How to make your business truly work
by Kelly Schwedland
If you want a business that truly works, then you need to make your business process dependent not people dependent.
When I say that, there is always this knee jerk reaction that says, “Process dependent companies aren’t as human.” The truth is that they are more human. In a people dependent business when something goes wrong the blame has to go to … someone! However, in a process dependent business, we view everything as a system. What I like to call systemic thinking. So every problem is a systemic problem. Something which occurs because of the lack of a way to do it that works. Which means, that all we have to do is find a way that works, that eliminates the problem. Because it works, it becomes the new system or process in our business and we replicate it.
Keys to avoid dependency
Let us look at how it is done. Let’s assume someone writes an appointment down wrong in the book. Now, in a people dependent business the problem is either caused by some stupid employee or the customer is an idiot (or I cannot believe I did that). Of course, most of us would not say that out loud, but that’s what we think.
In a process dependent business we think, “We need to find a way to keep that from occurring.” We now set about to find a true implement-able solution to the frustration.
The root of this way of thinking is an anonymous saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” In other words, every problem, every frustration is systemically occurring and will continue to occur until we change the way we do it. Whether we think of it this way or not, it’s happening.
Survey perceived frustrations
Let’s put our new point of view in action. Let’s begin by asking ourselves, our employees and our customers all the same three questions.
- What frustrations do you see the customers having?
- What frustrations do you see the employees having?
- What frustrations do you see the management having?
Now, regardless of what the answers are, if they perceive them to be frustrations, they are.
So, we ask ourselves: How can we create a way that eliminates that frustration? What is the process or the system that we can put in our business that eliminates that frustration for us, our employees and our customers? Because, once we have eliminated frustrations in the business, it begins to be an exceptional place. It is that systemic thinking, attention to detail, and then developing a procedure, or system, or process, whatever word you like to use, that helps make an extraordinary business, a magnet for customers and employees alike.
Kelly Schwedland is president of American Business Dynamics, a small business consulting firm focused on issues related to growing companies.