The Process
What I Do
As your business grows, managing its complexities can become overwhelming. The systems that propelled you to success may now hinder further progress. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of your operations while juggling daily demands is a daunting task.
That's where I step in.
I will collaborate closely with you to identify challenges, craft tailored solutions, and implement them in a manner that enhances service quality, profitability, and cash flow.
Understand that merely addressing system and process breakdowns is insufficient for sustainable performance improvement. So a holistic approach need to encompass behavioral modifications through coaching, training, and system design.
I will help you navigate critical questions such as:
- Should I standardize processes before or after streamlining them?
- Are errors rooted in staff mistakes, or are they symptomatic of larger issues?
- Is the problem with technology itself or how we use it?
- How can I prepare my company for a smooth transition to the next generation?
Our expertise lies in simplifying complexities and crafting engaging solutions that drive your business forward.
What I Don't Do
Crafting Your Unique Strategy
Your business strategy reflects your expertise, experiences, and risk appetite. It's your unique blueprint, tailored to your goals and vision. While I may suggest alternatives, I respect that the final decisions lie with you, the visionary entrepreneur.
Tailoring Your Product Portfolio
The products and services you offer, and the way you deliver them, are shaped by your business environment and adaptability. Perhaps you've switched vendors, added new ones, or forged partnerships that support your venture. I can provide insights into the cost-benefit analysis of your portfolio components, but the ultimate choices are yours to make.
Financial Transparency
Accounting deals with facts, while finance involves opinions and projections. I prioritize factual data and avoid qualitative assessments. If your balance sheet raises concerns, I'll bring them to your attention, but I won't impose changes. Your income and expense report, however, is fair game for my analysis.
Industry Insights, Company Focus
Every industry has its nuances, just as every company has its unique identity. Rather than prescribing "industry standards," I prefer to focus on company-specific insights that empower you to shape and disrupt your industry.
INTAKE
It all starts with understanding your goals and how your company currently operates.
People: Through interviews with your team and yourself, I'll gain insights into your organization's culture, mindset, and dynamics. Peak performance requires everyone to be on the same page - understanding the company's purpose, vision, and path to get there. It's about fostering an environment where people support each other and are aligned on how to unlock the organization's full potential.
Process: I'll break down your business into inputs and outputs, tracing the journey to identify value-creating activities and supporting processes. This way, I can pinpoint key service criteria for customer segments, understand how service levels impact resource needs, and uncover linkages between financial and operational performance.
Technology: With a clear picture of your people and processes, I'll assess how technology is utilized. Is it enabling or hindering progress? What are the dependencies?
COMPRESSION
Then, we bridge the gap between your current and desired states.
People: Disconnects between leadership's view and employees' perspectives can breed frustration and resistance. An outside perspective helps facilitate open dialogue and get everyone on board before any interventions.
Process: With inputs and outputs mapped, glaring issues become obvious. Simple fixes can be implemented immediately, while complex problems require evaluating potential impacts on roles and responsibilities.
Technology: Technological shifts pose foreseeable and unforeseeable challenges. We'll plan for the knowns but remain adaptable.
IGNITION
Making it happen involves your people every step of the way.
People: Collaborating builds engagement and alignment. Your team will identify potential roadblocks, helping to iterate the plan as we go. Their involvement simplifies execution.
Process: Observing the plan's impact with your team allows us to uncover root causes that may have been invisible earlier. Together, we'll address breakdowns cohesively.
Technology: This phase carries the highest likelihood of scrapping initial tech plans if they no longer align with optimized people and processes.
EXHAUST
Finally, we'll review changes, document new processes, and ensure you're self-sufficient moving forward.
People: With shared clarity and alignment, your re-engaged workforce will help steer the company's future direction.
Process: We'll provide process documentation, training, and feedback loops to support continuous adaptation.
Technology: By defining requirements and dependencies, you'll be equipped to evaluate if new technologies are viable fits.
The key thread? Deep involvement from your people throughout this collaborative journey of positive transformation.
Remote First
When we gather in your office, every minute will be purposeful and productive. If there's no clear objective, I will continue working remotely. This approach minimizes distractions, allowing me to stay focused while respecting your workspace and enabling you to concentrate on your priorities.
Fixed Rate
I operate on a flat-rate pricing model that keeps things delightfully simple for both of us. No more agonizing over billable hours or feeling nickel-and-dimed. Just straightforward, transparent pricing that allows us to focus on what really matters: delivering exceptional results for your business.