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What the Hell is The Process (Warning: Long Read)

The Process. After Week 1’s embarrassing dismantling by the Baltimore Ravens, it has been suggested that The Process "has no clothes" or that it’s an empty slogan to excuse incompetence, and even that it’s just complete and utter bulls****. While these comments are understandable given the furor and rage over a noncompetitive week 1 blowout loss, I believe they’re more statements of anger and rage than they are critiques of management philosophy.

Why?

When push comes to shove, critics struggle to define The Process as anything, really, other than a hollow marketing term or a slogan. In doing so, the criticism being offered then becomes rendered to a complaint or a whine, not a critique. This is true because one cannot criticize what one believes does not exist. I cannot criticize unicorns because they don’t exist. I can criticize the drawing of a unicorn or the unicorn culinary trend (Which is dumb, don’t @ me), but the notion of unicorns, I cannot critique because I do not believe they exist. I would literally be making something up to rant about.

Now, enter this post. Since so few are willing to define what The Process is and what it looks like, I figured I would contribute a fan post that no one will read (Because it’s going to be lengthy) but everyone will complain about. Why? Well, as the resident lightning rod, you do these things so that people can attack you with it later and then be told it’s your fault for trying.

First, let’s get some groundwork laid for this whole thing.

What is The Process?

At its heart, The Process is easiest linked to management philosophy such as Lean Six Sigma. Lean Six Sigma is two management philosophies combined into one with a focus on efficiency, culture, and buy in. While there are certifications and one general trend in process improvement under Lean Six Sigma, it is broken into numerous component parts with individual elements coming together to adapt and provide the best efficiency possible given necessary external constraints or compliance points.

That’s a lot, so let’s unpack it. The Process, much like Lean Six Sigma, is a structure put in place to begin guiding decisions and advise leadership of necessary pain points. What the Process does is it charts the trajectory of a team within the confines of several things. In the NFL context, those external constraints are cap space, contracts on the books, draft capital, trade value, etc… The Process, in kind, must orient leadership around a common goal and common theme but also advise leadership of the impact of those constraints. In doing so, The Process, like Lean Six Sigma, will continually evolve and adapt as new resources or challenges become available.

If this sounds like sloganeering or something "every team in the NFL does" that’s because it’s one part slogan and one part what every team does. So, inherently, nothing makes it unique or special. What it does incorporate and what *does* make it special, however, is that The Process, like Lean Six Sigma, focuses as much on cultural shifting and thought adaptation as it does in driving results on the front line. When individuals discuss the Process, if it does not entail an end to end holistic approach to how a football organization works, you’re not discussing The Process, you’re discussing components. This is likely the biggest source of confusion when discussing The Process. The components make it unique, the culmination or end game of The Process is fairly generic.

Why have The Process?

Simply put, every organization needs a general plan or guiding principles. Previous regimes at One Bills drive certainly provided a culture and an organization, they built a roster, they had a general ethos, they operated in a certain way. However, the problem with previous regimes is that the culture was, largely, derived from the air of desperation that plagued the Bills – desperation to break the drought, to provide a winning record, etc… That desperation is reflective in free agent spending rather than cultivating draft picks or draft capital. When culture wasn’t driven by desperation, it was driven by the head coach. Of particular note was the Rex Ryan Bills. The team behaved in a way that was more reflective of Rex Ryan’s bombastic boldness than any organizational ethos that seemed to resonate with the rest of the NFL (Ryan stood out for a reason).

It was incumbent, then, for Sean McDermott, the Pegulas, and eventually Brandon Beane, to create some form of unified plan for the Bills. The culture of desperation had resulted in 17 years of playoff futility, a large payroll that wasn’t delivering results, and a mismatch of age, skill positions, and long-term build potential. This ultimately means that Bills fans were going to have to live through a total rebuild of the team from the ground up. While previous rebuilds in the past had been about roster adjustment, this rebuild required a far more comprehensive approach.

That approach is The Process. The Process in Buffalo is comprised on a few specific component parts:

I. Change the culture

II. Build the organization

III. Create options and opportunity

IV. Maintain your culture and organization

These all seem vague, right? Well, that’s for a reason. The hallmark of any good plan is to have nominally generic headers and for the specifics underneath it to provide indicators of success. You don’t want to define your goals so as to be so inflexible that you can’t adapt to things that may benefit you or things beyond your control that may hinder you. This is perhaps the fairest criticism when discussing The Process – if it’s all so vague, why does it mean anything?

It’s the milestones that give it meaning.

Implementing The Process

I. Change the Culture

Culture matters. While some will dispute it, what sustains a sports dynasty tends to be a culture. During their reigns at the top of their respective sports, the Detroit Red Wings, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New England Patriots all maintained a specific culture that was often remarked upon. Conversely, cultures of failure can take root and require major shifts to buck – The Cleveland Browns are actively trying to buck such a trend as are the Buffalo Bills, the Cleveland Cavaliers never quite shook that stink despite Lebron’s perfume covering it up, and the Buffalo Sabres are working to buck the same (As are the Edmonton Oilers).

