Setting Boundaries in Business

I've been involved in several projects, and the one thing that keeps coming up is the scope.  It is supposed to draw the line about where the project can and can't go.  Boundaries help determine where people should spend their time.  And its great for focused creativity.

Benefits

Drive Decisions

Similar to a vision statement, the scope of a project allows people to make tactical decisions about how to proceed on a project without direct supervision.  When people are unclear about the next move, referencing the scope helps.  Boundaries keep people from wandering from the vision.  It keeps them from regularly chasing new distractions and forces them to focus on the task at hand.

Focused Creativity

Creativity, too, can benefit from some limitations.  Often I've been told that you shouldn't take any idea out of the running during the brainstorming phase, and I agree with that.  But you need to start with some boundaries on the brainstorming phase itself, or the mind wont' have any place to begin.  For example, if I said "Let's discuss how to make money," your mind may go blank.  It would be more helpful to say "How do we use our people's skills in a different way to make money?"  Now you have something to analyze (the people), making for a more fertile discussion.

Comfort

We should never forget the psychological benefits of boundaries - that they make people comfortable.  You may view this as either positive or negative, but people feel safe when they know the boundaries of their life.  that is why changing jobs, corporate restructuring, and new product launches can be very stressful.  

Downsides

The greatest downside to using boundaries is in overuse.  People will resist innovative ideas specifically because they are outside their current boundary.  They allow great ideas to pass, often to their chagrin, because they can't aren't open to the possibility.  Or they may see its potential, but use their job scope to prevent it from moving forward.

-sjk