How A Great Offense Will Lead to Great Success

Over the past few weeks I have made a few changes, one of them being a new line of work.  Something a little different than I have ever done before, so needless to say there has been a TON of learning going on lately.  It’s one of those deals where at the end of the day, my brain feels (and probably looks like) a bowl of mashed up bananas.

One of my projects for the new adventure has been developing a game plan to help streamline the business, decrease cost through increased efficiency (my apologies for the engineer coming out in me).  The framework is there to start with, these guys have been doing business for a long time and they know their stuff.

So why in the heck would I try to go and shake everything up?  Well… I’m not trying to turn the world upside down, but here’s my thought.  I know systems work, plain and simple.  The triangle offense that the Lakers run, any football team that runs the “spread” or that frustrating zone read offense, those guys are running a system.  These large multibillion dollar companies that run on operation manuals, flowcharts and anything else you can dream up, operate profitably with the help of defined procedures and guidelines.

A good system is going to afford you a couple of things.

- Spending more time on the activities that are going to make the company the most money.  Real estate entrepreneur Ron Legrand® says “The less I do, the more I make.”™

Think about for a minute.  Any of us could identify the two, three or four things, that we personally do, that really rake in the cash (hopefully one or two of those is sales and marketing.)  Maybe you are a bargain hunter, finding items that can be bought cheap and turned quickly for cash.  Anyway you slice it, more of our time and focus should be spent on our (as in yours or mine) most profitable activities.

- It sets a standard for what you expect from your employees.

I talked heavily in the last post about consistency from leaders and the same could be said for employees as well.  A good system will add structure (which is something most all of us need anyway, even as adults) and help the entire organization to be more consistent.  Consistent with customers, each other, everyday performance AND ultimately… Time and money.

- It sets a standard for what your customers can expect from you.

I know that I am generalizing a good deal of this post and the task may seem daunting when you start to think of all the processes your business experiences day in and day out.  This isn’t going to happen in a day, month or maybe even a year.  For example,  I have a friend who has his own land surveying company.  Last winter, during the slowest part of his work year, he sat down and began to write up outlines and pr0cedures for the work they do in the field.  He can only do it during this time, because during the rest of the year he is WAAYYY to busy to spend time on this type of project.  On the other hand, the more he gets into place, the more time he will allow himself during the busy season of his business.

So…  Before you drive yourself crazy trying to figure this all out, there are a few things to keep in mind.

- Keep it simple.

The best way to kill a new system you’re trying to implement is by making it difficult.  Weighing it down with paperwork and what can seem like endless procedure.  By no means am I saying to leave out critical steps, but figure out a way to make them easy to do and easy to remember, and then hold your people to them.  If you let them get away with straying off the path you have laid out for them, you may not be able to get them back on it.  Here is an excellent place to lead by example, set the standard for others by setting it for yourself.

Keep in mind that one other critical function of a system is to provide checks and balances for day to day operations.  Be sure to include critical points and stop gaps to cut down on errors, especially the errors that reach your customers.

- Communicate the message.

I have heard John Maxwell say that some of the best CEO’s sound a lot like broken records.  They reiterate the company goals and objectives over and over again.  The most effective communicator will use different medias (ie, memos, speeches, etc) and different people to disseminate the message.

Remember that people learn in three different ways – in layman’s terms they are seeing, hearing and doing, so your message and objectives need to speak to each learning type to be effective.

I said it before, but to get your people to adapt to new systems, implement them and ultimately help tweak and perfect them, you will need to have positive influence with them.  It’s the only way.  I’ve seen and experienced old school yelling, screaming and belittling.  The only thing that gets you is unhappy employees who don’t care if you make another dime or look like a jackass.

To wrap this whole thing up, systems are a requirement in any business.  To grow effectively, the system needs to be there before the growth, otherwise you’ll be spending all your time trying to figure what the heck just happened (going from responding to reacting) which is stealing focus from those few activities that one, you do better than anyone else AND two, makes the company the most profitable it can be.  Remember to keep it simple and spread the message often and through various avenues of communication for maximum effectiveness.

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