Strong businesses have strong systems. Set them up well and they will run the business. The people then run the systems. The result is a business running smoothly with great results and happy productive people.
In last month’s Personal Leadership article, I discussed setting up duplicable systems and having the business rely on the systems and culture. The aim is to have the business running without you! Not that I am saying you will not run your business but you will have the freedom to choose whether you work in it or on it, or do something else if you want to. Most farmers have “freedom to choose” as a requirement in their Vision Statement so this is incredibly relevant. Here are a few thoughts on deciding on and designing systems:
Only choose systems that help to achieve the vision. Examine your operation closely to determine which systems are needed and which ones are irrelevant. If a system or task has no link to the achievement of what is most important – flush it. Look for processes that currently work and those that don’t or that need to be altered e.g. How does your accounts procedure measure up? Do you put statements and invoices into ad hoc piles as they come in, making the once a month job onerous and stressful? Making this a quick and simple procedure as part of your business management is probably important as it helps you be on top of your financial compliance commitments. Governance meetings and reporting processes will also be enhanced, time and result wise.
Reduce the number of systems if possible. Fewer systems that are more effective are far better than more systems where some aren’t really needed. Can systems be combined? Can they be prioritised? Again, eliminate if irrelevant.
Efficient or effective? Efficient means doing things "right". Effective means doing the “right” things. Which would you choose first? Would you rather do the right things half right or the wrong things 100% right? Use this principle when choosing your systems, especially at the start. It really helps in reducing the number of systems, while ensuring better results.
Systemise the routines, humanise the exceptions to the routines. Work out what tasks or groups of tasks are generally repeatable and write a procedure for them. Once recorded, they can be understood and repeated by anyone, resulting in a far higher chance of successful execution of the tasks. Things that rely on judgement or line calls will be exceptions to routines and best left to humans but there may be parts that can be systemised.
Make systems as simple as possible. Avoid complication to enable anyone to run them. Specific expertise may be required for some things and a simple system means that those particular skills can be brought in easily and the results have a much higher chance of being delivered, on time with minimal issues.
Remember the point of all this is to allow the business to run without you – it doesn’t rely on you doing everything. Good systems mean repeatability, predictability, effectiveness, timeliness, minimal issues and a much higher chance of consistently good results. Consistency is far better than brilliance so do everything you can to build great systems in your farm business.