Can You Go the Distance?

You may know systems are kinda my thing. I strongly believe that there’s nothing better than waking up in the morning knowing that your business can run itself. I love the freedom, the sense of adventure and purpose that I’m able to enjoy because I don’t have to constantly put out fires at work.

I want that for you, and even more than that I know it’s possible for you. It starts with knowing your systems are strong enough to go the distance. Let me give you a quick win.

First, ask yourself the following questions:

How many essential employees do you have? I’m talking about employees that your business could not be fully functional without.

If you have more than one essential employee, I’m proud of you for being such a good delegator!

Next question:

What do those essential employees know or have access to that you don’t know or don’t have access to?

You should be thinking about things like keys to such and such, or the document that lists this or that. Is it a lot? Maybe you should write all those things down. It’s about to get very important!

Final question:

What would happen to your business if one of those employees couldn’t work anymore?

Did your heart just skip a beat? Did you feel a rush of anxiety? Did you wonder if you’ve done EVERYTHING wrong? I’ve been there. So let me reassure you:

This is a common problem in business. It’s called Linchpin Redundancy and it’s 100% fixable. You can start right now.

Here’s how:

Long-term, you want to make sure you have a “backup” for every essential position. A person who can fill in in a pinch and keep things running should the worst happen. You’ll also want a thorough and up-to-date set of standard operating procedures that your backup can reference, just in case.

Right now, keep writing down the things your essential employees know or have access to that you don’t. Keep a running list. You’ll want to meet with your team as soon as possible and have them start a shareable document that has answers in it. Have them write down passwords that you may not have, the location of the key to that thing, how they do XYZ on the first of every month. With that document in hand, you’re at least covered in case of an unexpected short-term absence. That should buy you some time to start cross-training and creating standard operating procedures. 

Want more quick wins like this? There are a bunch in my new book, coming out in July of this year! Get your copy here!

Keep those systems strong!