The problem with single points of failure

Besides Six Sigma, one of the process thinkers out there was Dr. Michael Hammer.  I didn’t know him, or attend any of his training, or read his books.  But he ran an entire company that did nothing but discuss business process re-engineering.  He died recently, and very unexpectedly, in fact.

While I feel bad for those he leaves behind, as a process oriented person, it makes me wonder how you run a company knowing that you are a single point of failure.  The company bears his name, and as I understand it, for the most part, people paid to see him teach and have him come to their companies and take his advice.

When I applied for my first job at the company I’m at now, I had a very interesting interview with the vice president for the department.  We were talking about all the process design I had done for the old team, and he said to me “and how’s the team going to be without you around?”

My answer was “They’ll be just fine.  Everything I put in place has controls to assure it keeps happening, and people who are passionate about process to keep improving it.”  Indeed, it was true, when I went back to visit some friends at the old company, I found the team, even with a bunch of new members, following the process I had laid out nearly two years prior, with some enhancements based on their experiences.

Companies can’t rely on people like me, or Dr. Hammer, to be their single point of failure.  A great process or great ideas must be capable of going on without you.  If not, they die with you.