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?

If you own a business – with employees – that won’t make money/do well unless you’re there, what you have is NOT a business, but a job! This article offers guidance to help you get maximum value from your business – even when you’re not physically present. Indeed if you do it right, you’ll develop a system that actually lets you stay away from your business, and return to find it doing just as well as (if not better than) you left it.

As an extension professional, my aim is to provide farm business owners with useful information and education, to guide them in daily running of their farms. Especially in the routine planning and decision making they have to do. In certain cases, I develop resources to enhance their ability to do what they do better.

Examples include my custom Excel-VB driven Farm Operations Management software, or my increasingly in-demand Practical Livestock Feed Formulation handbook, and the Ration Formulator software that goes with it.

I’m Using Farm Businesses as a Basis for Discussion – But This Applies to ANY Business

I provide Farm Business Problem Solving and Performance Improvement services. Doing so brings me in regular contact (online and off the web) with people running all kinds of farm enterprises.

But I also serve clients who own other kinds of businesses (with my web marketing systems development, software development, and other services).

A common limitation many farmers have, keeps them from truly enjoying the benefits of owning their own businesses.

It’s not just those who run farms that face this challenge. Many business owners experience it as well.

I refer to the inability to setup self-sustaining systems that ensure their businesses can run profitably, without need for constant intervention from them.

They literally have to physically supervise all key stages of their farm production processes to get results. Anytime they fail to do this, the chances of things going wrong dramatically increase.

What a terrible way to live as a business owner. To not be able to take time off and be confident that things will happen as you need them to!

But it does not have to be that way. And I explain how you can avoid living like that, using a real life example below.

Building a Best Practice Farm Management Software, to Free the Owner from Routine Monitoring Tasks & Decision Making Headaches (True Story)

I’ve been back in Nigeria since last week, this time travelling with my client to his Integrated Farm in South West Nigeria. We have spent time briefing his staff, and managers on the new paper based recording formats I’ve developed for use by the farm hands.

Daily entries into those one-sheet forms will capture operations data for the layers section. From eggs laid, to mortalities recorded, total feed used, and so on. At the end of each day, the forms will be signed off by each operative, and vetted by the supervisor/farm manager. Then they will be forwarded the administrative team, who will post the data into the software.

The application will then – via a series of dynamic drop down menus – be used to automatically generate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like Hen Day Percentage. Feeding Rates etc.

The KPIs are also charted for trending purposes over time. That enables farm planning and decision making happen more intelligently.

For instance, when you see a sudden spike or trough in the plotted lines, you’ll instantly know something’s changed. And that knowledge will guide you to identify what you – and/or your staff – did right (so you can do more of it) or what you – and/or your staff – did wrong (so you can stop doing it).

By the time you get used to managing your farm operation in this manner, you will find it’s become much easier than when you started.

You’ll actually discover you know what to expect from your farm operation at any point in time.

When You Know What to Expect, You’ll Be Better Prepared to Deal With Whatever It Is

In other words you’ll encounter few, if at all any, surprises in the daily running of your business.

That realization will give you confidence. And the confidence will empower you to free yourself from the need to ALWAYS be at work on your business.

It would simply not be necessary!

The ability to accurately and regularly monitor your farm KPIs would equip you to know how things are going.

And they would also forewarn you of unhealthy trends that the ordinary eyes would not see.

Uninitiated farm hands will be amazed at your ability to deduce when they do things they should not.

How?

Well, if they keep doing wrong, it will show up in your KPIs – unless you did not set up your standards properly!

Final Words

Think about it for a moment.

Would it not be a heavenly experience to NOT have to run around chasing your farm hands to do the right things daily?

Would you not be glad to have access to a system that x-rays what’s happening on your farm for you?

A system that clearly points to areas you are likely to encounter problems BEFORE they happen?

One that routinely serves you information that equips you to correct anything that’s going wrong, before major damage or setbacks result?

I think it would be great to have such a resource. And so do my farm business owner clients!

That is why they readily adopt the use of a Best Operating Process Management System (BOPMS)™.

A key component of the BOPMS™ is the use of custom Farm Management Software which generate KPIs like those mentioned above.

To enjoy FREEDOM and peace of mind, in running your business – even one that’s not farm based – adopt best practice principles, as described in this article.

You’ll be glad you did.

Quick Take-Away: Best Practice is about continually striving to do better than you did the last time – in any area of endeavour you may be engaged in. I like to refer to Best Practice as “Self-Development (i.e. continuous self-improvement) for Organisations or Businesses”. Do You Operate Best Practice Systems In Your Business? This article highlights nine(9) signs and symptoms which if occurring in your business would strongly suggest you DO NOT, implying that you may need to.

(Published Online: 28th Feb. 2007 – this article has been relocated from the static hmtl page originally at http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/articles/adopt_best_practices.htm) Continue reading →