Why Your Business Isn’t Growing
As a Systems Engineer, I use a unique approach to helping businesses to not just grow but to also scale. There are common problems I see when I start working with a new client, problems that with the right education and guidance can be fixed.
What are those problems?
You don’t have the in-house skills or time to fix your lack of infrastructure and you end up contracting with the wrong people to resolve this.
When you acknowledge that you have a problem and need help, you mistakenly reach out to the wrong solution providers. This isn’t your fault. Unless you have in-depth knowledge of systems and processes, it makes sense to reach out to technology providers, not system engineering houses. The issue is that they will try to sell you the latest and greatest piece of technology. The problem with that “fix” is that true solutions are at the system level, where a system is composed of hardware, software, people, and processes. Lacking the people and process components and the phased integration of all into a system, a technology only solution falls short, and can even exacerbate the underlying the problem.
Representative of this is the first three months I spent with a recent client, talking about how they did business. We talked about such items as how, with whom, and when they communicate, how they manage their data and what that data is, their ad-hoc and scheduled activities in managing clients, employees, and services, and more. We talked “systemization”, a term the client coined. We didn’t touch upon their technology shortfalls. In achieving understanding in what they did, how they did it, why they did it, and the associated data, in a short amount of time they had vastly improved their underlying “conduct of business” infrastructure without investing in new technology. This has made them more efficient with what they already have, allowing them to increase their client base.
Your communications are inefficient.
You’re using a hodgepodge of cloud sites, email, and phone calls to communicate. It is inefficient. Therefore you are not communicating regularly, consistently, or timely. Long-term, there is little understanding of what is truly being communicated. If you need to know about something that was communicated six months ago, what was told to client A or customer B or employee C, you don’t know. If you are lucky, you might be able to dig out an email, but it will take awhile to do it.
Poor data management.
Businesses have to manage data and in most cases are using whatever tools they’ve got. They’ll use Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, or photos stored in cloud repositories or on their computers. They’ll use cloud systems, such as Trello or Google docs, to capture raw data, but there’s no identification, management, or organization to turn that data into information. Chances are they don’t know where it is or what it is, why it was created, who’s seen it, who’s not suppose to see it (but did), who worked on it last, and where has it been and where is it going. There is data scattered everywhere, which is a hindrance to business operations. When something happens, like getting subpoenaed or audited, you are then not able to readily identify and retrieve the data, and document who has had access to it, which turns into a liability, figuratively and potentially literally.
Lastly…
Poor time management.
I see client staff, especially the leadership at the business, so short on time because of infrastructure and system efficiencies. They cannot focus on the innovations and the evolutions needed to keep their products and services relevant. They don’t have the downtime to take care of themselves personally, so they burn out. They’re so focused on running the business, they didn’t have a chance to grow the business. All together, in being unable to keep their service and product offerings current and relevant, the offerings become obsolete and the business is no longer relevant in the marketplace. Competitive share is lost.
If you fall into any of the above categories, the worst thing you can do is make a bunch of changes all at once. Start by making small changes, such as evaluating how you manage your data and communications. When you are ready, hire the right contractor to help you move forward. These are areas that can be fixed with the right support and minimal investment.
What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!