Sean McDermott took over in Buffalo with a culture of desperation that focused on free agent and trade acquisitions providing enough success to break the playoff drought. This meant that all culture in Buffalo was imported. This necessarily cedes control of the ethos of a team and makes it harder to unite them but for a coaching personality. As the Bills and Sabres were pursuing a "One Buffalo" approach and the Bills in particular discussed "One Voice," it was only a matter of time until they began installing that "One Voice." You do so by unifying the culture, moving on from players who are resistant to the direction you’re taking the team, and, if you can address other elements of The Process, you do that in conjunction with culture building (Eg: Moving Dareus speaks to creating options and opportunity via 2019 cap space).

The 2017 Buffalo Bills turned in a 9-7 season while shedding players such as Sammy Watkins, Ronald Darby, Reggie Ragland, and Marcel Dareus. The team, noticeably in interviews and in on the field performance (anecdotal) took on a different edge and mentality. Leaders such as Kyle Williams, Eric Wood, and Lorenzo Alexander became the foundation for the team – stable captains anchoring the team’s mentality. Players such as Mike Tolbert (Known for his work ethic and commitment to his team more than anything approaching talent) and Stephen Hauscka were brought on board with an eye towards their ability to lead and establish good habits for young players. In turn, McDermott’s first year draft included fully tenured seniors with high character marks such as TreDavious White (Addressed the build future options and opportunity point as well) and Zay Jones.

In assembling a cultural nucleus built around the work ethic, steady personality, and "underdog" mentality of their leaders (Williams, Wood, and Alexander), McDermott firmly established that the identity of the Buffalo Bills should be one that is more about grit and commit. Combine grit and commit with talent and you have a relentless team. Simply import talent with no defined culture and you have people playing for contracts, not playing for a team.

It was precisely due to those reasons that players such as Sammy Watkins and Marcel Dareus were moved. Not only did they provide ammo for milestone III of the process, but Dareus was continually missing team meetings and failing to show up in games to justify his price tag. Watkins had been rumored (Can’t recall if on record) expecting a big pay day and showing that money was a prime motivating factor. In establishing a culture for an organization, self-interest is good if it can be coopted into the broader ethos, however, self-interest for self-interest’s sake is toxic. Thus, the movement of these players despite their talent and despite the salary cap hit.

II. Build the organization

There’s many ways to build an organization – you can do it purely with personnel or you can make it lean and focus on reducing personnel down to "the right" personnel. No matter what, you are going to be limited by certain factors – compliance issues, minimum staffing requirements, finances, etc… If the Bills are in one stage of The Process in particular (I’d argue each stage is ongoing and perpetual), it’s this one.

Building the organization has many facets and it is a source of problems when discussing The Process. Are we talking simply roster building? Back end staff? Financial viability? What in particular are we building? The most visible aspect of building the organization is the on the field product. That’s where many Bills fans have soured on the Bills – they don’t have what appears to be a viable offensive line, the quarterback room isn’t up to snuff for some, and they don’t have quality receiver weapons.

In the offseason, McDermott and Beane continued building culture with signing individuals like Vontae Davis but they also began eyeing towards long term options. They moved Heaven and Earth to draft Josh Allen (QB) and Tremaine Edmunds (MLB) at critical foundation positions. They brought in Star Lotuleilei (Accomplished DT with some years left) and Trent Murphy (High potential DE and still young). The shift towards high character or culture individuals with youth and/or upside became the focus in the 2017 offseason.

Unfortunately, not every problem can be fixed in a single offseason and that’s part of what The Process is about – advising individuals that there are pain points as you move forward. The point is to be flexible and adaptive, nothing is set in stone. This mentality is evident when discussing Allen’s development; McDermott stated it was "written in pencil." This speaks to how The Process is more reflective of Lean Six Sigma rather than simply following a recipe (A specific process intended to yield specific results by following specific steps).

Brandon Beane’s introduction to the Bills is where organization building really took off. His role in The Process is to stock the 53 player roster, work salary cap flexibility, and begin maneuvering the Bills towards a long term foundation to build up from. If Bills regimes were real estate shows, prior regimes were House Hunters, McDermott and Beane are Flippers. Prior regimes simply shopped for what they wanted and would occupy that for a little while before moving onto the next best thing they could find in the hopes that the fit would work. McDermott and Beane are concentrated on taking what is there, gutting what has to go and reinforcing what was good on arrival.

