“Because he [Colt Brennan] will inevitably draw the “system quarterback” label due to his time in coach June Jones’ pass-happy system, he will have to test very well at the Combine and in workouts.”
-Conor Dowley
Many have referred to Colt Brennan as a “system quarterback” to explain the near unbelievable results he and the University of Hawaii football team produced over the past couple of years. In the world of football being a system quarterback is seen as a negative because an effective system can make it a little more difficult to evaluate the player as an individual athlete but there is no way to deny that a well designed system run by people who are disciplined and well suited for their positions can produce amazing results. Just look at Hawaii’s 2007 perfect regular season record for wins or Colt Brennan’s numbers over the past three seasons – results so unbelievable the sports world must look for ways to explain how it happened!
The great San Francisco 49er coach, Bill Walsh said, “I knew with the offense I planned to run, Joe [Montana] would be great.” The Pro Football Hall of Fame documented in an article titled The Best Ever? The story of ‘Joe Cool’ that Joe Montana once credited “seventy percent” of his success in football to the Walsh style offense. Both of these men, considered among the greatest in their profession, acknowledged the value of both a well designed system and the fit and training of the individual players within the system.
Just imagine the results possible for your business with a well designed system and disciplined managers and employees who are well suited for their positions within the system. How can you build such a system? Just use the same basic steps any good sports coach would use –
- Create a vision of what a smooth running business will look like (will focus be on run, pass, or balance)
- Identify all the roles in the system (how many receivers, tight ends, running backs, etc. are needed)
- Identify the tasks assigned to each role (design your plays)
- Write down how each routine task should be completed, use pictures and diagrams to help others understand (document the plays in your playbook)
- Test the procedures you developed and make any clarifications or corrects needed (run these plays in practice to see if they work as planned)
- Select managers and employees with the right skills to fill each role (select the right kind of athlete for the right positions – receiver versus offensive lineman)
- Train these people in your procedures (teach your team the plays and practice, practice, practice)
- Set performance standards (let them know what is expected to get the results you expect)
- Provide quality feedback (let them know what they are doing well and where they can improve)
- Encourage suggestions to improve the system (look for ideas from the team on improvements you can make to your system to get even better results)
“Management works in the system; Leadership works on the system.”
-Stephen R. Covey
The system you develop should take your place so you can step out of the trenches and function as the Chief Operation Officer (CEO) of your business. You should exercise leadership not doership for your business to reach its full potential. If you are the system you have limited the potential for your business to what you can personally handle. You have also taken away virtually all value when you are ready to sell your business. Just imagine, why would anyone pay good money for a business where all the system knowledge is still in the head of the owner and day to day operations will not run without the owner being heavily involved? You need to replace yourself with the system!
With help from employees and your business advisers, identify and document all the processes, procedures and policies necessary to achieve more effective and streamlined operations. You want to get frank feedback at this stage to ensure that you have an effective business model laid out first before you start documenting your business system. Start with customers’ perceived needs and work backwards re-designing your business so it consistently and predictably fulfills the promises made to a customer during the selling process. Be sure all your back-office processes (accounting, finance, human resources, technology, administration, etc.) are in alignment to effectively support the operations of the company. Design or repair any processes that are missing or faulty.
Routine work should be fully systematized and only exceptions should be dealt with on an ad hoc or improvised basis. A system should eliminate wasted time and energy on unimportant tasks. Your employees should have the discipline to follow the system and also have the freedom and authority to handle the exceptions that do not fit neatly into the system. Because, over time, most potential problems and crises have been properly anticipated and converted into routine processes, “fire drills” should be greatly reduced.
Once your system is fully documented and your employees are running the system, you need to let go, trust the system, trust your team, and step away from the day-to-day workflow. With this approach, twelve-hour days no longer need to be the norm. Once you allow the integrated system to run, the system itself and your employees will do the necessary work to fulfill promises made to your customers. You will not have to work as hard or as long. With effective systems, ordinary employees (properly trained) can achieve consistently extraordinary results.
The system is your solution to more freedom, fulfillment, and profits. Again, plan and develop the system and let others operate the system.
“Accountability breeds response-ability.”
-Steven R. Covey
Here are some questions to help you get started as you begin laying out a plan for developing or updating a system to run your business.
- Do you have key managers and employees that perform some tasks really well? Have them write down what they do and how they do it.
- Do you know exactly how much you are doing yourself? Keep a notepad handy for a couple of weeks and make a list of all the things you are personally doing. Prioritize this list and begin to write down what you do and how you do it.
- How will you know your procedures will produce the result you want? Test your procedures by having someone else follow what you have written and see if you get the results you expected. If not make changes based on what happened and test again.
- Do your procedures and your performance standards create the results you want? Do you have a way to measure the results so you can tell if they are working? Remember you get what you measure.
- Once you have procedures and performance standards tested and running have you stepped away and let your team work the system?
Take some time to answer these questions honestly and write your answers down. Remember developing and documenting a system takes time. Start with a couple of key tasks and then take on more as you grow more comfortable designing and documenting your system. You will be pleased with your new found freedom.
“A good system shortens the road to the goal.”
-Orison Swett Marden
