I started building business systems while working for Blue Collar People. The systems worked, but they were slow, repetitive and manual. The admin staff were rushed and stressed about deadlines. I knew there was a better way to do this. As I became familiar with all aspects of the business, I made many different attempts to automate the processes, in which I made many mistakes and learned great lessons. Each mistake gave me the feedback to improve and learn how to build internal tools for businesses to complete their administration and operational tasks.
I learned that changing processes can be destabilising to the business operations, and avoiding this is the highest priority! To make sure the ship continues to keep sailing without stress. My first solution was the same approach most companies go for, a complete all-encompassing software package to solve our problems. But we could see this would lead to issues, they didn’t quite do all of what we were after, the process was different, we had an established way of doing things which would be completely abandoned. Essentially it was akin to tearing down the ship and using a new one. Instead I found the better solution was not in replacing the ship, but working on it, renovating it and adding engines to an old sail boat. The existing system was a foundation to strengthen, not a problem to throw away. I asked myself a different question:
What is the smallest change that will result in the most time saved without disrupting the business?
That started with small projects in Blue Collar People and eventually modifying all aspects of the business operations. It’s the same system with serious upgrading, I never replaced what was being done, I provided the leverage to do it quicker and more reliably.
Evolving the system from a strong foundation rather than tearing it down and starting from scratch is the core of my approach.
- SimplicityThe process should feel intuitive, without an instruction manual. Someone new should be able to learn it quickly and use it with confidence.
- SpeedThe system should do the work quickly, remove repeated handling and give people time back for the work that needs their attention.
- StabilityThe change should strengthen daily operations, not introduce chaos or put the critical work of the business at risk.