If you're seeking or wanting to
- spend less time on the day-to-day running of your business,
- sell your business,
- improve employee morale, engagement and productivity,
- have more fun at work, in a relaxed environment,
- help employees "fire up" with creativity and enthusiasm,
- sustainably increase efficiency, turnover and profit,
or - simply take a holiday, free of worry about business performance and activity
then you will benefit greatly by 'systemising' your business so that it effectively runs itself.
The value of good business systems
Try this Quick Quiz, a quick litmus test for any small business owner:
- The Barack Obama Time-out Test
Are you able to take "big chunks of times during the day when all you're doing is thinking"1 about your business? Can we assume President Obama has good systems, and competent people able to take care of business while he's taking 'big chunks' of time to think about climate change, and the fate the human race? - The Time-Away Test
If you were unable to be contacted - no mobiles, emails, nothing! - for two to three weeks, would your business run as normal? Or would you need to be there, because you're "indispensable", micro-managing the business, having not yet systemised and delegated the day-to-day running of the business?
- 1. '"THE MOST important thing you need to do," Barack Obama told UK conservative leader David Cameron when they met last year, "is to have big chunks of times during the day when all you're doing is thinking."' Catherine Fox, 'Creating Space', AFR Boss Magazine, Dec-Jan10, Fairfax Media Publications, Sydney, p.25.

