Whether you are an Entrepreneur or Business Professional there are many things you do each week that would benefit from a strategic system to help you be more effective, reduce errors and stress, help you enjoy your time at work and give you more time to have fun outside of work.
Strategic systems are not static; they allow you to be flexible, creative, and spontaneous, and because they help you look at situations with a clear focus and a specific intention you can easily achieve your desired results. When you develop your strategic system you begin by setting an intention for what would be the best outcome in this area.
If we use the example of incoming mail both email and snail mail. An intention you might set would be to handle it only once, sort it effortlessly, and help you leverage your actions for greater success.
Once you set your intention and define the focus you can develop a strategic system to achieve that intention. With the snail mail those systems might include scheduling fifteen minutes a day to look through the mail when it comes in. The system could include a three tier sorting; things to throw away, things to file, and things to take action on. You can set up further systems so an action required on the mail will automatically be handled. In the case of accounts receivable or payable, answering an inquiry, scheduling a meeting, or call back?
Your systems would also include a file for reading material or reference and for handling mail that needs to be redirected to someone else who can handle it more effectively.
With the email you will want to have a similar sorting system. Filters can be helpful for directing the different email to corresponding boxes of important, reference, action, spam?
You can also have response emails set up for situations or questions that are frequently requested. This allows you to customize each response from a pre drafted template; cutting down your response time but allowing you to address each situation in the most efficient way.
Once you start designing strategic systems you will find that it's beneficial to keep adding to the system. One process will lead to another and each step of a process will be incorporated into the strategic system. This will allow you to move from your definition of success in a given area to implementation of the best processes to achieve it. Your actions will flow seamlessly from one strategic system to the next and nothing will be misplaced or forgotten.
The process of building one strategic system on another is an excellent way to boost productivity, reduce costs, boost employee and customer satisfaction and increase your profits.
Because your strategic systems are fluid you can easily update them when new situations occur or when you want to change or improve your definition of success on a given situation.
Make sure your strategic systems define success, include an intention, are simple, clear, and updated regularly.
Here's a simple 8 step process to help you create your Strategic Systems:
1. Define what success in a specific area looks like
2. Set your intention for the outcome of the Strategic System
3. Keep it focused and simple
4. Get it out of your head and on paper: you want to develop a step by step blueprint
5. Look for ways to leverage one strategic system with another
6. Have a template for tasks
7. Keep it fluid and dynamic and update the strategic system at least once a month
8. Keep it in PLAIN SIGHT; if it's in a drawer it won't be effective
You can develop Strategic Systems for everything that you need to do at work. Customer service, order fulfillment, meeting agendas, marketing, client referrals, telephone scripts, sales information, inventory, peer review, conflict resolution, training proficiencies, matching job outcomes to job openings, employee feedback, new product or service development, converting web visitors to sales?
Strategic Systems are powerful because they get the ideas and information out of your head and onto paper. They allow you to see the big picture and focus on a fluid procession of details that help you achieve big picture goals. This approach will get you working on your business and not in your business. Because you have clearly determined your definition of success in each area you can use inspired actions not reactions to effectively get things done.
All of these benefits lead to the ultimate benefit; you have more time and can have more fun because things are running smoothly. You don't always have to be there because the process is clearly laid out in the strategic system manual for each area.
Start small and develop the powerful habit of creating a strategic system for each area of your business.
?BZ Riger-Hull. Author of The Soul of Success http://www.allowingprosperity.com she is certified as an Attraction Coach, Prosperity Guide, Four Agreements Facilitator & Tele-Course leader. Start THRIVING in your Career, Business, Relationships, Bottom Line & Life. Receive $535 in free services take the 90 Day ALLOWING PROSPERITY CHALLENGE. The only risk to doing business with us is achieving success beyond your wildest expectations. mailto:BZ@allowingprosperity.com
custom home cleaning Wilmette ..At one point or another, almost every business runs short... Read More
The challenges of the small business owner are well documented.... Read More
One thing I have noticed in my travels to different... Read More
The stock market is still on a wild roller coaster... Read More
In the 2003 Auto Laundry News Survey it was determined... Read More
Most pressure washing companies never look into some of the... Read More
Why Alliances FailWhen do you know an alliance is falling... Read More
When a person knows and knows not that he knows.... Read More
You have spent considerable time pulling your business plan together,... Read More
Many ventures are faced with the challenging task of raising... Read More
Grow your Professional Organizer business by branching out into related... Read More
There is a great deal of abuse going on in... Read More
If you have a busy private practice, chances are you... Read More
My clients and many of my readers are small and... Read More
I love lists. I make them for everything. And I'm... Read More
If you're like me, you love accounting. It's so fascinating... Read More
Deciding to start your own franchise is just one of... Read More
If you are a non-operator owner of many work trucks,... Read More
Financial Consultants are one of the fastest growing industries today.... Read More
Time. As a small business owner, it's the commodity you... Read More
Franchising has made the world look really small. The well... Read More
Now that you have invested your time, energy and money... Read More
1. TargetYou are not all things to all people. Decide... Read More
While driving through Pennsylvania farmland, you have probably noticed an... Read More
If you are a small business you know that you... Read More
same day cleaning service Morton Grove ..Paper Shredding Business Opportunities are blossoming up everywhere because in... Read More
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRICINGIn case you hadn't noticed, people can... Read More
WHEN you are operating or planning a small business that... Read More
If you plan to do business online, then your website... Read More
A suggestion box is a really good idea for your... Read More
So you want to get into the auto detailing business... Read More
I agree that knowledge should be free, but the next... Read More
The current lack of industry leaders represents an exceptional opportunity... Read More
Starting and growing a small business can be a daunting... Read More
Large corporations use employee manuals to both educate employees about... Read More
If you're like the rest of us, you've spent a... Read More
A cluttered world of marketing communications diminishes the ordinary. The... Read More
You've been meaning to tend to the administration part of... Read More
Support is critical for your small business survival. You may... Read More
Where would a business be without a business plan? A... Read More
If you own a mobile service or home based franchise... Read More
I meet and talk to hundreds and hundreds of business... Read More
The temporary staffing industry continues to expand, with yearly double-digit... Read More
Last week's question from Anthony R. on how to choose... Read More
Washing the exterior of a truck. Sounds easy right? Well,... Read More
It's obvious when a small business has accepted the fact... Read More
You've heard marketing and advertising gurus quip, "Sell the sizzle,... Read More
What's your job profitability? Do you know?Many business owners are... Read More
When is advice free and when should you charge for... Read More
Why are we over regulation the franchising industry, what purpose... Read More
Small Business |