Episode 177 - Streamlining for Success: Breaking Free from Inefficient Processes

Good day and welcome to The Budding Entrepreneur podcast. I'm your host, Randy Bridges. In each episode, we dive into practical business strategies that you can put to work in your business right away.

We also focus on inspiring stories from leaders who are shaping and making things happen in their industry. It's all about giving you the tools and insights to take you and your business to the next level. So get comfortable and let's jump right in.

All right, all right. We are on episode 177 of the podcast. Today is Friday, December 13th, 2024.

We have only two weeks until Christmas, three until the new year, and I swear this time of year feels like an absolute whirlwind. Everything going crazy, everyone having parties and doing things, and there's so much stress, there's so much freedom happening. You know, planning for the future, we got year-end reports, maybe even a holiday party or two.

You know, things can get oerwhelming very fast. So looking at today's agenda, we're diving into our topic, Breaking Free from Inefficient Processes, Streamlining for Success. We'll be exploring how inefficiency of all kinds wastes our time, our resources, and our people's focus.

Then we'll look at how streamlining them can save time, boost profitability, and reduce headaches across the board. Now today we're going to take a little different tone. Anyone can talk about the how of this particular topic.

We all kind of know a lot about this. We probably have experience with it, but there are some nuances that I want to bring into today's podcast. The primary ones, which are around why we streamline and where the differences are made in doing so.

Digging into our quote for the week, we're focusing on a very thought-provoking quote from Peter Drucker. 

He said, "Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things."

And I often use this quote to focus on the difference between an efficiency coach and an effectiveness coach, which is what I am. Efficiency coaching is all about asking, how can we get this done faster or with less effort? It's great for streamlining tasks and saving time, but it doesn't always mean you're working on the right stuff that's going to move you ahead. Effectiveness coaching, that's about asking a bigger question.

Are we even focused on the right things to hit our goals? It's not just about getting things done. It's about getting the right things done. And the difference is all about making real meaningful progress.

With that distinction, let's get started, shall we? Let's talk about why processes matter. Again, we all kind of have a good handle on what this means, but I have a question for you. When was the last time you looked at your business and asked yourself, why do we do it this way? Now, if it's been a while, you're not alone.

I see that frequently when I walk into clients, they really don't have any idea how or why they got involved doing it the way they are. And for many businesses, the way they run, their processes as we call them, they evolve organically, meaning you have steps, tools, workarounds, all without realizing how cumbersome things have become. I see it a lot in the IT world, where a contractor or maybe a student gets a full-time job in a company.

Before, they were an outside contractor and so everything they did was billable. Therefore, there's a direct one-to-one correlation with how much it costs. They had to limit what they did because of that cost.

If they get the gig as a full-time employee, now they have to fill eight hours every day. As a result, efficiency tends to go out the window while they create what is often called an organic network. Drives me insane.

I see so many times when I have to walk in and shred about two-thirds of what's going on because most of it was just used to fill up their day. So these types of inefficient processes are often hidden. They fly under the radar because they don't scream for attention, but they're like a slow leak in a tire.

They drain your energy, they waste your resources, and they hold your business back. Let's take my client Carl for instance. Now he's a business owner juggling lots of hats.

He's already feeling the weight of year-end chaos. Every extra unnecessary step in his workflow is time and energy he could be spending on strategic decisions or with his family. Ideally, he'd spend time where it makes the most sense.

But for Carl, especially in the very beginning, he easily got drugged down by inefficiencies across his entire company. That's bad for his holiday plans. As the saying goes, that's no bueno.

And inefficiencies can undermine team morale, causing missed opportunities, and they can even chip away at your bottom line. Now the good news is anyone can fix this. It simply starts with recognizing inefficiency as the silent killer it is.

Now let's dig into spotting the pain points. How do you know if your processes are inefficient? Well, here are some signs to watch for. Number one, repeated errors.

Does your team keep making the same mistakes? That's often the sign the process is either unclear or overly complicated. The second area is in redundancy. Are there tasks being done by multiple people or steps that feel repetitive? Now I'm not saying people working together.

I'm saying, are people doing the same things? That's that redundancy factor. You kind of want to be able to cross-train, but you don't want cross-training to be the only reason why two people can do something. This is a case of where two people are doing the same thing.

And finally, delayed results. If projects take longer than expected, your workflow might be the culprit. Many times when people are getting things done, there are delays that occur because of bad handoffs.

Great place for automation to kick in. And many times you might see that things either fall through the cracks and they cause those delays, miscommunication being the most common one, right? Where two people don't always see the same problem the same way. If you've defined your process correctly, those kinds of questions don't happen.

Let's take a look at a professional service company, like a law firm. In many cases, they might use five different tools to manage their client documents, their billing, and their communication. Now each tool might work fine independently, but jumping between them eats up a lot of time and can create a tremendous amount of confusion.

Now you might be thinking, okay, Randy, I see the problem. So what do I do about it? Well, this is where we move from diagnosing to acting. There are three streamlining stages.

So let's refine them with some clarity and purpose, shall we? The first is audit with purpose. If we begin by mapping out our workflows, that's the best start. Where does each process start and how does it end? Where does it end is often a better question.

You want to involve your team here. They're the ones who live and breathe these processes daily. They'll be able to give you a good insight into what you might be missing about what's happening.

And you want to ask questions like, what about these steps feels unnecessary? What tools or resources do we need to make this smoother? A lot of times your team will already know what it is they've had either experienced someplace else, or they've read up on something that you might not be really aware of. It can make this whole process of finding new tools, doing things better, much smoother process. The second stage is prioritize for impact.

Now, not all processes, not all pieces of a business are created equal. If we can identify which workflows have the biggest impact on our time and bottom line, that should allow us to make them the first areas of focus, especially for improvement. And the third stage, simplify and automate.

Look for steps that can be removed, delegated, or automated. Now, I want to make sure that you understand what this word automated means. It doesn't have to be something that's high-tech.

It doesn't have to be a program that you run to keep everything lined up and in perfect synchronization. Sometimes, automation is as simple as setting up templated responses to client inquiries, or maybe creating shared checklists for repetitive tasks. Remember, streamlining isn't just about speed, it's about effectiveness, doing the right things the right way.

Now, let's talk about connecting these processes to vision, because that's where the rubber meets the road. Streamlining isn't a one-off project. It's a mindset that connects directly to your business vision.

For some reference, I did a podcast on vision back in episode 170. You might want to just go back and review that before you begin doing this process. Now, if you think about it, every process in your business should support your goals.

If it doesn't, you have to ask yourself, why is it there? You know, I worked with Carl for a while, and once he started aligning process with vision, it ensured that his workflows did three basic things. One, drive revenue. Two, improve the customer experience.

And three, give him time to lead strategically. Again, streamlining is mostly about creating space for what truly matters to the success of your business. So, let's recap on this relatively short podcast today.

Number one, inefficient processes waste time, money, and morale. Two, start by identifying pain points and prioritizing high impact fixes. And three, use simplification and automation to free up resources and focus on effectiveness.

Now, next week our topic will be relevant to the season. It'll be titled, The Holiday Blueprint, Balancing Business and Family with Ease. That's it for this episode.

I hope you picked up some valuable insights and maybe even sparked a few new ideas. If you want to keep the conversation going, or maybe even explore partnerships, don't hesitate to reach out. And hey, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

The steps you take today could be the start of something big tomorrow. For The Budding Entrepreneur, I wish you the best in your health, your wealth, your business, your family, everything about you. Take care, and we'll see you back here next week.