STREAMLINING YOUR BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS
“Without systems, you don’t have a business – YOU ARE the business.”
Contents
I). Unravelling Systems and Their Place in Your Business/Organisation.
II). Debunking System Myths.
III). The BEST way to STREAMLINE Processes and Workflows (Step-By-Step).
IV). Practical Ways To Streamline Your Processes and Workflows.
7 Key Systems You MUST Have In Place To Scale.
V). Essential Tools & Platforms You Can Explore to Streamline Your Processes and Workflows.
If your business’ goal is to become more efficient, more agile, run leaner and create a big impact, then you’re in the right place! Streamlining processes and workflows is one of the powerful ways to accomplish the above goals, most-especially when it’s pursued as a continuous effort rather than a one-off project.
I). Unravelling Systems and Their Place in Your Business/Organisation
But first, what are systems, processes and workflows?
- Strategy: high level long-term plan to achieve your goals.
- Systems: the set of processes and workflows that work together to achieve the business strategy through the related system(s).
- Processes: the steps taken to achieve an outcome, aka WHAT you do.
- Workflows: detailed, sequential actions that support your processes, aka HOW you do things.
II). Debunking System Myths
For MSME business owners especially, there are numerous myths and misconceptions around systems, how they work, what they do and who they are/aren’t for, so let’s debunk some of the common ones:
III). The BEST way to STREAMLINE Processes and Workflows (Step-By-Step)
Focus on outcomes, not technology!
Tech will play an important role in your streamlining, but it’s more important to focus on how the process you’re trying to streamline should work plus the desired outcome for your business.
Take a holistic approach that involves all stakeholders (team members, leadership, customers)
For any change in any business/organisation to be impactful and work successfully to produce the desired outcome, all key stakeholders need to be involved.
Streamlining Step-By-Step
IV). 7 Key Systems You MUST Have In Place To Scale
- Strategic Management System
This system sets the general direction for your business/organisation, spelling out your goals and helping you to achieve your goals. - Numbers/Data System
One of the biggest differences between successful business owners and the ones still hustling to get there, is that they know their numbers and have a system to help them keep track of their numbers and data. Make sure you’re tracking the right KPIs/OKRs (https://2x.co/kpi-full/) and then create a dashboard that pulls the required data and populates it so you can see how your business/organisation is doing in one quick look. - Planning, Administration and Operations System
You need to create a planning system that works for you + your business/organisation factoring in your project management methodology. - Hiring & People Ops System
No matter what role you’re filling in your business, you will need to put candidates through the same core process (variations may occur eg. senior leadership vs. junior or intern but the core elements need to remain the same). You may have an air-tight hiring system, but if your people ops system is sh*t then you may as well throw the hiring system out the window. - Financial System
Create a financial system around what works best for you and your business/organisation
(https://2x.co/blog/5-things-entrepreneurs-need-to-know-about-their-personal-finances). - Customer/Client Onboarding and Fulfilment System
Your business/organisation is as big and as good as your customers/clients. To create raving fans (not just typical customers/clients/leads), you’ll need to ensure that you provide an A-class, unforgettable experience each time by creating processes so that nobody slips through the cracks and everyone experiences the same, epic service. - Marketing System
– Many business owners are stuck in a marketing hamster-wheel – they’re always having to think about how to make their next launch or announcement bigger and better than the previous one rather than having a solid system that can be applied and processes that can be replicated across the board.
V). Essential Tools & Platforms You Can Explore to Streamline Your Processes and Workflows
