Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

It won’t matter if you work alone or employ staff/operatives. To get the best results, setup proper systems for running your business. This is what solopreneurs and large businesses that succeed for decades do.

I’ve studied individuals who setup such formal systems for managing their own businesses. And I’ve also worked in a large organisation that monitored and managed its processes using similar systems.

What I learnt helped me realise what to focus on in my own business, so as to make long term progress towards my goals. No matter how tough things get, these systems help you make the most of every situation you encounter – until you breakthrough.

People who do not have this knowledge often operate their businesses in a more or less disorganised manner. Rarely are decisions proactively reached. Seldom does accurate forecasting happen.

Most decisions tend to be taken on the spur of the moment. Performance indicators do not get computed or reviewed. And Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are often non-existent.

Such a disorganized setup can hardly be expected to produce consistently acceptable output. For the simple reason that nothing is under control!

The following ideas can help you prevent such unfavourable situations from developing in your business:

Adopt a Best Operating Process Management System (BOPMS)™

If you’ve been reading my business articles, you’ll have come across this concept before.

By BOPMS™, I refer to a way of working, that enables you turn out optimal output, cost-effectively in a timely manner.

To do this, carefully examine what it takes to deliver your chosen product or service to satisfy buyers, while earning profitable returns.

Then tailor your mode of operation to achieve that outcome as often as possible.

Take a batch production process like livestock farming for instance.

It is always advisable to hire and train farm hands to run, say a poultry layers farm, based on established industry standards.

That implies YOU, the owner must educate yourself – and stay informed – about those standards.

(NB: So many useful resources exist on and off the web that you can consult. Email tayo at tksola dot com, if you want me to send you a list of a few exceptionally useful ones I have found over the years.)

One example: For best results, commercial poultry layers should be fed about 110g of feed per day.

Using that value, you can accurately project your likely need for feed purchases, for a day, week, month or year.

And you would build in allowances for waste – in line with your farm’s unique needs.

Without reliable knowledge of operating standards like the feeding rate mentioned above, a layers farm owner would most likely engage in haphazard feed purchases.

Excess feed inventory could occur, and depending on storage conditions/shelf life, if not used on time, feed spoilage could result. What’s more, purchasing too much feed could lead to tying down vital funds. When you need funds in other areas, you may come up short of cash!

(Remember: The above scenario can apply to virtually any other kind of business.)

And that’s why a farm business owner will be better off setting up a BOPMS™ to guide decision making along those lines. A key requirement for the foregoing, will be the establishment of SOPs.

Establishing SOPs Requires Providing Job Descriptions & Also Work Instructions for Employees

Some people may consider the following to be over kill. But I’ve seen enough locally and internationally, to know it makes a world of difference.

Job Descriptions basically outline the roles, responsibilities and tasks for each job title holder in your business. They must be prepared to ensure no confusion arises when people act based on them.

Work Instructions will guide operatives/employees on specific steps to take in carrying out given tasks.

They will also indicate measurements/amounts to be used, purchased etc. Whenever changes are made to the “operating procedure”, the Work Instructions will be updated, and old versions retired.

Training of old and newly recruited operatives will often be based on the Work Instructions’ contents (with reference to the Job Descriptions where relevant).

And they will be used to establish competence of every trained employee. Only those who pass competency assessments will be “certified competent” to handle relevant tasks without supervision.

They would know what to do, how to do it, and the importance of doing it right, first time, every time. The result would naturally be consistent and reliable volume and quality of output on a regular basis.

Slogans like Right First Time, Every Time arose from a need smart businesses identified to do the above!

Final Words

To get predictable results in your business using the above described approach, you must demonstrate a firm commitment to implementing the system at all times.

Otherwise, all sorts of things would repeatedly go wrong e.g. missed delivery deadlines, product complaints etc…none of which would endear you/your company to clients and customers.

Like I said earlier, even self-employed individuals (e.g. independent consultants) need to operate in this manner, to reap profits at lower cost.

In my case, as a solopreneur, one of the instruments I use to get it Right First Time, Every Time, is a Functional Requirements Specification (FRS) document. Plus I have a Code of Ethics that I strictly abide by.

In working with clients who have employees, I always urge them to adopt a BOPMS™.

Some listen. Some don’t.

The difference is always obvious in the quality of results they get.

What will your story be?