The short answer
A client working eighty hours a week rebuilt his business around three documented systems and a management layer. Within eighteen months revenue was up, his hours were halved, and the company could run without him for a month at a time.
In full
When we started, he was the bottleneck for every quote, every hire, and every complaint. His revenue looked healthy and his life did not.
We documented the three processes that produced most of the revenue, then trained two people to own them completely, decisions included.
We cut the bottom tier of clients that consumed forty percent of the attention for eight percent of the margin.
Eighteen months later the business was larger, calmer, and finally sellable — which is another way of saying it had become an asset instead of a job.
From experience
The moment it clicked for him was not a revenue milestone. It was a two-week holiday during which the company had its best fortnight of the year without a single call to him. He told me he felt useless, and then he laughed.
Common mistake
Chasing more revenue with the same structure. Growth on an unfixed structure just multiplies the chaos.
Do this next
- Step 1
Identify the three processes that generate most of your revenue.
- Step 2
Document each one to the point a competent stranger could run it.
- Step 3
Give each one an owner with real authority, then leave for a week.
Questions
- How long does a turnaround take?
- The structure takes ninety days. The habits take a year.
- Does this only work for larger companies?
- No. The smaller you are, the faster it works, because there is less to unwind.
By Robert T Fletcher