Does Your Business Work for You?
Or do you work for it?
Are you too involved in your business? Could you pick up the phone in the morning and say to whoever answered, "Please look after things, I am taking three months off?" For most business owners, the answer is no. Why? Because your business doesn't have the right systems run by an effective team that would allow it to function effortlessly without you.
Systems affect everything you do; they set the tone for the whole company and its future. They also dictate how others see you.
Systems establish greater value for your business when you are ready to sell. What will a potential buyer get besides your customer list and basic assets? Most buyers want systems in place so the business will run without you (the seller). If you want to get more than the value of your assets and customer lists, then you better have systems in place.
Build your business systematically. There are nine steps to creating great systems in your company. The first three we covered last month were 1) painting your vision, 2) stating your mission, and 3) defining your culture. Now let's work our way through the next three steps: Click here to review the 1st three steps.
Step 4: Set Goals
It is your goals that help you achieve your vision. And because your vision is long term, your goals should have varying timeframes. When setting your goals focus on the following principles:
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Set S.M.A.R.T. goals. In other words they must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, and have a T imeframe.
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Write them down. It's one thing to think about your goals, but it's quite another to make them real by putting them on paper. Lee Iacocca is quoted as saying, "Writing things down is the first step to making them happen."
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Make them personal. They must be sincere and something you want to do rather than something you think you should do.
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Make them positive. Use affirmative language because the mind can't refuse to think of something when instructed to do so. If you say, "I will not lose money this month," your mind automatically ends up thinking more about losing money than if you had said, "I will make $10,000 profit this month." Same purpose, more effective.
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Remember, think long term. Set a goal that tells you when you are going to finish the business -- when it will work without you!
Step 5: Create Your Organizational Chart
In this step, build (or update) a detailed organizational chart for your business. Michael Gerber states in his book The E-Myth Revisited that "… the organizational development reflected in the Organization Chart can have a more profound impact on a small company than any other single business development step ." The keys to creating your chart are:
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Build it with the end in mind. In other words build it according to how you envisage your business when it is finished.
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Determine the key positions and functions in your finished business. Don't worry if you have more boxes than people. In the early days, you will have the same people's names in multiple boxes.
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Organize around those key functions for the success of your business-NOT around people.
Step 6: Establish Position Contracts
Do this for every position in your company. First and foremost, let me be clear, this is not your typical job description. This is a contract between the company and the employee. It provides each person in your organization with a sense of commitment and accountability. This document identifies who's to stand up and what they're being counted on to produce.
The position contract is a summary of the results to be achieved by each position in your company, the work that each position is accountable for, and the standards by which the results are to be evaluated And it has a signature line for the person who agrees to fulfill those accountabilities. The end result is clarity on expectations, specific responsibilities, and standards as well as who does what in your organization.
The next issue of the Owners Report will discuss the remaining three steps to systemizing your business:
Step 7 - Key Performance Indicators
Step 8 - How-To Manuals, and
Step 9 - Milestones
Remember, great systems will set your company apart from the rest!
Complementary Business Consultation
Find out how to MAKE MORE MONEY with LESS EFFORT
We've identified 5 key ways to increase business profits. Find out how well your business embodies these 5 ways and how your business practices could be tuned for greater impact!
We will ask you a few brief questions on the phone and then arrange a time for your complementary consultation.
We can meet in your office, our office, or over the phone -- whatever makes the most sense in your situation. When we meet we'll ask you about your business, your goals and your challenges. We'll give you feedback on your current situation and come up with at least a couple of ideas that you can implement in your business right away! Then you can decide what the right next step is for you.
Don't you really owe it to yourself and to those who depend on your business to find out if there is a better way?
We have time for a limited number of consultations in March. So don't delay.
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