Why You Need a Systems Champion

Have you tried systemising in the past and failed?

It’s not uncommon for a business owner to discover business systems and make a start on systemizing, only to lose momentum a few weeks later and give up.

Why does that happen? What causes business owners to suddenly stop?

Often business owners get confused thinking about process improvements instead of capturing the repeatable things they’re currently doing. Because entrepreneurs think about progress, it’s natural for them to think about change which is not the goal of systemization.

This is why most business owners struggle without a dedicated person to create systems.

And why you need a Systems Champion.????

The Systems Champion’s job is to extract what you and your key team members are currently doing, turn it into processes, and then get others to follow.

And your job as the big-picture thinker is to let it happen.

Watch this video to learn more about the Systems Champion, how to find one and why this is such a vital step for a growing business.

Timestamps:

0:08 – The problem with business owners creating systems
00:47 – Capture what is working then do it consistently
2:00 – At some point, the business owner has to let go
2:28 – Building systems is not the best use of the business owners time
2:37 – Why momentum gets lost in systemising
3:32 – What the business owners job actually is
4:19– The solution is identifying a Systems Champion
5:01 – Overcoming excisitits that exists about systems
5:35 – Examples of successful Systems Champions

Transcription:

Thinking about the Systems Champion. The problem is that business owners chase bright shiny objects and they create what’s in their heads. The business owner oftentimes is this visionary and they think about the way that they would like the business to be. And then they tried to go to work and create systems and processes around the way that they would like things to be, not the way that they are. And this is actually a big part of why the business owner is not the best person to be creating systems. Because oftentimes you can get tremendous wins just by capturing what is currently working and getting consistency. 

In this video, I talk about the idea of McDonald’s. McDonald’s doesn’t necessarily make a better burger, they just deliver it consistently. It’s not about having a world-class product or service. It’s about consistency because that’s what it is that your clients and prospects crave. 

You can get tremendous wins just by focusing on capturing what’s currently working. Now, business owner carries a lot of bad habits with them as well. Things like the need to micromanage and be across everything as they were when getting the business off the ground. But there’s a point where you’re going to have to start to let go and let the other team members step in. 

So we need to break a lot of these bad habits and understand that they’re a big-picture thinker and that’s okay. But that means they’re not necessarily wired to create the systems. We don’t know why business owners feel like they need to be the one that creates systems. Perhaps it’s because they want things done a certain way. But when you think about it, a business owner at some point lets go of some responsibilities. And I love using the bookkeeper example. 

Oftentimes that’s one of the first things that a business owner might do is they’ll get a bookkeeper who writes invoices, pays bills, and reconciles accounts. There is that point at which they let go of those tasks and let someone else step in. And that means they can focus on the things that only they can do as a business owner. 

And we need to think the same about systems. Building systems is not the best use of the business owner’s time. And that’s why you need a Systems Champion. Another reason why the business owner might not necessarily have the follow-through required. Because all of the resistance happens upfront, the business owner often has this level of intensity. 

They’ll read the SYSTEMology book, they’ll listen to the podcast, check out some YouTube videos, they’ll get all pumped up and they’ve got high intensity. But then the intensity burns out. And it’s only when they’ve got this high intensity which goes up and down that they end up getting the result, when really what we need for systems to work is consistency. And we need to make sure that it’s continually applied. 

A rookie mistake, is that the business owner tries to do everything themselves, and they’re starting something and not following through. Again, this is why you need a Systems Champion and thinking about what the business owner’s job actually is. 

Dan Sullivan’s strategic coach talks about how we need to make it up, make it real, and then make it recur. So we make it up, we come up with the idea, we solve the big problem, then we make it real. We deliver that to the first client or two, we get it off the ground, we get the traction, then we need to make it recur. Typically, the business owner needs to be involved in making it up and maybe even making it real. But to make it recur, it’s best left to Systems Champion. 

So the solution here is you need to find and identify your Systems Champion. And we’ve got some different tools like scorecards and position ads and some of the resources to think about how do we find this right person. You might even already know this person. They might be inside your business. You just want someone who’s naturally organized, detail-oriented, and loves systems. And when they can’t help themselves, they just organize things and once you start to get that in place, you’ll be on the right track to finding your Systems Champion. 

I know oftentimes there’s some baggage around finding Systems Champion. I don’t have money, I don’t have the time. My business is too complex. I’m going to have to create the systems. My business is too small. I don’t need a Systems Champion just yet. My business is too big, it’s too late. There are so many reasons. People just come up with reasons for why they think, oh yeah, I’m not quite ready, or hey, maybe I don’t need this particular role. But just like you need a bookkeeper, you need a Systems Champion. 

Of all the clients that I’ve worked with that have had tremendous success with SYSTEMology when I’m doing the one-on-one type work, they all have Systems Champions. Whether it’s Chris and he has Rachel, who is a junior accountants who worked with a SYSTEMologist, followed along, learned the steps, and then became their Systems Champion. Whether it’s Dave Porter from Portovac who found Kane, who was an apprentice, who was working out of the office, who became their Systems Champion and completely transformed the business, whether it’s Henry and Bruce from oh crap. And they hired their virtual assistant who became their Systems Champion, who took over this most important role. Because we all know systems are critical for great growing companies and success. You need to make sure that you find the right person. 

So again, hopefully, this lights the fire in you to go. I need to find and empower my Systems Champion.

There are some ideas to explore if you want to find out more and you haven’t got a copy of the SYSTEMology book, definitely check that out. I think that’s going to be really helpful for you and I’ll see you in the next video.