Money, time, status and happiness. Ultimately we’re all striving for one or more of these in life.
And arguably one of the most effective ways of achieving these is through business. Why? Because a business run efficiently and profitably gives you leverage.
As a mentor of ours puts it, a business provides the cash flow to buy and keep paying for growth assets. And if set up correctly can be sold, giving you a big payday at the end.
But that doesn’t come unless you gain leverage through systemisation in your business.
Michael Gerber of E-Myth fame espouses, “Systems run the business and people run the systems”.
Systems, once created (and followed) free you from the mundane. Tasks can be accomplished in a paint by the numbers way. You then manage by exception.
This gives you the leverage to grow.
But that rarely happens in smaller businesses. Much to their chagrin.
Think of your own business. How much time do you spend fighting fires? Worrying about stuff that should be handled by your employees. Finding things that have fallen through the cracks (but only once they’ve blown up – with unhappy clients as a result).
Leadership starts with you. You set the tone for your organisation. What you will and will not tolerate.
Do you take the time to create and document your processes? Ensure your people do the same? And then follow them? Not blindly, as things can always be improved.
Gerber writes about defining roles, responsibilities and accountabilities first. Without putting names to them.
This applies even if you’re a one person band. Draw out your organisation chart with all the major roles such as marketing, sales, admin, finance, HR etc. Now define the major processes each role covers. I think in terms of 80/20 and critical paths.
20% of your processes give you 80% of your results. Think of the critical path as a chain of those 20% made up of links. The weakest link defines the strength of the chain. And that’s where the blockages could be.
So figure these out and strengthen them.
Only now should you put names into the roles. If it’s just you, obviously your name should go into every box. And as you grow and find yourself needing more hands, fill each role with the right people.
Want to delve deeper? This article “Why an “Accountability Chart” is the bedrock of successful businesses” covers it.
Now that you’ve got your organisational/accountability chart sorted out, finding the right people to fill the roles is critical.
There are two aspects to the answer.
Cultural fit and ability to perform the role.
Cultural fit means the person shares your organisation’s vision, values and beliefs. It’s essential every person in your team pulls in the same direction. You enjoy being around them and they make your organisation a better place.
Ability to perform the role.
When deciding, we’ll use the GWC method.
G: Get it – Do they understand the role in its entirety? Exactly what’s involved.
W: Want it – Do they want to do the role? I know it’s all hands to the deck – but people have to step up – and this is a way of finding out.
C: Capacity to do it – Do they have the capacity – knowledge, experience, time, emotional etc.
Every one of the GWC has to be a “yes” for this to succeed. While there’s certainly a case for training someone into the role, right now it’s more effective to select the right person according to their strengths.
Leverage comes from delegating and elevating!
Finding the right person and putting them in the right seat, giving them responsibility with accountability is key to your being able to scale.
And yes, sometimes this means removing someone as well if they don’t fit the new structure.
Anything else and you hold your organisation back from growth.
On a final note, defining your organisation’s cultural values, accountability chart and right people in the right roles generally isn’t easy. Especially if you’ve grown organically.
We offer an objective view of your organisation which will assist you in creating an accountability system, with the right people in the right roles, enabling you to effectively delegate and elevate, growing your business.
If you’re open to having a conversation with me and getting some personalised for you suggestions call me on 0414 913 334 for a confidential discussion on how achieve more money, time, status and happiness in your business.
