It is all about the Systems – Your Habits:
According to leading management thinker W. Edwards Deming, 94% of most problems and possible improvements belong to the systems we have. A business system is a documented procedure (habit) that outlines how we do business. That can be checklists, pictures step by step, or in many cases, a habit we follow.
1. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify. We know people are getting overwhelmed with the amount of work they do. They are getting buried in the number of emails and tasks or, as a business owner, spending time on the paperwork and phone calls. These tasks and systems affect our productivity and, of course, our bottom line. Yet, we forget to make systems simple – set priorities, focus on the critical, and, wherever possible, automate to simplify.
2. Your business systems start with knowing you’re ‘Why.’ You’re ‘Why’ is your starting point for your business plan, your brand, and your systems.
3. It is all about building a model /guide of consistent business images and expectations that supports your focus.
4. Don’t block yourself with your own mindset of “I am not good at that(system)”; it is often your habit, not your skill. As with culture, sometimes we just let habits create themselves. So why not go back to the drawing board and decide which habits/ systems are working for you and which are not?
“People do not decide their futures; they decide their habits, and their habits decide their futures.”
5. Creating a flow chart, customer journey or Map is the next step in identifying your processes and where you can automate those processes.
How to Create a Customer Journey Map
- Set clear objectives for the map.
- Profile your personas and define their goals.
- Highlight your target customer.
- List out all the touchpoints.
- Identify the elements you want your map to show.
- Determine the resources you have and the ones you’ll need.
6. Track your processes, identify measurements of success, and identify when and what the emergency crisis points are. Have clear communication channels and signals for when your flow becomes blocked. Use a matrix or rating, e.g., low stock levels or urgent stock levels, Funnel targets, and customer delivery times.
How will you track and measure the success of your business?
Here are just a few methods of measuring business performance at your company:
- Look At Your Business’s Financial Statements. …
- Check Customer Satisfaction. …
- Average How Many New Customers You Get. …
- Conduct Performance Reviews. …
- Stay Current On The Market. …
- Assess Your Own Expectations.
7. Don’t set and forget. Business processes are an area where young and small businesses they have a handle on. But as these businesses grow, the effort put into getting these processes right can take a backseat. After neglect, challenges will emerge, and it comes harder and harder to get these processes back on track. As time goes on and they grow larger, they don’t tend to revisit them, except to put out fires as they occur. It’s easy to become complacent and think that it’s OK to ‘set and forget’ in this area. But business processes require continuous improvement. You need to keep iterating on them over time. Because the longer you leave it, the older and larger your business gets, the harder it will be to make changes
8. Work on your business, not just in it! Reviewing and making a shift in how you work will lead to a more productive and profitable business. Build a business that operates consistently, is profitable, and builds on self-sufficient systems. Systems help you scale more quickly, identify problems, support staff and make your business more stable. Systems will also support your consistent delivery and customer services expectation and experience.
Do not become complacent as you mature. Follow a path of continuous process improvement to see results.
