Systems not Rules

How Celebrating Football Fans Prove the Point
Tonight my local streets are going wild in celebration. Hundreds of flag waving football fans are blocking the main road and cars are hooting wildly. I live off Green Lanes in Hackney, you see, and Turkey have pulled off a spectacular come-back to qualify for the quarter-finals of the European Championships. Their red-and-white flag is everywhere.

No traffic is moving and I feel especially sorry for the drivers of the 141 and 341 buses, who have now been stuck there for over an hour. There are no cars stuck, apart from those displaying red-and-white flags and participating as they have presumably turned round and found other routes.

But the buses stay there, because they presumably aren't allowed to go anywhere else. It is a classic case of the need for Systems not Rules. A Rule is something that must be followed. A System is the best way we know to achieve something, but it can be changed if you think you've found a better way.

The buses follow a Rule: They must go down a specified route, and are only trained to do that. They can't bend the rule even if the route is blocked. Whereas the actual aim is to get the passengers to their destination. Which certainly isn't happening at the moment.

It may be that the drivers don't have authority to make a change. Or it may be that the route is set in law and even their managers can't authorise a change. Would allowing some autonomy lead to anarchy on the buses? Or would it mean, as now, when the roads are completely blocked they find a solution - as the car drivers have?

Do you have set rules which specify exactly how something must be done. Or do you have a clear aim, with a system to achieve it - and encouragement to find a better way if you can?