That look is causing a lot of strife – understandably so. To come home to see your living room missing all its furniture and walls and seeing some studs rotted out should be concerning. Particularly when all you have to go on is the contractor telling you "trust me." Occasionally, that process requires removing things that people like that may be overvalued (Goodbye, Cordy Glenn, Tyrod Taylor). Other things get lost as collateral damage and they’re simply gone (Incognito, Wood). Like all projects, The Process has to adjust to certain uncontrollable factors and solve for whatever they can in the moment.

That’s where Buffalo is currently stuck – how can the team build and adjust to those unpredictable changes given limitations such as the salary cap, the early season lack of a trade market, and hunting waiver wires.

Unfortunately, there’s no good quick solution answer. The Process exists as a route towards relevance, not an instant pathway to success. Because of that, the advisory aspect of The Process is critical to understand – not everything will be fixed at once, some things have to wait because there are constraints in reality.

III. Create options and opportunity

This is another element of The Process that has caused some strife. In creating options and opportunity, one must generally sacrifice today for what they will reap tomorrow. For psychology buffs, this is typical of most archetypes in stories – the hero frequently sacrifices today for a great cause tomorrow. This isn’t to call McDermott and Beane heroes (Though if Buffalo wins a Super Bowl on their watch, look out), but it is to say the theme of giving up today to have more tomorrow and bring it to others is one that shouldn’t be hard to identify for most of us working schlubs.

This aspect of the Process is easily illustrated in the mountain of dead cap in 2018. That mountain of dead cap and the preservation of 2019 draft capital is a ticket for the Bills, though. Buffalo stands at roughly 60-80 million dollars of cap space in 2019. That level of cap space, combined with whatever additional draft picks (Currently at 10, I believe) in 2019 and a strong core to build from should make Buffalo a willing and able spender with the ability to sell a long-term future in Buffalo.

Given that free agents such as Vontae Davis, Trent Murphy, and Star Lotuleilei have cited the culture at One Bills Drive as major reasons they signed, it lends credibility to the notion that the Bills are building something that NFL free agents are interested in. That bedrock of culture is what allows players to buy in despite any potential struggles. With the potential for a high draft pick (Or a few) along with the ability to pay top dollar for even reticent free agents, Buffalo can enter next year with targets to hit and a reasonable assuredness of being able to hit them.

A struggling 2018 would be helpful to The Process in that it would allow the leveraging of lessons learned to utilize this aspect of The Process. By examining what, in practice, works and does not work, resources can be deployed to quickly remedy the shortcomings and failures as they occurred. This means that the offensive line, cornerback depth, and wide receiver positions will likely be a priority in the 2019 offseason (If unable to be addressed in 2018).

So while 2018 may be rife with things to complain about, in creating options and opportunity, the Bills are in position to quickly remedy issues in 2019 that they couldn’t solve in 2018. The Process may hit a snag if there are critical failures across the board and the list of needs becomes exhaustive, however, at the time being, it does not appear that there is an issue that cannot be solved with impending 2019 resources.

IV. Maintain Your Culture and Organization

This is probably the ever-persistent challenge of a dynasty and of every organization. Once you have what you want, at what point do you take a chance and bring in a poor culture fit? Could it tilt the boat? Do you take a gamble to continue success if it means breaking continuity? Time will tell on this factor how The Process handles it but by defining what that culture looks like and building an environment for individuals to immerse themselves in said culture, you lessen the odds of a catastrophic failure.

LeSean McCoy’s elevation to a captain in Buffalo is perhaps indicative of the strength of the culture being built. McCoy himself has stated he used to be about stats, flash, and cash. In his time in Buffalo he has been a workhorse and was recently rewarded with a captaincy. He’s stated that he understands the level of responsibility and the commitment necessary for the position and, I think at least, a major part of that is the imprint of the culture wrought by The Process. Under Rex Ryan, flash and stats mattered more than the team success – why else would you spite each home team by naming a previous player a captain? Under McDermott, captains are stable, expectations are set, and they’re listened to. That level of buy-in from top to bottom is necessary to create a stable organization and weather adversity.

As this aspect of The Process is "in flight" it’s tough to really expand upon it, but the McCoy anecdote should shed some light onto the impact The Process is already pushing down to the Bills.

Conclusion

When discussing The Process, it’s important to take a few things away:

- It’s a slogan. I’m not going to lie to you.

- It’s a managerial/organizational methodology.

- It’s what every football team in the NFL does.

- It’s unique in how the Bills go about in implementing it and how it impacts this team specifically.

- It’s producing results in the meta sense even if the football product isn’t satisfactory right now

Really, the best summary of The Process was on Twitter here:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The term "Trust the Process" was adopted by the Bills and fans, but yet from Twitter I can tell many don't understand what that meant the entire time. The reason you were being told to TRUST it, is because it won't always look good. In fact, it will look bad at times.</p>— Aaron Quinn (@AaronQuinn716) <a href="

">September 12, 2018</a></blockquote>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Please excuse the Twitter embed coding, I don't want to screw with it and potentially break the share.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.