Consistency is a good thing. Consistency can make it easier to work together, reduce confusion and misunderstandings, increase the likelihood that information and data are accurate and useful, make it easier to find things, and generally increase the chances that something will be done reliably and accurately. Without a fair amount of consistency, life would be chaotic and results unpredictable. But, consistency can also waste a lot of time and money. Doing something because it has always been done that way or because other things like it are done that way can lead to waste. Consistency for the sake of consistency adds no value!
Some companies have none, others have several. In both cases, your business suffers and your people suffer unless you have exactly one management system. What is a management system? A management system includes the periodic tasks that your management team performs to: Confirm or adjust your direction, goals and strategy Establish priorities to provide focus and ensure cooperation Assign resources to ensure accountability and attainability Monitor progress and make adjustments How your company executes these steps is open to significant variation but the basic steps ought to be regular and recognizable.
Missed another deadline? Scrapped another part? Scrambling to do rework? Why is it so hard to get reliable, repeatable results from what seem to be straight-forward requirements and well-defined processes? There are 5 keys to getting results and the trick is to find a cost effective balance among these five. Unfortunately there is no magic wand to tell you how to find the right mix, but if you evaluate your processes relative to these five, you will likely discover ways to increase the stability of your processes.