Doing Things Right, vs. Doing The Right Thing

I’ve seen this more times than I can count:

A team is moving fast. Something gets urgent. A decision needs to be made. And someone says, “Our process doesn’t allow us to do that.”

Most of the time, that’s a good rule to follow.

But sometimes “the right way” becomes a trap and a constraint to progress.

As Peter Drucker taught us, there’s a difference between:

• Doing things right (following the process exactly), and
• Doing the right thing (making the best decision for the outcome)

When “Doing Things Right” Becomes the Problem

In my world of supporting mission critical operations, processes matter. A lot.

When you’re dealing with logistics, personnel actions, procurement cycles, financial workflows, or contract deliverables, the process exists for a reason.

But process can also become a shield.

I’ve watched teams cling to a process that’s outdated, unclear, or overloaded with non-value add approvals, not because it’s effective, but because it’s safe. Because it’s what we’re used to.

And what happens next is predictable:

• Decisions slow down
• Work piles up
• People bypass the process
• And then we end up rushing at the end anyway

That’s the worst combo: slow early, reckless late.

When “Doing the Right Thing” Becomes the Problem

On the other side, I’ve also seen the “we’ll just make it happen” mindset. People take shortcuts with good intentions:

• “We’ll document it later.”
• “We’ll clean it up after.”
• “We don’t have time for that step.”

Sometimes you get away with it. Other times, it creates rework, confusion, or risk that costs more than the time you saved.

So the leadership challenge isn’t choosing one. It’s building processes that make it easier to do both: do the work correctly and do the right thing for the mission.

The Strategic Shift: Your Processes Should Enable Judgment, Not Replace It

Here’s a simple question I ask when a process is slowing us down:

Is the process protecting an important outcome… or is it protecting itself?

Good processes:

• Reduce variance
• Make handoffs clear
• Prevent predictable mistakes
• Support quality and speed

Bad processes:

• Create ambiguity
• Add approvals without adding value
• Force people to “interpret” what to do
• Slow the work until people bypass it

Strategic leaders don’t worship process, they manage it like a tool.

What Good Looks Like

When your processes are healthy and aligned to outcomes, you’ll see:

• People can explain the process in plain language
• The “right way” is also the easy way
• Handoffs don’t depend on personalities
• Exceptions are handled predictably (not emotionally)
• Work moves at a steady pace instead of stop-and-go
• Teams don’t need to escalate routine decisions
• The same issues don’t repeat constantly under new names

The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is reliability with good judgment.

The Process Review (My Go-To Reset)

When something feels slow, stuck, or constantly reworked, I like to run a simple thought process. Not a week-long Lean event. Just a practical reset.

Step 1: Map the path as it actually happens

Not what the SOP says. What people really do. I like to do this on a whiteboard and scratch out a quick workflow diagram.

• Where does it start?
• Where does it stop?
• Who touches it?
• Where does it sit?

Step 2: Identify the friction points

Look for:

• Duplicate approvals
• Unclear ownership
• Missing inputs
• Rework loops
• “Waiting on” bottlenecks
• Steps that only one person understands

Step 3: Separate “controls” from “tradition”

This is the heart of it. Ask:

• Which steps protect an outcome we truly care about?
• Which steps exist because “we’ve always done it”?
• Which steps add time but don’t reduce risk or improve quality?

Step 4: Redesign the process around outcomes

Keep the controls that matter. Remove or streamline the steps that don’t. Then document it simply and teach it.

Pulling It All Together: “Right Way” + “Right Thing”

If you want a simple operating stance, here it is:

1. Default to doing things right (process discipline)
2. Escalate when doing the right thing requires an exception (judgment)
3. Then fix the process if the exception repeats (system improvement)

This prevents two failures:

• Chaos disguised as urgency, and
• Bureaucracy disguised as safety

Your One Commitment for This Week

Pick one process that routinely slows you down or creates rework. Then do two things:

1. Identify one step that is control (protects an outcome)
2. Identify one step that is tradition (adds time, adds no value)

Keep the control. Challenge the tradition.

If you do this consistently, you build a culture where people respect process and leaders protect outcomes.

That’s what strategic execution looks like.

Reflection Questions

• Where are we doing things “right” but not doing the right thing?
• Where are we doing the right thing but creating rework later?
• Which process step adds time without reducing mistakes or risk?
• What exception keeps happening that should become a standard path?
• Are our processes helping good judgment—or replacing it?