Almost everyone carries a phone with them at all times, even many kids (not my 6 year old twins, although my daughter thinks she needs one). Our phones help us in many aspects of life with the features they carry. Your list of contacts, calendar, music, podcasts, social media, calculator (even through my teachers lied to me and said I needed to learn math cause I wouldn't have a calculator in my pocket at all times) and many more apps. Each of these features on their own are great, but what happens when you don’t make the necessary software upgrades that your phone suggests? We run into bugs which cause issues. Things aren't running as smoothly as they have in the past and you're getting more frustrated when they're not working. Every phone (even my dad's flip phone) runs on an operating system. This operating system supports the basic functions and keeps everything in sync, running smoothly. Organizations are no different. They need an operating system to function and keep them running. Without one can feel like you're out of control. Nobody is on the same page, everyone is rowing in different directions, there is chaos everywhere and accountability nowhere.
Updates are Needed You wouldn't expect your smart phone to be operating on the same system that your first cell phone was running on, would you? This is the same thought process as your business running as effectively today as when you first opened your doors with the lack of an operating system. As you've grown, things become more complex, there are more moving parts and more people involved. What This Looks Like You may have been able to handle all or the majority of the functions in your business out of the gates; however, now that you've grown you have others involved and you need to stay in sync. In order to get the most from your business, you need to be running on an operating system. Think of the operating system as a playbook. This means having a clear vision with the right structure in place with good people executing on goals your vision daily. To be great at executing you need to have great focus and ownership among your team with clear expectations, and be following a set of processes that creates consistency to deliver the same great product or service time and time again. If you're missing this, your organization is likely dealing with poor communications, lack of focus, and conflicts that derail the success your organization could have. If so, you are experiencing long days, plenty of frustrations, wasted time and feeling a lack of control.
What This Will Do For You A good operating systems gets everyone in your company on the same page with where you're going and how you will get there. It helps you get what you want from your organization. You didn't start your own business to be working 80 hours a week, to be frustrated, and to not feel in control. You started it for your own reasons, but one of those was to fulfill your vision of what you wanted. Unfortunately, as organizations grow they become complex and instead of taking the time to plan and get an operating system in place, many owners answer is to work harder - not smarter. This typically ends up meaning putting more time working in the organization instead of working ON the organization. This may be a common pitfall that many fall into, but it doesn't mean that you need to stay there. To function effectively and get everyone rowing in the same direction, do yourself a favor and put an operating system in place to give you the control you deserve.
How Can You Make That Happen? If you are looking to get more control of your organization so you can get more of what you want from it, contact me. While I don't know if I'll be a good fit for you, I'd be happy to share some best practices to get you moving in right direction.
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