By Guest Blogger, Michael Port
Often it feels like running your own business is an exercise in managing chaos. And when the chaos becomes unmanageable, you get completely overwhelmed.
In order to produce results (without burnout) you need to introduce constraints that will support forward movement and positive outcomes. This is a BIG part of what my mentoring program is all about.
The more freedom you give yourself without structure, the more confused and the less productive you will be. Constraint provides a sense of urgency and thus enables you to move quickly. It creates the structure that propels forward momentum.
A system or a process is a form of constraint. A process can be a positive constraint if it’s working to serve you and the objectives of your business. Or it can be a negative constraint if it’s not serving your goals–if it’s not a productive process and instead leads to waste.
Good systems eliminate waste whereas poorly organized systems or no organized systems produce waste.
A couple of definitions:
PROCESS: a series of actions or operations; especially a continuous operation.
SYSTEM: a regularly interacting or interdependent group of processes that form a unified whole.
There are 7 Major Business Systems:
- Marketing
- Accounting
- Sales
- Operations (admin)
- Client Services
- Human Resources
- Production and Delivery
Recognize that you already have systems in your business – whether or not you intentionally created them. And there’s the rub. They may be made up of incorrect and wasteful processes. To ward off this danger, my students develop the habit of observing, documenting and analyzing what they do, how they do it, and when they do it.
Observe, document, analyze, delegate
This is our ODAD process and my students make it a habit turning it into a way of being so it becomes automatic in everything they do.
There are various ways to go about improving processes and developing overall systems. Some people use elaborate diagrams. Not me – I like lists and simple mind maps. In order to figure out exactly what you do, how you do it and what’s working and what needs to be improved, observe your current processes over a one week period.
This week, measure:
- Productivity relative to achievement of your goal.
- Speed and efficiency.
- What’s working and what needs to change.
- Waste vs. production.
Next week:
- Document what you’re currently doing in your business.
- Take that documentation and clarify a desired outcome for each process.
- Improve on each process by reducing waste and improving workflow.
How? Keep a small pad of paper and a pen on your desk or with you every moment for a week. Record everything (and I mean everything) you do during the day and how long it took. Looked at my calendar. Looked for someone’s phone number (how? — piece of paper, address book, online yellow pages). Made a call. Wrote a letter. Reviewed financials. Looked at pet tricks on YouTube.com. Cleaned bike wheels. Discussed operating issues with assistant. And so on. Not so complicated, is it?
What should you do yourself and what should you delegate?
There’s one theory out there that says: “If you don’t like to do it, then don’t do it, and get someone else to do it.” But this is not necessarily always realistic for the entrepreneur. There are some things you’ll just have to do. Please don’t ignore aspects of your business simply because you don’t like doing them, that’s counterproductive.
At the same time, just because you’re talented at something doesn’t mean you should be doing it. At the end of the day, you need to focus on what generates revenue. If that’s the most important use of your time, what can you delegate and to whom?
Who can help reduce your administrative workload so you can focus on either booking new clients and/or developing new business ideas? You are ready for additional help sooner than you think.
Make sure you’re delegating rather than abdicating. When you delegate a task or process, you still observe and oversee the process. When you abdicate a task or process you never look at it again–that’s usually when breakdown occurs or your bookkeeper empties your bank account and takes off for Belize.
