Creating Systems for Success
Most of us run our lives on a handful of systems. Between our cellphones, our planners and our e-mail inboxes, we have systems in place to organize ourselves and our time. And if you ever doubt the importance of these systems, recall your panic the last time you lost your planner.
Yet as important as these systems are, most of us don’t take advantage of what systems can do to improve our businesses. Systems are simply ways of automating or structuring processes so that they can occur systematically without so much thought or attention—and by more than just one person, so that the business can continue to run even if the owner takes a vacation.
For most of us, there are dozens of similar repetitive tasks, large and small, in our businesses that could be systematized. To identify where you can apply systems, step back and look at your business as objectively as you can. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
- Where are your frustrations? This is important for two reasons. First, you are more likely to be frustrated if you are redoing tasks that bring no particular satisfaction. Second, you are going to be frustrated if you have to relearn a task or “reinvent the wheel” every time a specific need comes up.
- What is holding back your business? Do you need to generate more prospects? Do you have prospects but a low rate of conversion? Do you convert prospects but lose them as customers through poor follow-through? Strategically focusing on your business this way is more likely to spot high-value opportunities for systemization.
- What causes you stress? Is it sorting out your invoices for your accountant? Finalizing the material for your new program? Preparing for your annual make-or-break tradeshow? Even if you know the steps by heart, systematizing at least part of these stress-inducing activities could yield big benefits to your business—and your well-being.
