Some common business sense: every system and process in your organization should exist to support your business purpose and keep you in business.\u00a0 Common sense says that there should be no self justifying system or process.\u00a0 Every product, service, division, department, function, team, position, activity, task, and report, should exist for a reason found within your philosophy, purpose, or strategy and described in your business plan.<\/p>\n
Business systems and processes, taken collectively, are one of five key drivers of performance in any organization, along with your people, structure, strategy, and foundation.\u00a0 Any extraneous process takes valuable time and resources away from your primary purpose and negatively impacts performance.\u00a0 If you want to run your organization on LEAN principles, even if you know nothing about LEAN, start here and eliminate any process that doesn\u2019t support your purpose.<\/p>\n
Use your business plan as your guide; if the plan doesn\u2019t mention it, maybe you shouldn\u2019t be doing it.\u00a0 If it still seems like you need it, refer back to your business philosophy.\u00a0 If it doesn\u2019t relate to being purpose driven, people centered, values focused, servant led, community friendly, or environmentally responsible, maybe you shouldn\u2019t be doing it.\u00a0 If it still seems like you need it, you\u2019re probably grasping at straws or you\u2019re a bit of a packrat; get over it and get rid of it!<\/p>\n
Those of you who are just starting your own business are blessed with a clean slate so resist the temptation to clutter it up with personal preferences, likes and dislikes. Stick with the basics we\u2019ve been talking about since day one: build your foundation, define your strategy, then define, build and resource your systems and processes to deliver on your strategy.<\/p>\n
Are there exceptions to this rule?\u00a0 One; and it may not be truly an exception.\u00a0 Depending on your industry there may be international, federal, state, or local laws and regulations you must comply with or suffer consequences.\u00a0 Or you may have agreed to some local requirements to gain certain benefits such as tax abatement, requirements which often have consequences for failure to uphold the agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Consequences usually take the form of loss of desired benefit, fines, legal fees, or jail time.\u00a0 A business basics tip: invest in whatever process is necessary to comply with the law or the agreement; it\u2019s not worth the alternative.\u00a0 Consider it a cost of being \u201ccommunity friendly\u201d or \u201cenvironmentally responsible\u201d, and make it a marketing advantage or selling point if you can.\u00a0 You\u2019ll build credibility and your business reputation as a principled organization.<\/p>\n
Remember, design your organization to be lean and focused on results.\u00a0 Purge those self justifying extraneous processes and systems.\u00a0 You\u2019ll save resources and time, improving your performance and your probability of success!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some common business sense: every system and process in your organization should exist to support your business purpose and keep you in business.\u00a0 Common sense says that there should be no self justifying system or process.\u00a0 Every product, service, division, department, function, team, position, activity, task, and report, should exist for a reason found within … Continue reading Business Systems, Part 1:\u00a0Relevance<\/span>