You’ve probably read a fair few articles praising the systems and processes that allow business like McDonalds to scale with consistency. You may have read books like Traction, The E-Myth and Clockwork that do a great job of bringing this to life for smaller business owners. But what happens when the theory meets ‘real life’? Have you also encountered the problems with business systemisation?
Have your best intentions to introduce systems & process into your business been met with resistance, set-backs or even outright failure?
You can’t scale chaos
When it comes to businesses, size = complexity – without fail. More leads to keep track of, more clients to keep happy, more invoices to issue and monitor.
Therefore, more growth = more chaos and as the old saying goes: “You can’t scale chaos.”
The right systems increase control and consistency allowing you to keep the chaos on the right side of the challenging vs problematic see-saw.
7 Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Introducing Systems
If you’ve reached a stage where you need more systems and control in your business, you’ll need to begin by navigating around these seven common pitfalls:
Over-Engineering
It’s tempting to create the systems version of the ‘all-seeing eye’. You get carried away, factor in every eventuality and end up with something that will overwhelm your team, slow down productivity and lead to the baby being thrown out with the bath-water.
My old art teacher once told me it’s easier to add than to take away – and you could apply that adage to business systemisation. Start with what’s causing the most problems and complaints – be that from customers, staff or suppliers. Create the simplest possible system to address the most common of those issues – and make it work.
Ignoring the End User
Imagine having done a job for a while – and you think you’re doing it well. Your boss presents you with a new, all-encompassing system or process to follow and leaves you with it. Are you grateful? Flattered?
If you want people to buy into using your system, first sell them on ‘why’ and then give them a stake in designing it. This brings the added advantage of less hands-on work for you.
The feedback I get from clients who have done this is how well-received it is by the people using it – because it makes their jobs easier.
Making it Hard to Digest or Follow
If I asked you to think of the first 3 words that spring to mind when I say the words ‘business systems’, what would they be?
Now think about some of the systems you use or follow in day-to-day life.
Blue footprints on the escalator.
Coloured lines on the ground at Victoria Station.
Yellow crossed lines of a box junction. Imagine if that was a sign by the side of the road explaining what it was and how it worked – even more fines from the Mayor!
Get the picture?
You may care deeply enough to write paragraph upon paragraph about the intricacies of how to deliver something on time – but deep down you know it won’t get read, even once – let alone followed.
The more visually engaging you make your system the more likely it will be used.
Failing to Train Staff
Just because you have a more efficient and effective process of doing things which reduces problems or increases feedback and margins, doesn’t mean people will follow it.
I’d actually take that thought a step further. Just because someone is following the ideal approach, which is proven to work, does not mean they will keep to it when left to their own devices. Nature tends towards chaos and so do businesses.
Training, monitoring and critique should all be seen as an ongoing process for any system or process that involves human involvement.
Shortly after someone stops checking it’s being used, it’ll stop being used.
Not Regularly Reviewing and Updating Systems
As your business continues to grow, your systems will need to evolve. Review the performance of your systems regularly to ensure they’re still meeting your needs. Outdated systems can stifle growth, while up-to-date, relevant systems facilitate it.
The need to refine a system should be seen as an opportunity to re-commit to it.
Your systems are a living, evolving thing designed to work hand-in-glove with your team.
Relying Too Heavily on Systems
Systems may be invaluable for growth but that does not make them automatically invaluable. Some systems will be a pain to use for your team, or painful to endure for your customers.
You will no doubt have experienced being trapped in the system of an organisation with no obvious solution but to go back and start again. Larger companies get away with it on the basis that their competitors are doing the same thing.
At the SME end of the market, we don’t have that luxury. Prospective customers will be put off and not come back. Clients will get hacked off and you’ll have lost repeat business, referrals and positive reviews. Invoices will go out late and not be chased.
A great rule of thumb is the 80:20 split. Look to systemise the routine and humanise the exception.
Not Beginning with the End in Mind
I’ve saved the best and most important for last.
Beginning with a really clear aim of what success looks like will reduce the chances of you creating systems for the sake of systems – and getting stuck in the weeds.
It’s worth remembering that ‘systems’ makes for a pretty good acronym: Save Your Self Time Energy and Money. If your system is not designed to do one of these things it won’t be effective and will soon gather dust.
Conclusion: Good Systems vs Bad Systems
Debates on social media can sometimes tend towards ‘either or’ scenarios.
Should you hire on skill or will?
Is success down to mindset or activity?
Are meetings good for productivity or bad?
The answer is never one or the other – it’s always a blend of both – and the same is true for systems and processes.
Bad systems will be ignored in the best-case scenario. In the worst they’ll demoralise staff, annoy your customers and erode goodwill and margins.
Great systems will take your business to a new level. Jeff Bezos at Amazon looked at every potential improvement in systems through one lens: does this improve the customer experience?
The beauty of this simple question is that it reduces the chances of systemisation taking away what’s great about the business. Whether that’s your product, your team or culture – your systems should enhance that not detract from it.
What will your question(s) be?
All the best,
Tim
P.S. If you’re ready to take action and you’d like to talk about your approach to systems – or anything else to do with your business – please do get in touch.
