
  • There’s a talent deficiency? Trust the hiring process.
  • The marketing is terrible? Trust the creative process.
  • The products are just like everyone else’s? Trust the merchandising process.

This is where, “trust the process” tends to morph into “let’s hope the process fixes things for us.” It becomes a false premise of optimism to minimize our innate fear of failure because if we simply trust the process, we will eventually achieve the goal. Clinging on to a mindset of trusting the process will provide a bit of solace – which can be needed in times of stress – but it will also coax you into being passive as you approach challenges. This is where it truly is meaningless and becomes a crutch that will keep you and your team from engaging challenges in meaningful ways.

Instead, trust the people who OWN the process.

When the mindset is shifted to trust the people who own and use the process instead of simply the process itself, we can be both optimistic and realistic. For any process to have true positive impact, stakeholders must play an active role in it. Remember, a process alone has no agenda nor any ability to emote – it’s just a tool. Even so, organizations and people still grasp onto their specific “process” and cling to it for dear life:

  • Brands glom on to words that are often stand-ins for real action and meaning.
  • Salespeople use words that imply a product’s value and use that as a substitute for the value itself.
  • Enterprises tout their “commitment to excellence” implying they only deliver the highest quality products/solutions when often the merchandise is shoddy.

When people simply “trust the process” without intentional action, words like quality, value, and excellence become little more than meaningless terms and further erode the bond between provider and consumer. It’s only when people truly own the process and are granted the autonomy to adjust it as necessary to meet both internal and external needs, that any process can yield the desired results.

Having a process is great. Having a process that is owned by a key stakeholder with the autonomy to adjust it as needed is game-changing.

Stop using the crutch of trusting the process and start trusting people who own the process.

Bill is president of PromoCorner, the leading digital marketing service provider to the promotional products industry, and has over 18 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, immediate past president of the Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS), vice president of the Regional Association Council (RAC) board, and PromoKitchen chef, Bill has extensive experience coaching sales teams, creating successful marketing campaigns, and developing branding that resonates with a target audience. He can be reached at bill@PromoCorner.com.

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