Systematization Process - Phase 1: Direction
Posted by James Cooper on Thu, Aug 14, 2008
Starting Your Systematization Process With Direction
Gain Personally Clarity & Huge Buy-In From Your Team Through Defined Company Values, Vision, Mission And Goals!
Systems only work if people use them or implement them or set them up in the first place. People are the gateway to great systems and for you and other business owners and managers, people means you and your team. People get enrolled and inspired to do great things when they have a clear direction and understanding of why we are doing something and what we are aiming to achieve. A great place to start your systemization process is with your team. Get you and your team firing today...
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So, in last week's issue of the mimosaWEEKLY TIPTM we listed strategies (grouped in phases) which effectively mapped the mimosaPLANETTM Systematization Process. In this article we are going to focus on the first phase in that process, DIRECTION. Under DIRECTION we have;
- Owner Clarity (Goals & Purpose)
- Our Company Values
- Our Company Vision
- Our Company Mission
- Our Company Goals (1,3,5 yr)
Background, Definitions, Understanding & Examples
Let's get a clearer picture on each....
Owner Clarity (Goals & Purpose)
Read "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"..... just do it! If you don't know clearly where you ‘personally want to go, what you personally want to achieve, want is personally important to you, and why you feel like that' then.... you'll likely just drift from day to day, and year to year without achieving your dreams. You get to design your life.... and your business is simply a vehicle which you can use to live your dream life. i.e.
Person A: Wants to spend all their time with family and friends. They want to be remembered as a trust worthy, honest, and family focused person. Likes fishing with mates and kids, holidays in a holiday home during summers. To live the life of their dreams they require $200,000 pa in income and only 20 hours per week for work.
Person B: Wants to spend their time experiencing new things. They want to be remembered for changing the world for the better. Like fine things from architectural homes to exotic holidays...a designer lifestyle. To live the life of their dreams they required $800,000 pa and 0 hours per week for work, thus require an approx net worth of $8m+ based on $8m invested to return 10%pa.
Quite clearly person A and person B have different personal goals and driving purposes in life. To achieve what they want to, using their business as the vehicle, both require different outcomes...and with that different businesses. Person A is happy to continue working but for the most part the stress is removed and someone else is likely to running the day to day operations so they can take holidays and days off often. Person B on the other hand wishes to not work at all and perhaps is more willing to work hard for a number of years to then sell their business for the $8m+ figure. Obviously person B needs a significantly bigger business in annual revenue and profit and perhaps likely team structure to fulfill such profits. As such, the company Vision is likely to need to be much bigger than person A's vision.
Design your own life....then as we said... Grow Your Business and Have a LifeTM
Our Company Values
Values define what is important to your organization. Is it quality at any cost? Is it affordability? Is it tried and tested? Is it innovation? Values guide the way your team interact with your customers, values guide your decisions from strategic focus to the way you handle a customer complaint. Ultimately values will define the ‘get feeling' people get when they see, hear or experience your brand. Believe me your customers and prospects have this ‘get feeling' already....shouldn't you and your team be concerned about what that is and define how you want it to be.... after all how you and your team interact with your customers will determine what your customers experience and feel about your organization.
I like to pick out values and group them together in 3, 4 or 5 groups then define each group.
(Companies sometimes refer to this listing and grouping of headings and meanings as The Company Culture.... I feel these are really in fact Values, as Values drive Culture.... Values are an internal function to drive an external outcome, Culture. You can't define Culture and expect it to happen.... Culture is the result of peoples Values being experienced)
Our Company Vision
Vision is a short and inspiring statement of what your company intends to become or achieve at some point in the future.
Vision defines your company's great big goal; it should be large... almost unobtainable or at least a 10 year super stretch goal. It describes the collective big goal that everyone in your company is striving to achieve. Many examples from companies include vision statements like "to be the number one retail clothing company in the US" or "to be the preferred provider of home cleaning services in the greater Auckland area".
Over time I've come to believe that the best Company Visions are the ones that don't state what the company wants to become but what the company wants to achieve. He's an example from Microsoft - "To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential". Vision's which state what they wish to achieve highlight a change an organization is trying to achieve in the environment in which they wish to operate. A vision should enroll and inspire all stakeholders.... customers, employees, managers, shareholders, and suppliers. A great vision will drive everyone in the same direction.
