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The “critical path” refers to the sequence of tasks that determine the
minimum
time required to get something done.
And by “done,” I am talking about
processes
, not decision making per se or
leading
. If you want to get things done without delay (or simply get things done more quickly), you will need to specify the critical path steps involved.
Often, there are several different sequences of steps required to get something done.
The critical path is that sequence that takes the
longest,
since regardless of how quickly other steps can be completed,
the speed at which this sequence can be finished will always be the limiting factor.
Consider an example from my corporate days. I was responsible for Kraft Food’s annual planning practice. Lots of work needed to be done by many throughout the company so that the annual plan could be reviewed, modified, and submitted to the Board. That meant many tasks and associated due dates had to be laid out for the operating companies.
I specified the tasks for the corporate work, which then drove due dates for the operating units based on the critical path. Luckily for me, I was tipped off early as to what the critical path item was — setting meeting dates with the CEO for him to review plans with each of the operating unit heads. No matter how fast the operating units worked,
he
was the limiting factor.
While I have written before about
how to figure out the critical path
,
today’s newsletter looks at what is needed to
shorten
the critical path as well as how to prevent it from getting longer than planned.
But, as a refresher, here is how to find the critical path:
- Lay out the tasks necessary to get something done.
- Identify which of those tasks must be completed before another specific task can start.
- Line up each task in a flow chart based on those dependencies. For example, if task D can't start before task A is completed, task D is linked to task A (but not tasks B or C).
- Estimate the time needed to complete each task.
- Make the lines in the flow chart represent the time to complete each task.
The longest line that snakes through the tasks that are dependent on another task is the critical path.
Shorten the Process
Here are a few pointers…
Always begin with the critical path
until that sequence of tasks is no longer the longest. Otherwise, the end result will still take as long as before.
Eliminate steps.
Sometimes, there are steps involved that aren’t really needed or are there for a shortcoming somewhere else.
In my corporate days, one of my usual first priorities was to shorten the closing process. With the prior month’s financial results in hand, this allowed changes to be made to impact the current month. Often, the big delay was reconciling all or most of the accounts before closing the books for the prior month. So, I eliminated reconciling most accounts (except cash and a few others) before closing. These adjustments, which should be minor, were then made in the next month.
Fix precedent processes.
Accountants often insist on reconciling accounts before the close because they find large errors. But that means the process behind that account isn’t working. Sometimes, the people behind precedent processes aren’t aware (or don’t care) how important timeliness is for that process.
For example, a manufacturing client of mine often took months to close the books. One reason was the physical inventories were counted at month end — but the plant manager never made adding up those counts a priority.
Delegate tasks where you can.
Only do what you really need to do; use a less scarce human resource whenever possible. That leaves you (or the manager of the process) to keep the critical path steps and hand off the rest.
This leads to the next pointer:
find the people with the needed skills
for the task and get enough of them. Delegation only works if there is someone to delegate to.
Work in parallel.
As resources are added, the flow of tasks can be broken into more but smaller parts.
Keep the Timeline in Check
Okay, that’s how to shorten the critical path.
Now a few pointers on how to keep the timeline from increasing…
Monitor the critical path.
Don’t do the work — monitor it and focus on the critical path tasks.
Make adjustments.
If the critical path is clogged, add more resources or take action.
When I was in the car rental business I was relocating an accounting office from Boston's Logan Airport to its distant suburbs. I had hired a new workforce, all of whom lived near the new office; they were willing to commute for a while into Boston, but not forever.
The problem was that the guy in corporate responsible for real estate leases had put ours on the back burner.
Winter was approaching and most of the new employees had told me they would quit rather than suffer through the commute. After months of non-action on the lease, I called the corporate travel department (this was a while ago) on a Friday and had the real estate guy's Monday travel plans changed to Boston. He got on the flight without thinking and when he arrived, I had him sign the lease!
Conclusion
There’s a reason the critical path is named as such.
Getting anything but the simplest of things done, as quickly as possible, requires first identifying the critical path and then finding ways to shorten it. Always begin here.
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