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How To Make Your Business More Efficient
by guest poster Dien Rice, Ph.D.A commonly-recommended book about business is The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. In that book, Gerber recommends creating "operations manuals" for every "job" you need to do in your business.
To understand the concept, think of a fast-food restaurant franchise. They have an "operations manual" for every important task. How long to fry the french fries. How long to reheat a hot apple pie. Even a specific procedure on cleaning up. By having a standard procedure - clearly written out in the operations manual - any teenage kid can come in, follow the instructions, and do just as good a job as anyone else. It helps to keep a high standard of quality, which won't go down even if people come and go.
Now, I wonder how many people have read about this in The E-Myth Revisited - thought to themselves "that's a good idea" - and promptly forgot about it? Well, I have a confession...
That's what I did for several years! Then finally, I decided to put this idea into practice.
It took some effort writing these operations manuals. As I did each task that I do in my business, I had to jot down each step I took, making sure not to miss anything out. I simply wrote each one out using my computer (you can use word processing software or simple notepad software, or whatever you find most convenient). I created a separate file for each "operations manual".
Sometimes my procedures change (due to new technology, for example), so I have to make some adjustments in my operations manuals. But I've found, since creating these operations manuals, that doing this has had some unexpected benefits.
Unexpected Benefits
One thing was I realized what a heck of a lot of "jobs" I do in my business! I have operations manuals for the various types of research, writing, marketing, copywriting, accounting, and customer relations activities I do. Some of these operations manuals are quite short, while others are quite extensive. I was surprised at how much I really do!
But the main benefit is that it's made my work much easier. By having an operations manual written out for a particular operation, I can read through it and think of ways to simplify the work. Having it written down in front of you brings a certain clarity, which helps you think of ways to simplify each activity. Simplifying each activity usually makes each task quicker and easier to do as well. As a result, writing the operations manuals have, in the end, saved me a lot of time.
Another thing is that sometimes, I'm mentally tired - but the work still has to be done. In the past, this would slow me down quite a bit, as I had to remember each step in the task, as well as do the task itself. Now, with the operations manual in front of me, I simply follow the step-by-step instructions I've written. It makes the process much quicker - so there's another benefit of greater efficiency.
If you're running your own one-person or two-person business - I recommend making "operations manuals" for every task you do. If your experience is like mine, you'll find unexpected benefits as you do it, which will make your own work simpler and more efficient. And if you choose to outsource or get hired help, having your operations manuals "ready-to-go" will make the whole process easier as well!
Dien Rice is co-creator of The Great Ideas Letter, a newsletter about new business ideas, and also co-creator of the Seeds of Wisdom Small Business Forum, a free discussion forum full of tips and ideas for small business owners.
Dien is a super smart guy. He is one of a kind: "quantum mechanician turned entrepreneur". I love his seeds of wisdom forum, and any time I have a business question that needs some answers, I go over there.
I always listen to Dien when he speaks up. Because he gives away quite a few golden nuggets in his writings. Like his post today... I am guilty of not having any "operations manual" too. But I am going to sit down and make one.
As they say, write down your 3 P's:
Plans
Procedures and
Policies
and your company will live and thrive even after you are gone. (and plus, you can even take more vacations!)
Don't forget to read Dien's first post for this blog: The Untold Story of Conquering Business Risks
And post your comments so that we can convince Dien to post his nuggets often on this blog. Maybe, he can become a "regular" poster.
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Posted on 4/14/2005 | Permalink | |
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