Planning Systems: Automating Responsibilities

Let’s talk about systems. As I look through plans for the next year, what I am primarily focused on is how to build better systems.

In his book "The E-Myth Revisited," the author talks about building a business as if you’re building a franchise. He talks about the interplay between the technician and the entrepreneur. Whereas you may be really good at doing the thing you do, you may not be the best at getting it to a market that makes sense.

I've found these principles apply to me both in the things I’m trying to do business-wise but also the things I'm trying to do personally. I want to get to this place where I rely less on myself and more on the systems, more on the machine that makes everything work.

For example, in our office, we use a tool called Zapier and there are certain emails we get that trigger certain processes that we need to do. So, we have a process that when this email comes in and it has the subject line then it’s going to set this reminder or it's going to send this email to the staff person and that’s going to cascade a series of events. So it’s going to make sure that what needs to happen next happens next without me remembering that it needs to happen next.

I would like to take the next few weeks – to months, really – to look at as many processes as I can whether that's in my personal life or in business life – and set up more ways to ensure that we’re heading toward success in those areas.

I would encourage you that if you’ve never done this, take one aspect, or one task, that you’ve got to do repeatedly. Look at it from a system standpoint. What happens first? What is supposed to happen next? What is actually happening next? Where is that breaking down? What tools, technology, reminders, or skills might you add to fill those gaps.

So, that’s what I’m looking at coming in the next year. Thanks!