content: Process-People-and-Priorities
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| ryan | management | In every organization, three critical elements determine success: People, Processes, and Priorities. While all are essential, their ranking matters profoundly. Based on my experience across several organizations, I've found that Processes must come first, followed by People, with Priorities anchored firmly at the foundation. This deliberate ordering—Processes at the top, People in the middle, and Priorities as bedrock—creates the most stable and effective organizational structure. When Processes guide how People work and how Priorities are determined, organizations can avoid the chaos of constant priority shifts, reduce dependency on specific individuals, and create consistent frameworks for decision-making. ## Defining Terms Let's define what each of these mean from an organizational perspective: 1. Processes - How to solve the problems 2. People - Who will solve the problems 3. Priorities - The order in which to solve the problems ## Process In my experience ranking Priorities first leads to lots of changes to Priorities. This week it's shipping a new feature to make all of the buttons cornflower blue ... next week it's adding AI to the application. The week after that it's to mine bitcoin. Priorities shift, and that's OK, but priority driven organizations seem to not have a true defining north star to help guide them, which in my experience that leads to chaos. Ranking People first sounds like a good idea. I mean, who doesn't want to put People first? I have found however that when People are prioritized first bad things can happen. Cliques can form. Only Sally can do thing X and they're out for the next three weeks and no, there isn't any documentation on how to do that. Management can be lax because that's just Bob being Bob and can lead to toxic work environments. I think that putting Process first helps to mitigate, though not outright eliminate, these concerns. Processes help to determine how we do thing **X**. If Sally is out, that's OK because we have a _Process_ and documentation to help us through it. Will we get it done as quickly as Sally would have gotten it done? No, but we will get it done before they come back. Processes also help implement things like Codes of Conduct. Again, that won't prevent cliques from forming, and no it won't keep Bob from being a jerk, but it creates a framework to help deal with Bob being a jerk and potentially removing them from the situation entirely. Processes can also help with prioritization. Having a Process that helps to guide HOW you prioritize can be very helpful. This doesn't prevent you from switching up your Priorities, but it does help to keep you focused on something long enough to complete it. And when you need to change a priority it's a lot easier (and healthier) to be able to point to the Process that drove the deicsion to change versus a statement like, "I don't know, the CEO saw something on Bloomberg and now we're doing this." Setting up Processes is hard. And in a small environments it can seem like it's not worth it. For example, asking "Why do we have a 17 page document that talks about how Priorities are chosen if it's just a handful of People?" Yes, that IS hard. And it might not seem like it's worth it. But you don't need a big long document to determine a Process on how to change Priorities. It can be as simple as > We are small and acknowledge that change is required. We will only change > when a consensus of 60% of the team agree with the change OR if the CEO and > CFO agree on the change. More complicated Processes can come later. But at least now when a change is needed you know HOW you're going to talk about that change! ## People What comes second? I find that People should be next. It's the People that are going to help make everything happen. It's the People that are going to help get you over the finish line of the projects that are driven by your Processes. It's People that will work the Processes. Once you have good Processes and good People, then you can really start to set Priorities that EVERYONE will understand. ### An Example My least favorite answer to the question, "Why do we do it this way?" is "I don't know." In my opinion this points to a broken culture. It could be that when you started you did ask questions, but you were shot down so many time for asking that you just stopped asking. It could be that you're not very curious and someone just told you and didn't provide a reason and you just accepted it as gospel that this is the way that it needs to be done. The reason why this is a toxic trait is that you can have a situation like this occur While working on a report a requester indicated that the margins weren't quite right and it was VERY important that they be 'just so'. I met with the requester and asked them about the Process and it went something like this: [](https://mermaid.live/edit#pako:eNpVkMtqwzAQRX9FzNoOjvxqvCgUSqCLQKGr1OpiGo1iU1kKiozjhvx75aRpk4Vg7pmDdNERNlYSVKC0HTYNOi_MTtWvrjWeLa3rPoRRrfm0h3pKrDXsZUpnrEkFtqqXYWLX9coa3zBltSR3Y63vrTWh-5e8w31TP3lGRjKr2DhtfePswHDA8ZL_7Kkhi2OJrR7j-JFd- gUyEH1d0W-3QLup0D1eB4zG9Kgv_Py- MBBBR67DVoYPOQrDmADfUEcCqjBKUthrL0CYU1Cx9_ZtNBuovOspgn4n0dNzi1uH3RXu0LxbexuhOsIBKs7TGedZXmQ8S_IkS8oIxoDLWZHMebFYhFOWGT9F8H2-IJk95ClP87RIF0XCi2IegbP9toFKod7T6Qc7uJk4) When I drew out the flow and asked the requester why, they said, "I don't know, that's just how Tim trained me" I was fortunate that Tim was still at the company, so I called him and asked about the Process. He laughed and said something to the effect of, "They're still doing that? I only had that in place because of an issue with a fax machine 8 years ago but IT fixed it. Why are they still doing it that way?" "Because that's how they were trained" 🤦🏻♂️ Always understand why you're doing a thing. Always. This points to the need for Process, and why I place it first. Process matters and it helps to inform the People what they need to do. ## Priorities Why are Priorities last? How can something as important as Priorities be last? I would argue that Priorities should be the bedrock of you organization and they should be HARD to change. Constantly shifting Priorities leads to dissatisfaction, and burnout. It can also lead People to wonder if what they do actually matters. If it's always changing, why should I care about what I'm working on right now if it's just going to be different later today, tomorrow, or next week. The interplay between Processes, People, and Priorities forms the backbone of any effective organization. By putting Processes first, we create the infrastructure that enables People to thrive and Priorities to remain stable. Good Processes provide clarity, continuity, and a framework for decision- making that transcends individual preferences or momentary urgencies. When organizations understand that Priorities should be difficult to change—and that a clear Process should govern how and when they change—they protect their teams from the whiplash of constant redirection. This stability doesn't mean rigidity; rather, it ensures that when change does occur, it happens deliberately, transparently, and with organizational buy-in. Whether you're leading a startup of five People or managing departments within a large corporation, begin by examining your Processes. Are they documented? Do People understand not just what to do, but why? Is there a clear Process for establishing and modifying Priorities? If you can answer "yes" to these questions, you've laid the groundwork for an organization where People can contribute meaningfully to Priorities that truly matter. Remember: Process first, People second, and Priorities as the bedrock. Get this order right, and you'll build an organization that can handle change without losing its way. | 2025-03-09 | Process-People-and-Priorities | In every organization, three critical elements determine success: People, Processes, and Priorities. While all are essential, their ranking matters profoundly. Based on my experience across several organizations, I've found that Processes must come first, followed by People, with Priorities anchored firmly at the foundation. This deliberate ordering—Processes at the … | Process, People, and Priorities | https://www.ryancheley.com/2025/03/09/Process-People-and-Priorities/ |