Policy

Just a quick note before I forget. I have had a problem with policies for a long time now. I think policies are good but I believe that, by and large, we have over done them. It seems our greatest fear is that a situation will come for which we do not have a policy and we will actually have to make a decision that might be hard to make. So we make policies for every possible contingency and when we do have to make a decision we quickly add another policy so that we won't have to do it again.

The problem with this is that I believe that it cuts down on efficiency and can paint us into a corner where we lose flexibility. If you start hearing "but that is against our policy" enough times you begin to feel like the purpose is no longer the purpose and that the policy has become the purpose.

That is why I was surprised, but pleased, to see an article in the Delta in-flight magazine the other day with an interview with their president talking about breaking policies. He stated that they realized that in order to provide quality customer service they had to give their employees flexibility when it came to following policies. I think that is smart and I can see where an airline we be faced with just such a situation fairly often. I'm glad to see some good thinking when it comes to policies.