Getting it right the first time is hard. This past Sunday night of the Oscars turned into one very explosive moment. I write this from a place of empathy as I read through the last 48 hours of Oscar flub social media posts burning a hole in my mind about the importance of procedures and consistent repeatability.

"You pay your accounting firm a fortune to review your internal control procedures and sign off that you have them. Although a "simple mistake" is always possible, accounting firms are hired to ensure that public companies, for example, have processes in place to avoid blunders”, University of Michigan business professor Erik Gordon told USA Today.

Let’s face it, procedures when they go well are not noticed, but when they fail? Well, let’s just say there is a stage with a very big spotlight on it that no one wants to be in. Maybe this short revisit to launching a procedure will calm my worst fears. Let’s start with ‘when’.

We need a procedure when the process is:

• Is extensive (example: Asset Lifecycle Management)
• Is complex (example: Distribution Work Management)
• Is repetitive, but it is essential that all involved strictly follow the rules (example: Safety)
• Contains documentation (example: MOC - Management of Change)
• Demands consistency (example: Work Process Completion)
• Has serious consequences (example: Pipeline Integrity Management)

Although I am not in a bow tie on a stage, reading from a red envelope, I do lead an elite team of consultants that work feverishly every day to enable customers to ‘Get it Right’.  Their success is not only dependent  upon their industry and Maximo knowledge, but also their consistency in repeating the implementation processes that have been proven to work.