(Image from the famous Candy Factory episode of I Love Lucy – Lucy’s system didn’t work so well in this case…)

The now ubiquitous tagline “There’s an App for that” gained so much traction for Apple they filed to trademark it in Dec. of 2009. If you have an I-phone, Droid, or tablet PC you probably are amazed at the ever growing number of applications available. Some are for just for fun, but many were created to simplify your processes and your life.

So replace “App” with “System”? “There’s a System for that”. It certainly isn’t nearly as catchy, but for a business owner it’s even more important.  Have you ever walked through your business and observed how many repeatable systems or processes are in place?  In a really successful business you can bring someone new in, give them a little instruction, and turn them loose to follow the system you have in place and hardly miss a beat.

However for most of us…we think we have systems in place but somehow the same mistakes happen again and again – which is a clear sign that you’ve got an issue.

Call Before You Dig!

Everyone has probably seen a “Call before you Dig” commercial or ad.  A large portion of my career was in the heavy equipment industry…and a lot of the equipment we distributed was “ground engaging”, which simply means during operation it will be penetrating the earth’s surface…digging. That means knowing the location of underground utilities is paramount.  Without that – you aren’t going to be getting any work done.

I assure you every contractor and every municipality I ever worked with has a system in place that triggers someone to contact the “Call before you Dig” locating service well in advance of an installation crew arriving. But the reality is there were dozens of times I arrived at a job site to find out “the locates” weren’t completed or they weren’t done in the correct area. There was a break down in the System and the result is unrecoverable expenses in lost productivity for everyone involved.

A Better way?

It’s an ongoing battle, but as a business owner you have to continually look at your business and find opportunities to implement systems that will simplify your life or your employee’s lives, and improve productivity.

If you don’t know where to start, find a small specific area in your business and start there.  Keep it simple, but take action. The system you design should be a written step-by-step process that you can hand to anyone of average intelligence and they can replicate it without you.  Creating a system doesn’t have to be complex, but it won’t happen without focused action.

Do you have a system for selling your product or service? A structured way (a system) you prospect for clients? If a client has a complaint do you have a system to handle the complaint or do you just deal with them as they happen? Maybe it is a system to complete a task in your business management software (Quick Books. Peachtree, etc.) Proven repeatable systems are stress reducers and money makers.

You can do it. “There’s a System for That!”

We would love to hear about how you have implemented a system into your business and how it impacted you, your employee and/or co-workers, and ultimately your bottom line.  Please share your thoughts in the space below.

Chris Steinlage    Kansas City Business Coach

Sometimes a big hammer is the best tool for the job, but only if you’re using it the right way!

This past weekend I headed down to my parent’s house to meet up with my brothers and do some ‘clean-up’ around the house.  It was great to see everyone and other than the 95 degree heat and the 95% humidity it was a good weekend to get some stuff done.

One of the big jobs that needed to be done was taking down an old metal shed building that was out behind the house.  I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing that shed was close to 40 years old – it was primarily made of aluminum with an all metal frame on a concrete base.  After that much time, it was full of all sorts of junk, old wood, lots of spiders and a couple of other critters.  It took a while, but we got everything out and then it was time to start demolition on the structure.

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As a business owner, there will come a day when you’re just flat out tired.  You don’t want to get out of bed, and if you do get out of bed, you don’t want to do much.  All in all, you’re struggling.

Assuming it’s not some form of the flu, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed or just worn down.  You need to find a way to recharge and get back your motivation – it’s likely only a temporary setback for your business, but if it continues it could turn into a big deal.  Unfortunately it’s not as simple as ‘willing’ yourself to get excited again – however there are some things you can do to turn things around.

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  Pam from The Office

There’s an important aspect of marketing that often gets overlooked.  The tendency is to think about marketing as advertising or branding, but marketing is also all about the little things. 

Marketing is every interaction that you (and your employees) have with your customers and prospective customers.  Are they greeted with a friendly smile?  Do they hear a somewhat formal “How can I help you today?” or an informal “What do you need?”.  It’s those details, the little touches, that create what your business is all about, that create the ‘wow’ moments people will talk about.

Do you look at your marketing as all of the little things that make a difference (and add credibility and power to any advertising you do)?  Do you start thinking of the small touches your clients would appreciate that are unusual in your industry?.  Maybe it’s time to upgrade your marketing – start with a smile…and here are some other ideas that might get you started:

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  photo by h. koppdelany

I probably hear it 2 or 3 times a week from clients or other business owners…I can’t get everything done…I need more time in the day!  Unfortunately I don’t know of any way to actually create more time, but there are a lot of strategies for getting more things done.

The thing with productivity is that everyone is different, so what works for me, may not work for you – your best bet is to try different things and see if you can land on something that clicks for how you work.

With that in mind, here are two suggestions I ran across recently that may be helpful for you if you’re looking for some ways to be more productive.

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