Systems, processes, methods are all orderly ways of doing things, important when organizations grow. And yet, systems are meaningful only if they support the greater cause of the organization’s existence. If rules are cited by rote and adhered to in order to be seen as adherent, our systems have failed us.

At one of the offices of a large company, a friend had to stand at the entrance waiting for the requisite documents that would give her permission to enter, even as the person she had an appointment with waited inside. “Madam, hamein toh apne aap ko bachake rakhna hai,” the security guard told her in full frankness: “Madam, we have to keep ourselves safe.” Of course, guards have to secure not just the premises but their own jobs too.

Companies do this so often with customers – at call centres, at (oxymoronic) customer care centres, at retail outlets, and at other touchpoints. Mostly because processes have been drilled into the very people who deal directly with customers.

When employees are empowered to allow exceptions, the results are exhilarating, such as when the call centre supervisor at an airline company allows an immediate waiver of the cancellation penalty, without requiring lengthy emails and multiple phone calls.