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Systemizing Your Business and Your Life: Keep the Change

By Beth Schneider · Comments View Comments

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Thoughts from Sandye Linnetz, Systems Coach and Goddess

Of course we need systems and processes. We need them in our personal lives and we need them in business. Without them we operate in a helter-skelter, what do I do now kind of manner. With them in place we know what to do and when to do it. They are what enable us to be efficient and accurate and keep those important details from slipping through the cracks of life. And we all hate it when stuff slips through, don’t we?

We all have systems that we use every day. Our bodies have “natural” systems like digestive, nervous and reproductive; it would be tough to operate without those. Some we copied from someone else… some we made up because we needed them… and some we don’t even realize we follow.

There are life systems that you use because, hey, that’s the way your mother did it. There are systems you created for yourself because you don’t want to make that mistake again. You most likely have a morning system for waking up and getting ready for the day, a get dressed system, a make (or get) the coffee system and probably even a system for reading the paper or finding out what happened overnight across the world. Those are systems that we don’t even realize we have and use.

So, for arguments sake, let’s agree that your life is chock full of systems. Some work really well for you. Some need work… You even know where they’re missing in your life, don’t you? Why is it, then, that we know we need them and we still don’t have them?

Here’s the reason it seems so tough to create systems… ready? Life isn’t a constant step-by-step because it is constantly changing. That’s the nature of the beast. Nothing stays the same. Everything changes –all the time. So, although it may appear that everything is the same, it’s NOT. And when you’ve designed a system that doesn’t make allowances for change, your system doesn’t work. When you create a system based on things always going a “certain way”, you are doomed to failure. A REALLY great system has change built into it. It’s all about the if this happens, then do that and, if that happens then do this.

Of course we need systems and processes. We need them in our personal lives and we need them in business. However, things change and we need systems that prepare us to handle the changes. Change needs to be built into all of our systems.

You are the expert on what’s “missing” in your personal life. Take stock. Hire a Life Coach if you want guidance, just make a list – a mental list if you don’t want to write it out – of all the possible things that could change and alter your system accordingly. Then give yourself options based on what “might” occur. Keep change in mind and put those personal systems into place.

When it comes to your business life, the money and free time are in your systems. Really, they are. When the system works, the business works. When the business works, it grows… and so do your bank accounts and free time. I know how important both of those things are to me, and I assume to you as well, so get to work creating the systems that are missing or needing to be tweaked in your company. Consider the possibilities and your options. And, remember: No matter how you chose to create your systems… you get to “KEEP THE CHANGE”!

Want to reprint this article? Feel free as long as you include the following: Beth Schneider, President of Process Prodigy Inc., www.processprodigy.com , along with her team of highly sought after operations consultants, reveal the insider secrets billion-dollar corporations pay thousands of dollars for. Specializing in process creation, Process Prodigy tools and techniques have helped entrepreneurs increase productivity by as much as 600%, and revenues by as much as 250%. Visit www.processprodigy.com/ezine and grab your FREE systems starter kit valued at $297.00.

Categories : Problem Solving, Process Design, Profitability, Systemizing

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Systemizing Your Business: BE WITH THE QUESTIONS

By Sandye · Comments View Comments

Sunday, April 27th, 2008

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Thoughts from Sandye Linnetz, Systems Goddess, Process Prodigy

There’s some stuff we know – not a lot; and we KNOW that we know it. We know personal stuff like our name and age, many of our clients, most of our products, some random factoids and maybe some technical info. No questions here… we KNOW this stuff flat.

Then there’s the stuff we don’t know – bigger pile of stuff, and, no surprises here, we KNOW that we don’t know these things. Probably don’t know how to do brain surgery, catch a bear, bake a perfect souffle or the last name of the guy at the gas station. See? We KNOW that we don’t know.

Finally, there’s that “new frontier”… It’s the unimaginably HUGE mass of data that we haven’t even begun to imagine. It’s all the stuff that we don’t even know that we don’t know. It’s the world of “ah-ha” and “holy cow”. It’s that volume of knowledge that took mankind from the view of world is flat to “earth is round”. It’s most of what’s out there… waiting to be discovered. Am I getting a little too new agey for you? Okay, let me take it down a notch…

When you approach your business from the standpoint of “I know” (what works, what to do, how this should be, what would be better) you leave no room for discovery – no room for new ideas. You will probably end up doing more of the same… some of which will work – for a while at least – most of which will prove that insanity is doing the same thing over and over when it didn’t work to begin with!!!

So, first off, formulate good questions. Take stock of where you are, how things are going and what you are doing NOW. Next determine what your goals and objectives are; where do you want to get to? Nice work, so far. Now, the questions. NOTICE THAT MOST OF THE QUESTIONS WILL MOVE YOU TO ACTION (without which, results don’t show up)! You fill in the blanks:

What would I need to DO/change/create in order to reach each goal?
How would I have to BE (act/behave/respond to others) to have the results I want?
What interim goals must I set and achieve to reach my objectives?
What actions on my part will create interim success toward reaching my goals?

