I’ve worked in a few offices where the paperwork, endless meetings, and other bureaucracy was ridiculous — so much so that the actual productive work being done was sometimes outweighed by the bureaucratic steps that needed to be taken each day.
　　When the focus is on action instead of bureaucracy, things get done.
　　I’ve worked for both private businesses and government agencies, and let me tell you, both require too much paperwork, too many steps to get things done, too much reporting, too many meetings, too much planning and too much training. Each of these things is usually management’s answer to a problem, but they add more problems, including a tendency to slow things down and get less done.
　　A better answer than adding extra steps and meetings to a workday is to focus on action. Create a culture of action and hire people who get things done. Eliminate as much bureaucracy as possible and get things moving.
　　Today we’ll look at some good ways to do that, based on my experience both as a worker and a manager. Believe me, I know the tendency to throw training and meetings and reporting and planning at a problem, but I also know how frustrating that can be for an employee who just wants to get the work done as effectively as possible. Why am I sitting in on another meeting when I could be getting work done? Why am I filling out more paperwork instead of actually doing the work?
　　Here are some ideas to get to the action and cut out the bureaucracy:
　　1. Know what you want to get done. Often bureaucracy happens when people focus on processes and forget about what the end result should be. Where are you trying to go? Find the shortest route to get there, rather than making things complicated. Visualize your desired result, and keep the focus on that.
　　2. Know your priorities. Keep in mind the most important work your company or organization does. It almost certainly isn’t paperwork or meetings (with a few exceptions, possibly). Of course, if you’re going to have a meeting with a potential client in order to sign him up, that’s probably a priority. But for many employees, the real work will be something else: writing code, writing articles, designing, making calls, crunching numbers, etc. Know the important work, and focus on that.
　　3. Eliminate paperwork whenever possible. How many forms does your company have? Much of that uses the same information. Can a simple computer program or online form be used instead, so people don’t have to fill out paperwork but can just fill in an online form where the basic information is stored and re-used so it doesn’t have to be re-entered? Often using a computer program (online or off) will also automate things so paperwork isn’t needed. Or just eliminate the paperwork altogether if it’s possible — sometimes it’s just better to take action without having to fill in things.
　　4. Cut out processes. Are there steps and approvals and work that people have to do that can be eliminated altogether? Keep an eye out for these processes and eliminate when possible. Every time someone is doing something routine, ask whether it’s really necessary, or if can be reduced or eliminated. Can several steps be cut out to make things quicker? Often the answer is a resounding “yes”.
　　5. Empower people. Often a manager becomes a bottleneck, requiring his approval before anything can get done. Worse yet is when approval is needed several times along the way, meaning it has to be bounced back and forth a bunch of times. Better: give people clear instructions about how to handle things and when approval is authorized, and allow them to handle it. Monitor things closely at first to ensure that they know how to follow the instructions, then give them more room to work independently and just report to you every now and then. Make sure the instruction include the circumstances when they need to alert you to any major problems.
　　6. Don’t put off decisions. Worse than a manager becoming a bottleneck is a bottleneck where decisions are delayed and things pile up. When a decision is required, try to make it quickly. Make sure you have all necessary info, know what criteria you’re using to make the decision, and then make the decision immediately. The longer you wait the worse the problems become. Indecision is the enemy of action.
　　7. Have the information you need ready. If you don’t have information, you can’t make decisions properly. This is often the reason people put off decisions, but they don’t always realize it. As a result, they sit on a decision for awhile. Instead, go and get the info you need so you can make the decision immediately. Better yet, have the information sent to you beforehand, so you have everything you need to make the decision when it’s time. Figure out what information is needed for your regular decisions and have it regularly on hand.
　　8. Keep “Action” at your forefront. Put up a sign on your desk that says “Action”. Make this your mentality throughout the day. When you are putting something off, remind yourself to take action. When you have a bunch of steps you have to do, remind yourself that eliminating steps leads to taking action sooner. When you’re in a regularly scheduled meeting (like, every day), ask yourself if this is preventing action.
　　9. Look for action-oriented people. When hiring or selecting a team, look for people who get things done. This can be seen in their track record. Give them a trial and see if they tend to focus on actions and decision, or processes and paperwork. Action-oriented people will get things done more effectively.
　　10. Reward action. Reward team members as well as yourself for action taken. Rewards could be as simple as praise or as big as a promotion or a bonus to the most action-oriented employees. These rewards tell your company or organization — or yourself — that action is a top priority.
