Are Hidden Systems Derailing Your Business?
“Business systems” sound more complicated than they are. A system is just a set of steps that lead to a result, and our lives & businesses are full of them. Donella Meadows, author Thinking in Systems, defines a system like this:
“An interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something.”
But I have a problem with this definition. Specifically with the “coherently organized” part, because systems exist whether we coherently organize them or not. Systems can also be created by accident, and these unintentional, “hidden” systems can create and multiply problems in your business.
Left alone, these problems will seem inherent or intractable; just “the way things are.” In reality, they are 100% fixable once you see the systems that create the problems, and address those systems.
So when you think about business systems, it’s important to look closely at what systems you’ve already put in place, intentionally or not, and the results you’re getting from them. Profit, loss, balance, burnout, joy, stress—these are all results of systems.
The good news is, when you notice a system that’s creating negative results, you can change the system, and change the results.
How to See Your Systems…Even the Hidden Ones
Everything that happens in your business is part of a system. You intentionally created many of those systems as you built your business.
If you sell products, you have a set of steps to transform raw materials into finished products, or purchase inventory to stock your physical or digital shelves. If you sell services, you have a set of steps to learn what your customer needs, determine how to meet those needs, and complete your service for them.
These are examples of systems you built on purpose that directly impact your customers. But there are also systems that are less externally visible, like finances, team management, strategy, decision making, etc. These are areas where your systems may have evolved organically, with less intention on your part.
Let’s take finances as an example. If you feel anxious at tax time, or you can’t easily figure out your average monthly expenses or most profitable revenue stream, these are results of a financial management system that is set up to keep you stressed out and in the dark about your money. Did you do that on purpose? Probably not!
I’m not suggesting it’s your fault. Maybe you’ve never created a financial management system before, or money makes you uncomfortable so you focused on other things. Both are true for many solo business owners.
But it is important to see bad systems for what they are, so you can figure out what to do about them. Learning how to set up a financial management process that informs you about your money and makes you feel like you’re on top of your finances will fix the system and improve your results.
Or maybe it’s your marketing or employee management systems that aren’t working as well as they should be. Ineffective systems are often the root problem for any part of your business where you’re not getting the results you want.
Get Specific About What Needs to Change
Because ineffective systems can be hard to see, it’s often beneficial to get outside eyes on your business to identify what those systems are doing and how to fix them. After all, if you could pinpoint the problems and solve them, you would have done that already.
This is a challenge of being a solo business owner; sometimes there’s no one around to lend a fresh perspective. It’s hard to know what you don’t know.
Even if you can see which of your systems needs to improve, you may not be sure how to make the necessary changes. The most effective approach to changing a system is to identify your ideal result and work backward to identify the tiny, baby-step changes that need to happen to lead to you that result.
These steps should be so granular that you could write them on a to-do list. Not “Build a financial system so I can create a profit & loss report” but something like:
Sign up for Quickbooks
Call accountant to set up a meeting with Quickbooks specialist
Connect bank and credit card accounts to Quickbooks
Discuss recurring financial management tasks with Quickbooks specialist
Add recurring financial tasks to calendar
…and all the rest of the Quickbooks setup, transaction categorization, and profit & loss customization steps.
See how specific and doable these tasks are? Much easier than “build a financial system.” Getting specific makes change more manageable.
Change Takes Time
Another thing that makes change more manageable is being realistic about how long it takes. Especially if you have several changes you want to make to the systems inside your business, you can’t expect to do them all at once. In many ways, systems are like habits, and changing your ingrained systems is just as difficult as changing your ingrained habits.
Once you know what needs to change and the specific steps to take, it’s time to prioritize. Which of these changes are time-sensitive or more important than the others? Work on those first, and make time in the next 3-6 months to complete the others.
Trying to do it all at the same time will leave you exhausted and discouraged, and it’s nearly impossible to create lasting change when you feel that way. This is a “slow and steady wins the race” situation, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time to make meaningful changes to your systems, and try different approaches if something doesn’t work.
Most new personal habits take at least three weeks to become part of your routine, and business systems can take even longer to change. Expect all of this to move slower and take longer than you’d like. You may even stop and restart multiple times when it comes to changing recurring systems like financial management or content marketing.
This is all normal, to be expected, and not a sign that you should give up.
Be Patient With Yourself
In that same vein, remember that change is really hard. Even for solo business owners who are used to taking charge and making difficult decisions, changing your business systems isn’t easy.
Be patient with yourself, especially if the changes you’re making require you to learn new things, hire outside support, or confront tasks that stress you out.
Knowing what you need to do is not the same as doing it, and most people have trouble closing that knowing-doing gap. Don’t beat yourself up or let shame sneak in when you notice this happening. Simply acknowledge the gap, identify the next granular step you can take, and move forward.
As I mentioned before, most business systems are grounded in recurring tasks that happen weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. So you’ll always have another chance to try again if something doesn’t work the first time.
In conclusion, if your systems are stressing you out:
First, see them for what they are and what they do; especially the hidden ones you didn’t intentionally create.
Then, define the specific, granular changes that need to happen. Get experienced external support for this step to avoid wasting time or focusing on the wrong things.
Next, give yourself enough time and patience to make targeted changes to your business systems.
If you follow these steps, you can make your systems more effective and your business work better in a matter of months. You got this!
Cover image from Unsplash.
