Business (and life!) is full of exciting ideas, clever strategies, and grand visions…
Sorry to be blunt – none of the above makes your business special. Slide up to any drunk in any bar on the globe and that person will regale you with equally grand plans and ideas!
Failure to Implement is what stops a great idea from sprouting. It is when the buzz, the high, of the idea begs for action and boom, something else takes priority. You know, those annoying urgent daily tasks that continually crop up and get in the way.
And those great ideas die untried, unproven.
None of the above applies to you. You are in business. You had a grand idea, and you implemented it.
So, what is the problem?
The problem is that there is something worse than not getting started…
You Have Systems
You started. You created systems. Process maps. Standard Operating Procedures, commonly known as SOPs.
You have documented your systems, so what could be missing?
Failure To Implement
Wait, you are thinking, did I not just say that Failure to Implement is what stops people from getting started? And did I not say that you all got started because you are in business.
True. Okay, so what exactly is the problem?
Monitoring and Managing Adherence to Your Systems
To prove to me, in your business, that you have not failed to implement you must demonstrate two things:
- Your written, or software-based systems. I need to see what is documented.
- Then, and this is critically important, I need to see your systems in physical reality being performed (or not performed).
A Simple Example
You have a documented system for evaluating quality control after your business manufactures a particular product.
There are detailed steps involved in this process. You even documented who in your company is responsible.
Step (1) – documented systems are done. Great!
Now, I am looking for Step (2) – implementation. I need to see a checklist, either physical, or virtual of a signed Quality Control Audit checklist. The items on the list need to be perfectly corelated to the documented process maps and systems.
Without being able to observe a system being followed in action then there has been a Failure to Implement.
Another example is a company like McDonalds. They are clearly very systematized. (How else could they have spanned the globe selling a lowly hamburger, of all things?)
The system is that each server at the counter, must ask each customer, “would you like that meal super-sized?”
It is easy to test adherence to the system to determine easily and quickly whether there is a Failure to Implement. Just observe them in action.
Outcomes Must Be Defined
First, outcomes must be clearly defined.
The step-by-step systems must be designed to produce the planned outcomes – excellent products/services delivered on-time with awesome service.
It is obvious that beautiful systems, terrific outcomes, and simple documentation are not enough, right?
Without implementation and management of adherence to the documented systems, no predictable outcomes will ever happen.
That business is living inside of chaos, even with brilliant systems.
Test Your Processes
To ensure that your desired outcomes are achieved, you must test your processes and practice CANI. Constant And Never-ending Improvement.
In Summary
- Ideas are as common as beer in a bar.
- Implementation, getting started is hard.
- Failure to Implement at the systems/process level leaves you with managing semi-organized chaos.
- Test your processes.
- Practice Constant and Never-Ending Improvement.
- Your adherence to your systems must be seen in physical reality – audit reports, things being done or not done by witnessing the processes.
Thanks for reading…