Your business model might be standing on its head because of COVID-19. Many business owners are struggling with decision-making and focus during this crisis—there are so many unknowns and things are changing so quickly. It is hard to know what to do right now. I get that. Please know that you are not alone.
I don’t know how COVID-19 is affecting your business. And I have no way of knowing if a business operating system is right for you at this time but I do know that a professionally installed and managed operating system can provide focus, simplicity, and a foundation for decision making during times of stress and uncertainty.
A business operating system, a business’s unique way of operating, going to market, creating products, and serving its customers, can be critical to the success of companies that survive crises and thrive in the aftermath. It might surprise you to know just how effective business operating systems can also be at making or saving you money.
PHOENIX, Gyolai Consulting’s exclusive operating system for your business and your life is based on proven tools, time-tested wisdom, and forward-thinking. It was designed with remote companies and teams in mind and can drive revenue, focus spending, and improve budgeting. During stressful times, PHOENIX can be a steady hand on the wheel.
Here are some examples of how a properly installed and supported business operating system will make or save you money:
1. Improve profitability
Your vision for your company should be short, concise, easily understood, and shared by your employees. Everyone within your organization should know where the company is going (vision) and how you plan to get their (action). Workers are more productive and engaged if they have a clear understanding of how their work supports the vision of the organization. In a Gallup study of nearly 200 organizations, companies with the highest levels of employee engagement were 22% more profitable and 21% more productive than those with low levels of engagement. Getting and keeping everyone rowing in the same direction is an essential function of a well-managed and fully supported operating system.
2. Focus time and energy on the handful of things that really matter
Time is your most precious resource. Either you spend it wisely, or you don’t. In either case, it just keeps ticking away. Most entrepreneurs spend their time on the wrong things. They focus on what is familiar to them. They put out fires all day, which gives them a sense of getting something done but this comes at the expense of striving toward their vision or achieving short and long-term goals. They wake up one day and realize all they’ve done is survive. A business operating system will allow you to work smarter not harder, track your time and adjust how you spend it, delegate tasks and elevate your work, and make faster, better decisions.
3. Define your core processes and drive consistency
Your business has a core set of processes. You may not know what they are because you are so deep in the weeds, but they make your business model unique. For your business to run like a well-oiled machine you must systematize. When you have documented your unique “way” and everyone follows that way, you’ve increased the value of your company, you’ve gained control over it, and you’ll deliver a consistent product or service to your customer, improving your bottom line.
4. Allow your people to operate within their area of greatest skill and passion
When you run your business on an operating system you hire and position people based on your core values. When your people are in the right seats, and those seats are the right ones for your company, they will perform at an elevated level—accomplishing more in less time with better results.
5. Drive results and accountability by measuring and managing
A balanced scorecard with 5-15 high-level metrics that are measured and evaluated weekly keeps your pulse on the company and gives you the ability to predict. This is especially effective when people are held accountable to these numbers. You will be surprised by how making someone report on their numbers each week drives accountability and performance.
6. Determine the single function that is essential to the success of your business
Within every company there exists a single function that is the most significant determinant of the company’s success and health. In his book Clockwork: Designing Your Business to Run Itself, Mike Michalowicz calls this the Queen Bee Role. You must identify and declare this function, and as you improve its performance your entire business’s performance will elevate.
7. Increase employee commitment and accountability
An optimized organizational chart states clearly who occupies each position, what the primary roles and responsibilities of that position are, and how people are held accountable. It reduces duplicated efforts and wasted time. It drives efficiency and productivity.
8. Drive revenue
My clients often set new revenue records, such as most revenue earned in a single day or highest monthly sales in company history. This is a result of a relentless obsession with process and consistency, focusing on the handful of things that really matter to success, and striving toward a shared vision.
9. Improve cash flow
Every company has a process that supports its financial functions. Some are better than others, but every company has one. When you identify, document, simplify, educate, and hold your people accountable to your financial processes you will save money by budgeting more effectively, controlling spending, and increasing accountability.
10. Create a business that runs like a well-oiled machine largely independent of its owner
A properly installed and run operating system takes you out of the day-to-day operations, making you less available, which will naturally cause your business to become increasingly designed to run without you. This frees you up to focus on the handful of things that really matter to the success of the business, or sign new deals, or create new products.
Now more than ever, focus, simplicity, and engagement are critical to business success. The COVID-19 outbreak is presenting you with opportunities to improve your operations and your life. PHOENIX can be the foundation for a new way of thinking and acting in your business and at home. I would love to start a conversation about how PHOENIX can make a measurable and impactful difference for your business during these uncertain times. Email me today at Kevin@Gyolai.com.
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