The Hidden Cost of Poor Filing Systems: Lessons from the Soviet Rocket Failure

In the late 1960s, at the height of the US vs Soviet space race, the Soviets developed a new type of rocket called the N1 as a competitor to the U.S.'s Saturn V moon rocket. The main difference between the two was that instead of five large engines like the American design, the Soviet used 30 small ones.

On the rocket's second launch attempt, a bolt came loose. It was sucked into a fuel pump as the rocket was ascending, resulting in an explosion that spread in sequence to all the other engines. The rocket then plummeted back to Earth and exploded spectacularly. It was considered later that the failure was instrumental in bankrupting and ending the Soviet moon program.

This story is a demonstration of how one small thing can lead to something bigger. It is also commonly illustrated by the concept of the 'ripple effect'. One small pebble in a lake can cause one ripple, which in turn generates more ripples, thus spreading and having a larger impact.

When it comes to account management, it is often the small things that are considered insignificant which can cause the biggest effects. Those small things that aren't done, and done well, can inadvertently lead to having a significant impact on your business.

One of those small things is document filing. This is a two-fold task. The first being the task of filing every key document, and the second is having a clear and ordered filing structure which everyone follows. This minor task can have a larger impact on the running of an account and on an agency. A poorly implemented and maintained filing structure can significantly impact efficiency. When there is no set structure, folders are opened for anything, and files are put anywhere. Duplication occurs, file paths become journeys, and soon people find themselves in a labyrinth of job folders.

Ten minutes of searching multiple folders for the file you need adds up. By the end of the day, it’s more like 60 minutes wasted looking for files. By the end of the week, it’s 5 hours. By the end of the month, it’s 20 hours. And by the end of the year, it’s 240 hours. Translate that into billable hours and it could equal $24,000 per year wasted on searching for files when you could be earning that through providing value to your client. Who knows, but that revenue could be the difference between the agency keeping its doors open.

By having a well-organized and structured filing strategy, you can improve overall efficiency and productivity. You also avoid embarrassing moments with clients when you have to ask them to resupply files because your team can't find them or they haven't been saved down.

To ensure an efficient filing system, consider the following practices:

1. Standardised Naming Conventions: Implement a uniform system for naming files and folders. This makes it easier for everyone to understand what each file contains and where it should be located.

2. Centralised Online Storage: Use a centralised digital storage solution, such as a cloud-based service. This ensures that files are accessible to everyone who needs them, regardless of their location. Don't leave them on your desktop!

3. Regular Audits: Periodically review and clean up the filing system. Remove duplicates, archive outdated files, and ensure everything is in its proper place. Mark a date in the calendar every 6 months to do this.

4. Training and Guidelines: Provide training for all team members - especially new ones- on the importance of proper filing and the specifics of your system. Clear guidelines should be available to reference - keeping everyone on the same page.

5. Version Control: Implement a system to manage different versions of documents. This helps in tracking changes and ensures that everyone is working on the most current version. V2, V3...V64 etc.

By focusing on these small but crucial aspects of document filing, you can prevent inefficiencies and errors that might otherwise ripple out to cause significant problems for your agency. This attention to detail can be the difference between a smoothly running operation and one that struggles with productivity and client satisfaction.

If you're an account manager and your filing structure is ad hoc, consider setting some rules and enforcing them. Otherwise, it could be the loose screw that takes down the rocket.

Below is an example folder structure template for you can use for new jobs. Download it here.

Example New Job Folder Structure