Choose work worth standardizing
Start with a recurring, important workflow where inconsistency creates friction or risk.
Project Compass Discipline 06 / 07
Standardize what works.
Make the reliable way to do important work easy to find, teach, follow, and improve.
See all seven disciplinesThe COMPASS sequence
What this letter means
Standardize what works
Standard work captures processes that produce safe, dependable results. It reduces avoidable variation and makes training easier, while leaving room for professional judgment when a patient or situation requires it. The standard should stay current as the team learns.
Put it into practice
Make the idea part of the work.
Use these moves to turn the discipline into an operating habit your team can see and repeat.
Write for the person doing the work
Make the steps practical, accessible, and specific about handoffs and exceptions.
Train, review, improve
Practice the standard, check whether it works, and update it when evidence supports a better way.
From the Practice by Design series
Follow the idea through the books.
Book 1 focuses on usable SOPs and the systems behind repeatable work. Book II carries standardization into multi-location operations and integration. Book III places common operating systems inside the enterprise model and integration infrastructure.
Book 1 · Practice by Design
Chapters 1 & 14
The Practice Is Not the Problem. The System Is. · Write SOPs People Actually Use
Book II · From Practice to Enterprise
Chapters 26 & 30
Standardize What Matters · Integrate New Locations Without Destroying What Works
Book III · Scaling to $100 Million and Beyond
Chapters 4 & 13
Design the Enterprise Operating Model · Build the Integration Office Before the Next Deal