The Process Ninja

Why Cityrail's processes fail on a daily basis...

Today I had to complete a long form to buy a train ticket. Of course, I had to fill in a paper based form, take it to a station where I held up the already long queue whilst a little man typed my details into his system and manually swiped my credit card through one of those old non-electronic crunching machines that kill your credit card.

If I was to buy a plane ticket I'd simply go online, punch in my details and turn up at the airport and collect my ticket. Why should it be so hard to buy a train ticket?

Some thoughts...

1. Why do I need to fill in a form for a ticket anyway? Why can't I just buy a 30 day ticket like I buy a 7 or 14 day ticket? No-one asks me to fill in a form then...

2. If I do need to fill in a form, why can't I do it over the web and have the ticket posted to me or collect it at a station?

3. In this day and age why don't all stations have electronic credit card facilities?

Why?

Well unfortunately the reasons are simple. No investment - either financially or from a process point of view. There is also no competition, so why bother trying to make the customer happy? So we have to put up with long queues, crap trains and overcrowding until it becomes the next politician's platform (excuse the pun) for election.

If only cityrail was run like a business.

Gary Vaynerchuk at Web 2.0 Expo

I simply had to post this because it's a brilliant summary of everything that Gary is about and where the world is heading with Web 2.0

How to Subscribe and receive automatic updates to this blog

In case you are new to this blog malarky, I thought I would let you know how you can receive updates automatically whenever I post to the blog.

On the right hand side of the blog you will see an orange button that says "subscribe in a reader". Just click on this and it will take you to a screen where you can subscribe via e-mail or an rss reader.

So everytime I post you will receive information on the post - easy! So subscribe!!!!

Blog Progress so far...

Hi all, I started this blog with little preconceptions and few expectations, but I wanted to let you all know - it's working! OK, I'm not going to hit the technorati top 10 anytime soon, but things are going well. So far...

• I've had contact from people all over the world
• I've boosted my network on Linkedin
• I've learned about some great business books (and more importantly due to this blog, so have many others)
• I've been featured in the Mavim client newsletter
• I am being stalked by unknown people on twitter!
• My Mum now thinks I'm famous!

So thanks all of you for viewing the blog...keep those comments coming, and please remember to subscribe to have each blog update automatically sent to you.

Cheers, Craig

Betterworld Books Rocks!

I found this amazing bookstore on the web - it sells second hand & new books and supports great causes. Shipping is free in the U.S. and it's dirt cheap...I can't quite get over it...I just bought three process books for $30 (including shipping)...

http://www.betterworld.com/

Can you be a born organiser or can you become organised?

Are we born with organisational skills or is it something we can become better at?

Chosen Book

OK guys, thanks for all the feedback...I'm going to read "The Goal" next...that seems to be the overall winner. You can look forward to a vlog on that one in the next few weeks...

The Best Business Books in the World?

Hi all, I have just about finished reading the six sigma pocket toolbook. I am now wondering what should be the next business book that I should read. I am obviously interested in reading more about process of methodologies, but I would like to throw the question at you all and say what book should I be reading next?

I have been thinking about reading up on Web 2.0, but am not sure of where to start. Maybe I should be thinking about reading something process related, but there are so many books about their it is hard to know which one would be best to start with. Should I read some more about six sigma?

So over to you guys! Write to me and tell me what business book you think I should be reading next.

Welcome friends!

Hi guys, welcome to the blog - I know you may not all be "process people" but I have no doubt that process plays a big part in all of your roles - so let's hear your comments!

- Craig

Welcome Linkedin People!

If you have seen my recent posts on linkedin - welcome! Please have a look at the videos below and don't hesitate to drop me a comment or to get on touch. One of the videos below outlines the best ways to get in touch with me. Again, welcome to this new community and thanks for visiting.

- Craig Reid, The Process Ninja.