Systems Champion

David Jenyns

In the following chapters we’ll further explore these excuses and how to prevent them using three interconnected pillars. Think of these pillars as the legs of a stool: each one is essential, and they work together to create stability. Master these and you’ll dramatically reduce resistance while creating a foundation for lasting change.

They hold the key to building your systemised business.

The Three Pillars of a systemised business: Documentation, Tools and Culture.

Pillar 1: Documentation¶

Documentation is your foundation and abolishes the “I didn’t know how” excuse. It transforms tribal knowledge into clear, actionable guidance: crystal-clear systems that leave no room for confusion. When your documentation is accessible and well-structured, managers can confidently point to any process and say, “This is how we do it here.”

The goal isn’t just to document. It’s to create instructions clear enough that anyone with a basic understanding of your business can follow them and achieve consistent results. If a team member with relevant skills is struggling to understand a process, that’s usually a sign your system needs refinement. Remember, we’re aiming for clarity that enables competent team members to succeed, not trying to oversimplify complex work.

Pillar 2: Tools¶

Tools create the infrastructure for success and remove the “I didn’t know it was my job” excuse. It’s not just about software but about creating accountable transparency. Your tech stack should make it crystal clear who’s doing what by when. It should make responsibilities visible to all and track progress in real time.

The goal is to ensure the team is always able to seek out the most efficient ways to get tasks done and autocorrect when team members fall off track.

Pillar 3: Culture¶

Culture is where your systems come alive. It’s not enough to just have great documentation and tools. You need to build an environment where systems thinking becomes second nature. Make continuous improvement part of your daily conversations. Celebrate system wins. Create spaces where suggesting improvements feels natural and welcome.

Getting this third pillar right will help to dissolve the “I don’t want to” excuse. Once systems become embedded in your company’s DNA, resistance fades and your new culture begins to take hold.

The truth is, people will do far more to fit in with their peers than for any other motivator. By transforming “how we do things here”, you’ll make it easier for others to join in. Changing existing culture can be challenging at first – you’re asking people to shift how they view their work and the business. But this gets easier over time, especially as new team members join who are naturally aligned with your systems approach.

The power of integration¶

Here’s one important thing to understand: these pillars don’t work in isolation. They’re deeply interconnected, each supporting and enhancing the others.

The best documentation in the world is useless if your tools make it hard to access. The finest tools become shelfware if your culture doesn’t embrace using them. And trying to build a systems culture without proper documentation and tools is a bit like trying to run a restaurant with no recipes or kitchen equipment.

In the following chapters, I’ll provide you with a range of powerful tactics and strategies to strengthen each of these pillars. In truth, there are many different approaches you could take, but I’ve applied the 80/20 rule to give you only the most powerful techniques I’ve discovered that will deliver the greatest results. You don’t need to implement everything at once. Focus on reinforcing the weakest pillars first, then build from there.

Later in this book, you’ll develop a detailed action plan with clear, linear steps. But where you begin with these three pillars (and the precise order you tackle them) will depend on your specific situation. Your approach should be strategic – sometimes you’ll need to strengthen your documentation first, other times your tools need immediate attention and in many cases your culture may require the primary focus.

The beauty of this framework is its flexibility and focus. Rather than trying to systemise everything at once, you’ll develop a plan that targets your specific needs. When you approach implementation this way, your business transformation becomes not just possible but inevitable.

Watch the interview with Renee Kelly & Kaleb Grant

When Renee Kelly started Lime Therapy 15 years ago, she was a solo occupational therapist working from her farm in Mildura. Today, her allied health practice employs 40 team members and serves thousands of clients. But like many successful businesses, their growth created challenges when it came to maintaining quality, ensuring consistency and making everything sustainable.

“I’m a big-picture person,” Renee admits. “I’d get excited about ideas and say, ‘Let’s do this!’ and someone would ask, ‘But how?’ and I’d say, ‘Don’t worry about that!’” And while this approach had taken them far, they knew something was missing.

The turning point

The breakthrough came unexpectedly. During an online program she was attending, Renee heard a young therapist mention SYSTEMology. “A light bulb went off,” she recalls. “If only I’d known about this when I was starting out!” She immediately ordered the book – one copy for herself and one for her husband, Matt.

But here’s where Renee and Matt made a crucial decision that would transform their business. Instead of trying to implement systems themselves, they looked for someone who could champion this change within their organisation. They found their answer in Kaleb, a young occupational therapist who’d been with them for just two years.

The perfect Systems Champion

What made Kaleb ideal wasn’t years of experience or technical expertise. It was his natural inclination toward organisation and his genuine curiosity about how things worked. “I like things organised,” Kaleb explains. “I like my lists, and I like to know what to do.”

Renee and Matt gave Kaleb something precious: time and space to focus on systems. They protected his hours for this work, ensuring he could meet with team members and document processes without trying to squeeze it in between client appointments.

The impact

The results were transformative. Kaleb approached his role with enthusiasm, working closely with experienced team members to document their knowledge. He created a system for sharing updates through team chat, keeping everyone informed and involved. Most importantly, he made systems exciting.

“People started coming to me saying, ‘I want to do what Kaleb’s doing. I don’t know what he’s doing, but it looks fun!’” Renee shares. The team began viewing challenges through a systems lens, actively seeking ways to improve their processes.

The business saw immediate practical benefits, like reducing their invoicing time tenfold. But the real transformation was cultural. Systems thinking became part of their DNA. As Renee notes, “SYSTEMology has become part of our language. Every problem, every opportunity, we now see it as a system.”

Lime Therapy’s story reveals a powerful truth about the Systems Champion role. It’s not about finding the most experienced or highest-ranking team member. It’s about finding someone with natural organisational tendencies, genuine curiosity about how things work, strong communication skills and fresh eyes to see opportunities others might miss. This combination of qualities, often found in up-and-coming team members like Kaleb, can transform your systems initiative from a management directive into an organic cultural movement that energises your entire team.

For Kaleb, this role offered an incredible opportunity to learn the business from the inside out while making a significant impact. For Renee and Matt, finding the right Systems Champion turned their systems dream into reality.

Schedule a meeting with the business owner to understand their vision for consistency across the business. What level of standardisation are they hoping to achieve?
Create a dedicated space (digital or physical) for organising your Systems Champion work. You may wish to include a journal to track your progress and insights.
Define your interpretation of the core mission statement: “The business must transition from being a business dependent on individual knowledge to one driven by documented, scalable systems.” What does success look like in your specific organisation?
Set up initial conversations with key team members to understand their current ways of working. Note which processes show the most variation in outcomes. Focus on listening and learning, not changing things yet.
Start documenting examples of the three types of resistance (“I didn’t know how,” “I didn’t know it was my job,” “I don’t want to”) as you observe them in the business.
Review your current tools and systems. What documentation already exists? Where is it stored? How do people access it?
Begin drafting your 90-day plan for strengthening the three pillars in your business – Documentation, Tools and Culture.
Optional: Add the original SYSTEMology book to your reading list to review once you’re done with this one.

Remember: you don’t need to have all the answers yet. Your job is to start building a foundation for success. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single documented process!