Systems Thinking is a State of Mind

We can agree that when systems are broken, they can be our biggest frustrations. If your computer system has ever crashed, then you know what I’m talking about. Just one day without email and you wonder how work ever got done. Without systems or limited systems, you are likely working much harder than you need to.

There are different kinds of systems. One system uses technology. The other system is about creating processes.

In a previous article, I wrote about one tip to manage your email. Using the “create rule” feature in email, you automatically route non-urgent mail to a “weekly reading” folder so you can read it at another time while the more urgent email stays in your Inbox. This small system helps you to focus on what’s most important.

The reason many small business owners struggle is that they are not using systems or implementing processes to leverage their time or resources. One coach estimated she spent up to 120 minutes or more with each prospect during her intake process. Unfortunately, many of the people she met with were just kicking the tires and weren’t committed to moving ahead. So, we made a few tweaks to her intake system.

First, she implemented a lead generation system that automatically pre-qualified her prospects. Second, she learned how to use her website more efficiently to include verbiage about exactly who she preferred to work with. Within just 30 days of implementing her new internal systems, she spent just 20 minutes with a prospect before converting them into a client.

A system doesn’t have to involve machines to work. A simple manual system creates efficiencies. I used to place receipts everywhere. No surprise that I often misplaced them. To make things easier for my accountant (and myself), I devised a system. At the beginning of the year, I have one expandable folder with expense folders for each month. Each week, I place all of my receipts that have been shoved in my purse, pockets and my car’s coin receptacle, in its folder so it can be handed off and entered into the accounting system. Now, all of the receipts are accounted for. It is an internal system that utilizes my resources efficiently and makes sure we can find the receipts when we need them. The same system can be used for other parts of your business when more than one person needs to handle various parts of the process. This simple system works like a charm for my clients, too.

Systems thinking is really a state of mind. Once you have this state of mind, you realize how each part of your business flows into the other and identify ways to create efficiencies.