Tenacious Frog

So, if I had to come in from the outside as a consultant to organise your business, what would I do?

• Start at the top.
  • observe the bosses
    • attitude/outlook/employee interaction
    • organisational skills/planning !
    • delegation / (more importantly) enabling workers to do good

• • What do they do?
    • what do they do right?
    • what can they improve? how?

• Next look at the bottom
  • talk to the ground-level
    • what do they think of the leadership/management?
    • what are their problems? concerns?
    • what solutions do they long for?

These are things that should be asked regularly. This is the basis for a checklist for evaluating how well your company is organised.

Quick tip for the clueless :
Owners/Managers
If your organisation is having problems… no matter “who is to blame” for the immediate problem…. THE PROBLEM IS YOURS.

You are the owner/manager and supposedly the leader.
EVERYTHING is your fault!
That is the wonderful thing about being an owner or in some other position of responsibility, you and you alone are the one responsible.

Terrible employee? Didn’t you hire her/him? And if not, didn’t you hire someone who did hire her/him?
So it IS your fault!
EVERYTHING is your fault.

The sooner you realise that the sooner you can stop your complaining and realise the monumental responsibility you have accepted.
YOU are responsible for EVERYTHING in your business. WOW, isn’t that scary?!
Yes, yes it is.
So, how can you be a truly responsible owner and take responsibility for your whole business without cloning yourself or going crazy.

One word. Starts with an “S.”

SYSTEMS

Systems are the answer.
Many people chafe at the idea of systems.
“We’re not monkeys/idiots/[etc.]“  (actually that is debatable but, I’ll be nice this time and agree with you :- )  )

LISTEN carefully because I am only going to say this once…

Systems are absolutely necessary whether you are a total newbie or a seasoned veteran superstar.

How can I make this claim? Is there any shred of proof for this claim?

Is your doctor stupid?
How about the doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital?

Obviously not. They are extremely intelligent. So intelligent in fact that one of those Johns Hopkins doctors improved upon the already excellent hospital creating a change that (in that one hospital in 2001 alone) prevented forty-three infections, eight deaths, and saved two million dollars in costs! Not to mention the fact that his creation is revolutionising medical treatment in general.

What did this genius create? A new drug? Some new break-through medical equipment?
NO!
He made a checklist.
Let me say that again, [all he made was] a checklist!

A simple checklist, and yet according to The NewYorker, “[Peter Pronovost's] work has already saved more lives than that of any laboratory scientist in the past decade!” IN THE PAST DECADE!

If Peter Pronovost, a John Hopkins doctor, can be humble enough to use a system… you would be an idiot not to.

If you finish reading this and you go off and do nothing to create systems for your business, I am calling you an idiot to your face.

I know that is rude, and if you knew me you’d know I am not usually a rude little frog. But if you only knew and understood all the trouble and hardship your refusal to use systems creates for your employees, customers, vendors, even your family you would probably call yourself an idiot too.

Be wise. be humble. USE A SYSTEM.