Our Company Mission
What is the difference between Vision and Mission? Simply, where Vision is the goal, Mission is the guide that defines how you will achieve your visions...and it can be made up of 4 parts. 1) Who you are as a team, 2) What business are you in, 3) Who are your clients, 4) What makes you unique.
Our Company Goals
Company Goals reflex directly back to the Vision, they are the road map ahead and the milestones along the way. Using our person B from above, they could start off alone these lines below then drill down to become more specific and tangible....
- Current: NP = $100,000. Rev = $1m @ 10% NPM. 10 Production Team. 2 Admin Team.
- Year 1: NP = $200,000. Rev = $1.5m @ 13.3% NPM. 10% Price Increase + 13 Production Team. 2 Admin Team. Invest in re-brand and position.
- Year 3: NP = $400,000. Rev = $4m @ 10% NPM. Invest heavily in Launching 2 Overseas Markets. (hence NPM erosion).
- Year 5: NP = $600,000. Rev = $6m @ 10% NPM. Install GM. Begin Margin Focus.
- Year 10: NP = $1.6m. Rev = $8m @ 20% NPM. Goodwill Value 1.6m x 5 = $8m.
Creating & Executing
Most business owners and managers attempt to create a vision on their own then force it on to the team buy telling them "this is our new Vision, now get inspired". Naturally the team is skeptical and believe that this vision only serves the interests of the business owner, buy making them more money..... "why should I work harder and get inspired by you making more money and working less" ...is the common employee reaction from such a misguided approach. From working with business owners over the years we have found the best results come from involving the team in the whole process. This way they come up with the company values & vision, and they can take ownership and accountability for their behavior and actions toward it.
You can still guide the overall direction and outcome of this by either a) being the KNOCKOUT LEADER you should be, or b) getting a specialist facilitator to run some of your team workshops.
Any new potential employees are told right at start of the interview process about your company's Values & Vision and you can hire those that are enrolled and inspired buy it and leave more skilled candidates if they aren't excited by your company's direction.
Buy getting you and your team 100% clear on the direction you will get buy-in to transform your business... because odds are that to achieve your vision you will need to get everyone on-board to continue, or really ignite, the systemization process which will greatly assist you to achieve your company vision.... and in turn your personal goals.
Example of mimosaPLANETTM's Vision, Mission & Values
Our Vision
"Freedom of choice for business owners across the globe through knowledge and actions"
Our Mission
We will always strive to make further gains in the effectiveness of all people and businesses that we come in contact with. We believe it is business effectiveness that is the key to fulfilling the main desire of people that go into business for themselves, freedom of choice to be in control of their own future and create their life as they wish. Our clients will be proactive and keen to get results. We will service people who are first starting out in business, right through to people that have been in business for years. Our team will always have the highest levels of integrity and thought. We will live our brand values in every decision, interaction, product and service. We at all times give value to all that we come in contact with. We promise to deliver Solutions and not just theory, and to be a trusted source of wisdom the world over.
Our Brand
Experience & outcome focused
Our role is to be the brand of choice with business owners, entrepreneurs, and the self employed. We do this by focusing on and delivering our founding brand values. We created the mimosa brand with these values and principles in mind. It is the underlying depth from which mimosa gets its strength, and delivering on these values is at the forefront of every decision and interaction we make.
Our Brand Values
More than just words
This week's Action Points...
I have said it before, but did you do it? Book out a regular 2 hour weekly team training / workshop session, or fortnightly at least. This is not a once off, "let's create a Vision in this special meeting then move on"... it is a regular commitment to driving business development as there will always be something each week to work on. I suggest starting with the direction phase of the systematization process, so book that time in your diary and LEAD your team. If you believe a third party would be best to help facilitate this change contact us about how we can add value, our focus is the same as any business development you would initiate yourself; to drive the desired outcome and deliver return on investment. Investing $1,000 to gain $10,000 or $30,000 to gain $300,000 is a no brainer, right?
Take action today!
