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Can Your People Do it the Same Way You Do

Written by: Warren Coughlin

Article Overview: Systems are your way of empowering your team to do large parts of your job just as if you were doing it personally. They can reduce your hours and stress by getting average people to do a great job…sound fantastic? Well, it is easy once you know a couple of tricks…

Can Your People Do it the Same Way You Do

Systems are your way of empowering your team to do large parts of your job just as if you were doing it personally. They can reduce your hours and stress by getting average people to do a great job…sound fantastic? Well, it is easy once you know a couple of tricks…

Three ‘Tricks of the Trade’ for Creating Systems

1. Work until it becomes simple

If the system is complex, then keep working! When you really understand something, and present it well, it will become simple. For example, written procedures can often be clarified by presenting them as checklists or tables.

2. Only write systems that make money (or reduce a big risk)

We are not the government and not in the business of creating manuals, so only create a system if it simplifies a task, improves quality, or speeds up a service. This will keep you focused. Forget your big company or corporate experience of many volumes that mainly gather dust. Rather, the trick is to start small and let it grow with time.

Three ‘Tricks of the Trade’ for Creating Systems:

3. Make sure your precious systems are being used

As you create systems, build into them monitoring systems, so that at a glance you can see if they are being used. Changing the culture of your company takes time and there will be failures. Even when the culture has changed, it needs to be maintained; your monitoring systems will do of this for you.

4. Make sure your team members knows the positions they play

Unfortunately, it is normal for most team members to disagree on what needs to be done while at the same time believing everyone knows their job roles. Clear written and agreed upon roles will remove the need for 75% of systems. So start here.

By now you truly understand the best systems look very unimpressive… the genius is getting them to look that way.

The Coach’s Official Cheat List of Popular Systems…

If you do not know them or when to use them ask your business coach for details…

• Checklist - tear off pad

• Checklist - laminated cards

• Checklists –numbered in sequence

• Checklists – memorize with acronym

• Quick Contact lists

• Job or Quote Pads

• Position Contracts

• Standard letters

• Team ‘Code of Honor’

• Performance Standards

• Meeting minutes

• Procedure manual using photographs

• Procedure manual using videos

• Weekly or Job Budgets

• Wall Signs & Instruction labels

• Test & Measure Sheets

• Survey your competitors for ideas…

When you can run your business working a three-day week and your team can create systems for you…then you really understand this topic.

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