Systematizing your business means freedom. Not just one type of freedom, but many.
You are freed from doing the work. And systems even give you the choice to simply watch the business run or improve how it runs.
You are freed from the limits of your time. And since systems (done right) don’t need you, your business can grow without limit while you do something else.
You are freed from confusion and knee jerk reactions. You become an observer of the process, not the doer.
You can manage the system and tweak it, observe it, and tweak it again.
But, perhaps most importantly, systems are the only way to permanently free yourself from the doing part.
The reason you run a business is ultimately to bring yourself happiness. To fully express yourself. To have an impact on others. If you are doing the work, you won’t have time to truly be yourself. But if the business is running on automatic, you can then simply do what you are best at (hint: being truly yourself).
Systems take care of the doing, so you can start being. And that is why you need to systematize your business.
This is an important message. Everything should have a system — a standard operating procedure. I call them SOPs. Everything from how and when Tweets go out from your business account, to how you write and publish blog posts, to how you pay taxes. Put the needle on the record, set up the system and write it down in your procedures manual so anyone can do it. That way, you don’t have to do it yourself, and you can focus on capitalizing on other opportunities — which can then become a part of the system. Thanks for the great reminders here, Mike!
Thanks Donna. Let me ask you this. How do you get your team doing it? How do you enforce it?
Thanks for asking. It’s kind of a long reply. Hope you don’t mind. Here is how I get the team doing it.
(1) Each person I bring on board comes into an existing system, the nucleus of which I created. This allows me to quickly see if someone is or is not a good fit with the systems in place. If they are, once they are on board and begin implementing the system as it exists, they can improve it. They add great value with new ideas. So the first step is: bring people in who understand the importance of systems to the success of your business.
(2) In a nutshell, I think they do it because they see me do it. I’ve managed a successful business for 14 years, so I am proof that systems work. My team follows the leader.
(3) I also think they do it because it’s written down. Not in stone, but it’s there for everyone to see. And each piece is interdependent on each other piece. For example, our weekly #HandmadeChat depends on systems. If I have to be at my computer at 8pm ET to lead the discussion, then bunches of things have to happen before that. If one person fails at executing their part of the system, then when I sit down at 8pm ET, my platform has not been prepared. That’s a problem.
As as for your enforcement question, well it’s self enforcing in a way. Take my weekly #HandmadeChat on Twitter for example. It’s important to cue up a Tweet 30 minutes in advance as a lead in. So, here’s a conversation that happened once when the Tweet was not cued up. “Team Member, you didn’t “Tweet 30 minutes to #HandmadeChat,” so my followers weren’t advised. We have to advise my followers because, if we don’t, I don’t feel ready for the chat. If I’m not ready for the chat, then the chat stinks. And if it stinks, poof, there goes my platform. No platform, no business. So, Team Member, make sure you do that next time, or suggest a better way to lead in to the event. If you can’t do one or the other, then we don’t have a good match.” This is implied over and over again. The collective pursuit of the end goals — a successful chat and care and feeding of the platform — is the enforcement. Does that make sense?
(4) We have weekly “Team Huddles” to review how things are going. Sometimes, they are 5 minutes long. Other times, they go 90 minutes. (Hate when that happens …) This is where better systems are suggested and where we change things, adjust to new technologies, etc.
(5) I’m flexible. As great as systems are, my business is serves people. The systems are not as important as the people. What this means is that nothing is set in stone. People are not static. Technology is is not static. We can’t be either. If a system is not serving my people, it’s eliminated.
(6) I try to make it fun. Maybe I should have said that first. Everyone has a chance to grow and spread their wings. There’s no suggestion I’m not open to. Fun is big.
Well, I’m taking up all the comment space on your blog! Thanks for asking, because that was a fun answer to share. Take care …