It is a pretty common occurrence for me to run into business owners that are frustrated and burned out because they are working long hours in their businesses and often feel like they are on a never-ending hamster wheel. It seems as though they are pulled in fifteen different directions and can’t get much accomplished. Yet, there are those business owners that seem to be doing very well, and don’t spend much (if any) time in their businesses. How do they do it?
They systemize!
Running almost any business can be a fairly complex and monumental task. In his book, The E Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber talks about how most people decide to get into business for themselves. Typically, they are very good at the job they do, and feel that they can be more profitable and enjoy life better if they run the show themselves. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize how much is involved in running a business. The tasks start to pile up and the frustration sets in and gets worse over time.
The trick is to break the complex task of running a business into many smaller tasks which can be easily accomplished, either by you, or the people that work for you.
Two good examples of this are McDonald’s and the U.S. Military. McDonald’s typically employs teenagers and people without a college degree. How does a multi-billion dollar, global company survive with teenagers running it? Simple…. they have some of the best systems in the fast food industry. Tasks are broken into easy steps that can be quickly trained and taught to the staff.
The U.S. Military has managed to break the complex tasks assigned to it, to include the operation of some complex equipment, into a series of simple tasks that increase in complexity as the unit size increases. Each person has a function to perform that, when put together, allows them to accomplish some amazing things.
Think about how you can break up your business into simple tasks and how you can group those tasks to accomplish more than you do now. In the next few posts I will discuss how you can systemize your business and get your life back.
Tags: Business Advice, Business Systems, success, Time Management
June 12, 2009 at 4:35 pm |
Good post, Doug! McDonald’s and the US Military – a great combination! Pretty much covers the bases ….