Systems Beat Effort, Every Time!

In business and in life, systems beat effort every time.

Most entrepreneurs confuse effort, activity and motion with progress. The key to making money, building a business and satisfying your customers is NOT frantic motion, but a few simple things done well.

Many of us have observed that the key to keeping our promises is to make fewer of them. In business, the same principle applies.

Well-run businesses rarely scramble or improvise. They have systems and plans for creating great products and delivering them at a fair price. Great companies understand their customers, sometimes even better than the customers know themselves! World-class companies do a few things, do them extremely well, and generate profits from their ability to impress (and keep!) their customers.

New or young entrepreneurs get caught by the lure of the 'next big thing'. They are impressed with innovation and can't wait to expand or grow, and they forget the basics of serving customers and developing life-long partnerships.

Take time to get organized. Set up automatic tracking and record-keeping systems. Stay in touch with your best customers and ask them for feedback about your company. Sam Walton used to say that his best ideas came from talking with stock-boys, check-out clerks and people on the loading docks. In Tom Peter's phrase, he 'managed by walking around'.

We can learn from that. Slow down and achieve more. Simplify. Focus. Do one thing, do it better than anyone in the world, and your fortune is assured.

Copyright (c) 2002, all rights reserved. U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1529-059X From The Innovative Professional's (TIP's) Letter Sunday, January 12, 2003 Written & Published by Philip E. Humbert, PhD Contact him at: www.philiphumbert.com or email Coach@philiphumbert.com