lessons from adam smith: process mapping for improvement

four ways adam smith can help you run your firm better.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

adam smith discovered a basic truth of process improvement: you can’t improve a process if you don’t know what the process is.

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around the time of the american revolution, adam smith made the first recorded attempt at process improvement by mapping out the 18 distinct opera­tions involved in creating a single metal pin. by documenting and understanding each step, he was able to suggest improvements to make the best use of the labor and machines available at the time.

while this is easier to see in a manufacturing environment, it still applies in a service-based industry like ours.