Actually write down your questions. Don’t write them down with the intention of handling this like an SAT test. There’s no hurry. There may be many “right answers”.

When you ask a question you could:

ANSWER BASED ON WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW
RESEARCH IT BASED IN WHAT OTHERS KNOW – THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW
BE WITH THE QUESTION… LET IT STEW… BE OPEN TO WHAT COMES UP

When you allow yourself to simply ask a question and then allow answers to show up around you, they will. And, you maybe surprised at how creative and unexpected those answers will be. And, look, you’ve created a process for asking questions!

© 2008 Beth Schneider, Process Prodigy, Inc. Want to reprint this article? Feel free as long as you include the following: Beth Schneider, President of Process Prodigy Inc., www.processprodigy.com, along with her team of highly sought after operations consultants, reveal the insider secrets billion-dollar corporations pay thousands of dollars for. Specializing in process creation, Process Prodigy tools and techniques have helped entrepreneurs increase productivity by as much as 600%, and revenues by as much as 250%. Visit www.processprodigy.com/ezine and grab your FREE systems starter kit valued at $297.00.

Categories : Goals, Planning, Problem Solving, Questions

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How to Systemize Your Business: Everybody WINS!

By Sandye · Comments View Comments

Saturday, February 9th, 2008

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Thoughts from Sandye Linnetz, Systems Goddess, Process Prodigy My daddy always said, “The best deal is the one where everyone walks away feeling like a winner”. I heard the words, and I understood what he meant, but I didn’t really “get” what that meant in the big picture. Sure, I understood that a mutual win would leave everyone feeling good, and yet, somehow, I missed his point. I mean, seriously, wouldn’t someone have to “lose” in any deal? Wouldn’t someone always have to give up what he/she really wanted? What could that be like? Personally, I didn’t really see how that could work… until recently. A world where everyone wins? What a great paradigm – and how unlike the world we know!As children, winning was an absolute. You either got your way, or you lost. We demanded, we cried, we begged and we pouted. Sometimes that worked. Sometimes we negotiated, but almost always from a position of “this is the way it is”. The way we saw things was the ONLY way to see things. It was all about our personal point of view.Remember the ancient tale of the blind men and the elephant? A group of blind men were asked to describe an elephant. Each touched a different part of the elephant and was asked to tell what an elephant was. The blind man who stood at the front of the elephant felt the trunk, one touched a tusk, others felt the tail, body or legs. Each described what they experienced as elephant, and in comparing those experiences, found that they were in total disagreement! Each man was absolutely positive about his experience and all of the men were correct. Get it? Each point of view was valid… no one was wrong; it was simply a difference of perspective.Consider that we all have points of view, and, like our fingerprints, everyone’s is unique. Our points of view are personal to us; based on our history, biases and so much more. None are wrong, all are valid and all are different. It’s the difference of perspective – the partial-truths – that keep us stuck in our point of view. It’s actually pretty amazing that we, as humans, can ever agree on anything.So, is it ever possible to design a solution where everyone wins? Absolutely! It’s not easy, but it is simple. Here are some steps to take – a system, if you will, to reach an agreement that works for everyone.First set the ground rules for your discussion. This can be as simple as setting rules for topic, time, place and who’s included. You may even want to talk about acceptable behavior. It’s vital to have a shared commitment to respect all points of view as valid – not as RIGHT or the TRUTH – just valid. It is also vital to get clarity, and mutual agreement on what the problem is… you may be surprised that you even view the basic problem differently. Write out the mutually accepted “problem”.Next determine your shared goals for outcome. What decisions have to be made? What do you want to accomplish? When this is clearly stated, write this down, too.Invite each person involved to clearly state their position – without interruption. List all of the positions.Now it’s time for dialogue. What is each point of view? What is each point of view based on and has each participant agreed to look at and consider the other participants’ points of view? Remember, and remind each other, that a point of view is just that… ONE way to look at a situation. Not necessarily right, but definitely valid. The first step toward consensus is usually consideration of all the different ways one could view any given situation. Listen to each other – really listen. Listen for what each person is committed to achieving. Find the common denominator. It is there.Finally, once the common denominator of a shared goal is found, brainstorm possible solutions. Make a list. Each participant, exercising the muscles of listening without judgment and looking at new possible perspectives, will be able to add to the pool of information and ideas. Take a little time to consider possible solutions… even by combining a few different ideas. A mutually acceptable solution and, thus, a group win is now available.It’s a paradigm worth living in… everybody wins!© 2007 Beth Schneider, Process Prodigy, Inc. Want to reprint this article? Feel free as long as you include the following: Beth Schneider, President of Process Prodigy Inc., www.processprodigy.com, along with her team of highly sought after operations consultants, reveals the insider secrets billion-dollar corporations pay thousands of dollars for. Specializing in process creation, the Process Prodigy tools and techniques have helped entrepreneurs increase productivity by as much as 600% and revenues by as much as 250%. Visit www.processprodigy.com and sign up to receive the Process Prodigy Ezine, “Your Tips” and the FREE Report “How to Save Yourself Time Energy and Money”.