This book helps the viable business owner get out of the business and go from Survival to Saleable – it’s a system about developing systems.
Step 1 – Survival
Step 2 – Stationary
Step 3 – Scalable
Step 4 – Saleable
Develop PATIENCE. It can take weeks or even months to begin to see results before the systems have taken hold.
The secret is to remove the biggest bottleneck in the business – You!
It’s a 7-Step Process
- Define
- Assign
- Extract
- Organize
- Integrate
- Scale
- Optimize
A system is defined here as a series of linear steps that, when followed, produces a predictable outcome.
DEFINE
- Keep your systems simple. Too many systems and indexes can overwhelm your team.
- Don’t over-document.
- Use the Critical Client Flow, basically your money making funnel.
ASSIGN
The truth is you might not be the best person for documenting systems. The business owner typically is!
A great way to identify the best person to assign to developing a system is to go to the top performer. Many times they are top performers for a reason. Find out their secret sauce.
EXTRACT
Myth: creating systems is time-consuming.
System creation is a 2-person job
Get one person to record themselves doing the task and the other to document the system and explain it.
You could even hire a part-time worker to implant this process across the board.
- Identify the end-result you’re looking to achieve with this system
- Identify who produces the end-result
- Determine the capture method (screen capture, camera, or audio recording app)
- Record the task being completed (keep in mind the first version won’t be perfect and that’s okay, you can always improve it later)
- Create a new system
Add to the system:
- title
- description
- Relevant links
- Knowledgeable worker
- Team members involved
- Create step-by-step documentation
Disclaimer: don’t make the system for the lowest common denominator. You’ll only have dummies working at your company.
- Review the System
- Have Your Team Implement the System and Cross-Train Team Members
Flowcharts are overrated. The key to good systems is simplicity and the ability for anyone to edit it. Flowcharts don’t offer that opportunity.
ORGANIZE
You should always be building your business with the idea that someday you’ll sell it. If you organize your system with a “turn-key” mindset, one that anyone can start, you’ll have a sale-able business.
It’ll give the buyer the confidence that the business will continue to run well after it’s bought.
The idea of printing out thick manuals or binders is obsolete. So, where do you store your systems?
- Get a central location
- Create accountability to maintain your systems
Email is terrible for systems management – things get lost too easily.
Use project management tools to create milestones and/or checkpoints for the tasks that your team has to check off as they go along. The checkpoints can be templated so they can be easily reproduced.
Instead of relying on robots and automation (like Zapier), test it out like humans. Do it manually first, perfect it, then automate it.
INTEGRATE
Are you the next person to run the systems? Ask yourself honestly if this is something you like and have the capacity to do.
You need both a manager and a leader.
Every visionary leader had a general manager getting things done behind the scenes. Walt Disney had a brother who was his GM.
Train the team to look for the answer within their system, and not to higher-ups.
- Identify who’s in charge
- Know your selling points
- Introduce systems to your team
- Start the extraction process
- Introduce your software
- Manage via the systems
- Identify resistance meet it head-on
- Build systems thinking culture
SCALE
Step 1: Identify your systems for growth
Step 2: Assign, extract, and organize
Step 3: Identify the key team member’s critical systems and assign, extract, and organize these
Step 4: Go on vacation!
OPTIMIZE
Perfect systemization takes time. Your first SOP will be the worst version, which is why you always have to be updating it.
How to optimize:
- Create a CCF dashboard to measure performance. Enter in the KPIs.
- Spot the problems
- Begin optimization
Get your business ready to sell in multiples.
