Don't waste time formalizing poor processes

• 🖥️ Does everything in your business need a formal process?

• ❤️‍🔥 Interactive stories, evergreen emails course + a new bundle

• 💌 Brought to you by Sunsama

🖥️ Does everything in your business need a formal process?

One of the reasons people stall when it comes to creating systems is that they think there is a need to create a system or automation for everything.

You don’t need to create systems for every single thing. At least not at first.

You want to focus on the the activities you do every day or the products and services that move your business forward and make the most money.

Why would you create a system for a two-year-old product that no one purchases anymore?

That would definitely be a waste of your time.

So, let’s talk about some examples of business systems and the different formats of how you might structure them. Review the following lists to see if you recognize what you currently use in your business, and if you want to vary your formats.

What exactly do I mean by systems?

A system can be a process, a procedure, standard operating procedures (SOPs), instructions, a ‘how-to’ document or workflow—whatever you want to call it—and in simple terms is just a series of linear steps that produces a predictable outcome.

We want to focus on simple, repeatable systems because all problems within business are, ultimately, caused by poorly performing systems.

They key to quickly creating systems is to keep it simple. When you get too specific and down in the details, things get complex and you might want to quit. If you’re a detail-oriented person, I challenge you to step out of that box for this purpose, so you can get things done and move on.

Lastly, don’t over-document your business. The Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) applies here—just 20 percent of the systems you create will provide 80 percent of your business efficiency.

The two parts of a successful system

Every successful business system has two layers: the process layer and the format layer.

The process layer consists of the step-by-step process or procedure you’ve created. Your system needs to accurately capture the steps of the process so that when you follow it you consistently get the desired result.

Do not waste time trying to formalize poor processes.

You want your systems to capture your best practices, making it easier for your company to replicate and scale those successes.

The format layer deals with how you package and present your system to your team. Is your system intuitive and easy to use (spoiler, they won’t use it if they don’t know how)?

Can it be automated? For example, can your emails, scheduling, or reports be automated instead of being done manually?

If it works, they will use it as it should be. If it’s cumbersome, clunky, or confusing, they’ll create their own version or use shortcuts—then you’re back to one person having the knowledge of how to do something and that’s not what you want. Because if that team member leaves, so does the knowledge of their process.

Examples of procedural situations and their systems

Here are three types of situations you may need a system to help handle, along with a list of the potential best formats to handle those situations.

#1: Coordinating activities between multiple people (i.e. delivering a product or service)

• A defined timeline: This is a way to visually see the sequencing of steps and stages in a way that can be integrated into personal calendars.

• A flowchart of the process steps: Allows you to organize and optimize the process, and makes key dependencies clear within the big picture.

• A project “task list”: Built like a checklist, this structure helps you clarify explicitly who needs to do what, by when.

#2: Documenting the steps in a complicated process

• A comprehensive checklist or procedure: A list of steps that can easily be followed (i.e. training a new team member, creating a new digital product)

• Templates your team can reuse

#3: A system to capture key company know-how

• A database of key information (spreadsheet with vendor pricing)

• FAQs (about your business or products)

Examples of formats to package your systems

I want to give you some different ways that you can package your systems, and these will depend on:

1. how you work

2. how your team works

3. how you want to present things to your customers

Here is a quick list of potential formats for you to package your systems to make them easier and more effective for team members to use.

1. Checklists

2. Scripts

3. Worksheets

4. Step-by-step instructions

5. Software that automates a process

6. Databases of key information

7. Pricing lists

8. Templates and samples

9. FAQs

10. Spreadsheets with built-in formulas

11. Pre-approved vendors lists

12. Job descriptions

13. Instructional videos

14. Project management software with reusable project pathways

15. Reporting templates

16. Organizational charts

17. Pre-approved forms and contracts

These are some examples (not a complete list), so you can think about what you need in relation to your business and the best way you can handle your systems. Are your processes currently presented in the best way for everyone to understand? Give your business a process audit. What are team members using, what do they avoid? Most importantly, what are your biggest revenue-generating processes? That’s where you should start.

❤️‍🔥 Interactive stories, evergreen emails course + a new bundle

Business Autopilot update: If you opened last week’s email, you know I’m working on an interactive e-course. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, read this post and answer the poll if you’re interested. In a last-minute shift, I decided to change the automation and the story (by the way, this is more of a fantasy, story-like course, not just me blabbering on teaching you stuff), and because of that, I had to push this back a bit but hoping to push it in the next week or so. If you answered the poll, you’ll get the first welcome email sent when it’s ready, nothing else to opt-in for.

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Until next time,

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