Military has SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) for almost everything - including how to turn left. The stakes are too high and complexity immense. Well !! they do have the resources to develop them too. It is a huge and rich organization, at least in the US.
I think it is a lame to say that dynamic business environment can not afford to have or need as many SOPs. I think creativity aside most work is mundane, but the left arm does not often know what the right arm is doing in many many organizations - both big and small. Nobody said that SOP can not be modified. As long as anything is to be done more than one time, there is a need to do it right and made replicable.
I like to create a SOP and then let others do the work. It takes time initially, but makes life a lot easier. Here is one I follow for myself: Delete all the email in the inbox in the morning and then move back only the really really relevant ones. Trust me - it makes life simpler.
Published by The 8020Strategy Group,