　　“Action is eloquence.” - William Shakespeare
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　　—
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我清楚的意识到行动的重要性。只知道是不够的，我们必须付诸实践。只想做是不够的，我们必须拿出行动。--莱昂拉多·达·芬奇　　　　
　　我曾在许多部门工作过。这些部门里繁多的文书工作，永无休止的会议，以及其他一些走过场的程序真的很荒谬。这样的形式主义太多了。而实际上有效的工作并不需要如此繁琐的形式。
　　当把注意力集中到行动上而不是形式上来时，事情才能得到真正的解决。
　　我在私人企业和政府部门都工作过。但我想告诉你，这两种机构都有过多的文书工作，冗长的办事程序，无止境的报告，过多的会议、计划、培训。类似这样的事情都是管理部门解决问题时的真实写照。但他们不仅没有解决问题，反而带来了更多的问题，比如说降低了工作效率。
　　比增加工作量或者加开会议这类办法更好的解决方法是注重行动。营造一种注重实干的文化氛围，雇佣具有实干精神的职员。尽量减少形式主义，让事情真正的有所进展。
　　现在，根据我当职员和经理时积累的经验，考(试大我想谈谈一些好的方法来减少工作中的形式主义。相信我，我了解这样一种趋势：为了解决一个问题，人们往往爱搞许多培训，开许多会议，弄许多策划。但我也了解职员的苦楚，他们只想有效地做好工作，却不得不苦于应付这些形式上的东西。他们会问自己：我现在已经知道怎样处理好这个工作了，怎么还要坐在这里开会？或者是我为什么还要做这些多余的文书工作，为什么不能直接着手做那个工作呢？
　　行动减少形式主义
　　第一，要全面了解你要做的事情。形式主义之所以常常发生，是因为人们往往只注意做事的程序，忘记了预测一下期待的结果。你想得到怎样的结果？找到做事情的捷径，而不是要把事情弄复杂。预估一下你想要的结果，并且要把之当作你做事的重点。
　　第二，清楚你需要优先处理的工作。时刻谨记对你所在的公司或者组织来说最有意义的工作是什么。当然，最重要的工作通常不会是写文书或者开会（极少数除外）。比如说，为了让你的一位潜在客户和你签约，你必须和他面谈，这也许就是需要优先解决的一件事。但是对于许多职员来说，真正该做的工作是另外一些工作：写程序，做文章，搞设计，拨电话，记录重要数据等。清楚对你来说重要的工作，并且以把它作为你的工作重点。
　　第三，尽量减少文书工作量。你所在的公司有多少种表格？许多表格记录的是相同的信息。我们能不能换用一种简单的电脑程序或者网络程序？那样人们就不用做太多文字工作，只需填写一个网络表格。因为网络表格能存储信息。如果以后又要使用这些信息，人们就不必重新做一遍了。通常情况下，电脑程序可以自动编辑，这样人们就不必做文书工作了。或者干脆就完全淘汰文书工作，因为有时最好就实际行动起来，用不着填写什么表格。
　　第四，简化办公程序。现实生活中一些规定性的步骤，申请，工作可以被省略掉吗？提防并尽可能删减这些繁琐程序吧。每一次当你例行公事时，问一问自己这些工作是不是必不可少的，或者能不能简化一些。能不能省掉一些步骤以提高效率？通常情况下，答案是响亮的“肯定”。
　　第五，授予职员更多独立工作的空间。经理往往是是阻碍工作进度的一个因素，因为做任何事情，都必须先得到他的批准。更糟糕的是，当提交了几次的报告等待批准时，它往往要经过多个领导审阅才能通过，这样耽搁了很多时间。更好的解决方法是，让人们清楚了解怎样处理手头工作，让他们知道申请何时能够得到批准，让他们全权负责自己手里的工作。首先，准确的把握好布置任务这项工作，确保下属们都知道怎样处理自己手头的工作，给他们更多独立工作的空间，只用定时给你汇报一下。一定要说清楚你的指示以及他们需要就相关重大问题提醒你的情形。
　　第六，不要推迟决定。比经理妨碍工作进度更为严重的是决定被推迟，结果事情堆积了起来。当需要做决定的时候，试着速速决策。确保你掌握有所有必不可少的信息，清楚你决策时要用到的原则，然后立即做出决定。你越等的久，问题会变得越糟糕。犹豫不决是行动的天敌。
　　第七，收集好你需要的信息。如果你没有足够信息，你不考(试大能作出正确的决策。这也是人们常常延缓决议的原因，只是他们并没有意识到。结果呢，他们就得花相当长一段时间来做一个决定。相反，如果你集齐了需要的信息，你便可以马上做出决定。更好的做法是，你提前让属下收集好各种信息，这样你就可以及时地做出正确的决定了。弄清楚你通常做决定时必须用到的那些信息，并且要保证这些材料都已准备就绪。
　　第八，把写有“Action”的字条贴在你的办公桌前。在你的桌子上贴一张写有“行动”的便签。让这一理念成为你一天的思维方式。当你打算推迟处理某些事情的时候，提醒自己要行动起来。当你做事有许多步骤要遵循时，提醒自己简化步骤以提高行动的效率。当你参加周期性的安排好的会议（比如说每天），问问自己这些会议会不会妨碍你的实际工作。
　　第九，雇佣实干型的职员。在一个团队里雇用或者遴选职员时，寻找实干型人才。我们可以根据他们的业绩来做出判断。给他们一个测试，看看他们是注重行动决策还是注重程序化工作和文书工作。只有实干型的职员能更有效率地做事。
　　第十，奖励实干行为。奖励拿出了实际行动的队员，当然也包括你自己。对于那些实干型的职员，你可以给予小小的表扬，给予晋升的机会，或者发放一定奖金。这样的奖励行为提醒你的公司或者团队以及你自己-实干才是第一要务。