How Systems Can Lead to the Downfall of Your Business

I am a firm believer in the power of systems to transform your business.

Systems allow processes to be replicated, communicated and delegated, creating efficiency and freedom.

Systems allow you to say, “This is how we do things around here,” giving you, your team and your customers a sense of clarity and confidence.

And, without one key element, systems can contribute to the downfall of your organization.

Here’s what I teach about systems:

• The best systems are those designed by the people who have the responsibility to implement them.
• Once agreement is reached on a process that creates the best result (most efficient, most profitable, most customer-delighting), then the expectation must be that this process is followed every time.
• Systems should be viewed as works-in-progress. Those who implement the system are also expected to observe and raise areas for improvement, which should be reviewed and implemented promptly.

I’ve seen this approach to systems work beautifully in my own organizations and in those with whom I’ve consulted. It is inclusive, decentralized and empowering ~ and it works 99% of the time.

But what happens when a member of your team encounters that 1%? What happens in that rare circumstance when it doesn’t work, when the whole reason the system was created in the first place is about to be obliterated?

Many would say this is a casualty of the greater purpose, that the most important thing is that the agreed-upon process be followed 100% of the time, and that any adjustments should be reviewed and implemented only in future cases.

This thinking, however, will cause the systems that provide so much good in your organization to destroy it.

Why? Because it removes the very thing that makes your organization truly remarkable ~ the human element.

We are humans interacting and doing business with other humans.

The most successful businesses today are those that are finding ways to empower everyone in their organization to connect with their customers and other stakeholders, not those that are becoming more robotic.

You empower people by encouraging them to trust their intuition and to do what they know is right in any given situation.

You disempower them when you demand that they put their humanity on a shelf and act more like a machine.

So yes, by all means, create systems that allow you to efficiently and profitably deliver more of your amazing products and services to the world.

Empower your team members to create, implement and modify those systems.

Just be sure every system includes a kill switch.

Be sure that everyone in the organization is clear on the ultimate purpose for the system ~ and that everyone knows they can override the system when their human instincts tell them this purpose is not being served.

Image credit: Bjorn Watland