What is a business ‘Process’? In short – EVERYTHING YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS DOES.
So you have agreed your Business Purpose. You know what it is. Your team are aligned with your purpose. But do you have a process for achieving that purpose – in all aspects of your business?
Process fulfils Purpose – Purpose creates Opportunity – Opportunity fosters Growth
Your business process ultimately creates your business success, by allowing you to delegate tasks effectively to your team.
It’s not rocket science.
What type of leader are you?
A Micromanager? A ‘Just get on with it’ Manager? Somewhere in between?
Can you delegate and trust your team to do something or would you rather do it yourself?
Whatever type of leader you are, having a properly defined business process for every aspect of your business will give you and your team structure in what they are set to achieve, and allow you to delegate, which will make you more effective as a leader, and your team more productive. I have spoken before about sharing your Mission, your Mission for the company with your team, and having a clearly defined set of Values as a framework for HOW your team operate, however, having a clear business process and set of operating processes is vital before you even get to the HOW.
How does your business work? Do you have ‘departments’ or is the business a bit more fluid than that? You don’t have to be a corporate business to have processes for:
- Business Planning & Review
- Your Product
- Your Sales function
- Your Pricing
- Your Marketing
- Your People Management/Induction/Training/Staff Engagement
And ultimately – YOUR Profits. Which, after all – is what it’s (mostly) about right?
Sit down with your team and find out where they feel guided and where the gaps are. Do they know precisely WHAT the process is for the sales function? Do they know WHAT is the operations process is and WHY it is set up that way?
You may be surprised that they do not share your vision for the business, because – perhaps – you haven’t told them about WHAT they should be doing or WHEN they should be doing it, let alone WHY they should be doing it! Your business planning process should be a working document and the effectiveness regularly measured – How? By your Profit performance.
It’s all about proper process.
And Purpose.
