Processes & Productivity
"I don't have processes."
Well.... Yes, you do.
If you follow a routine for anything, or take (roughly) the same steps to do something, you've got a process.
What you might not have is a system.
What's the difference between a process and a system?
The key difference between a process and a system is documentation. Of course, to really call it part of a system, you have to be able to:
- easily find that documentation again,
- know whether it applies to what you're trying to do now,
- know why you're doing things this particular way,
- understand the steps you're reading in a way that means you can follow along and apply them without interpretation and/or research,
- find (and use) related resources,
- review what you've written to ensure that it's aligned with your vision/mission/values (i.e., your narrative) as well as the other parts of your system, and be able to modify it and incrementally improve it accordingly.
Once you've settled on a particular routine or set of steps that meets the above criteria, you've got what's called a SOP - a standardized operating process or procedure - a.k.a. a building block of a system.
How will having a system help with productivity?
Let's start by getting clear about what it means to be "productive":
- You need to have a goal, that is, some outcome you're trying to achieve and some success criteria for what it will look like to have successfully brought about that outcome.
- You need to be effective with the steps you're taking to achieve that goal. In other words, the steps you take should help you "move the needle" towards the goal.
- Ideally, those steps are as efficient as possible without diminishing effectiveness.
Note that efficiency is a nice-to-have, but effectiveness is a must-have.
To increase productivity, you can increase efficiency, but, if you've sacrificed effectiveness, then you're not only not productive, but you're actively choosing a life of unrewarding and unrelenting busywork.
So, how will a system help?
- Goal Alignment - What am I trying to do here?
- Within a system, all of the smaller goals are aligned with big picture objectives and narratives, so each goal helps contribute to overall success. This is how you Move the Needle.
- Future Proofing for Effectiveness - Is it working towards the goal?
- A Memory Aid - You figured it out and it worked, but...time passes. It's easy to forget small details or exactly how you solved a problem (and why you did it that way). The recorded SOP will fill in those memory gaps for you and keep you delivering effective results.
- Reliability / Consistency - You'll do it (roughly) the same way every time, because you're following the same steps and, as applicable, using the same resources. How strict you are about following the same _exact_ steps is really dependent on your own success criteria.
- Incremental Improvement - Address the stumbling blocks in the document, or take a lesson learned from a webinar or discussion/feedback/analytics and modify your SOP accordingly.
- Efficiency Measures - Can I do it faster or better?
- Save Time - You don't have to figure it out every time. Stop trying to remember how you did it, or searching for an example of how you did it last time.
- Streamline - Once you've done something repeatedly, you'll recognize opportunities for further improvement. Use your free time to develop new resources - templates, etc. - that can help you make this effective thing more efficiently effective.
- Checks and Balances
- Stave Off Productivity Red Herrings - Faster time, easier, touchless/automated, etc. are all enticing, but they can be a trick. Part of recognizing that this process is part of a system means that you can't change it at a whim. Instead, you'll vet the changes you want to make against your aligned goals to make sure that the efficiency doesn't come at the expense of the effectiveness.
Process and Productivity Services
Setting Up Your SOP Repository
There's no point documenting all of those SOPs if you can't find them again.
This service is designed for solopreneurs and small teams (2-20 people) who have been operating with Google docs, email threads, mental notes, and post-its, but want a more organized, centralized solution for both day-to-day and onboarding.
- We'll review your current documentation - where it's stored and how it's being accessed/utilized - as well as any standardized/shared resources you already have around.
- We'll explore issues like employee roles, access, and collaboration needs.
- We'll work together to create a repository structure, help you add existing documentation to that structure (including linking to related resources), and train you so you can easily add new documentation and manage the repository in the future.
Let's connect to assess your current SOP setup.
SOP Training
SOP Training is designed to help you and your team get on the same page in terms of how SOPs support not only the business, but also all the people who make up the business.
Topics covered may include:
- How SOPs Affect Operations (Theories that Matter)
- SOPs and Company Culture
- SOPs and Teamwork
- SOPs and Evaluations: Getting Clear About "Success"
- Why SOPs Fail
- Actions to Systems
- Plan of Attack
- SOP Samples
- Essential SOPs
- How to write a SOP for an existing process
- How to write a SOP for a new process
- Interactive Exercises (e.g., Positive Proposals for Changing Existing SOPs)
Let's connect to discuss your training needs.
Training is perfect for growing teams (5-25), but can also be tailored to independently organized groups of soloprenuers, emerging leaders, Chambers of Commerce, or others interested in peer learning opportunities.
Defining New Processes and Refining Workflows
Whether you're pivoting, growing/scaling, or you're reading to formalize something you've been playing around with and are now ready to make a permanent part of the business, you need a SOP adjustment.
This service is designed to help you answer the questions: (1) How do you get the pieces of your business working together? (2) As you grow and adapt, how do you turn the seed of an idea into a process that's strategically aligned with your goals? (3) How do you realign existing processes with your current strategic direction?
We'll work with you to:
- Discuss new process ideas - what you're hoping to achieve, how to formalize that into a SOP, ramifications for your existing systems
- Refine existing processes - review (and maybe revise/retire) your existing processes for efficiency/effectiveness, interoperability with your other SOPs (so everything works as a system), and alignment with your vision of success
- Document - for all those things you're doing off the top of your head, we'll help you get it into a format that's easy to use, review, and delegate
To get started, book a 1-hour Discovery Session so I can get to know you and your business and where we might want to start.
Featured Blogs
Sometimes It’s the Process That’s Missing, Not (Just) the IT
How to tackle a HUGE project | A SOP Story