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have enough information to finish a task , or that some tasks only are partially completed and then shelved for weeks before being finished .
One last example of a lean principle underlines the idea of eliminating processes instead of spending time making them more efficient . For some businesses , for example , it makes sense to replace customer visits with phone calls ( perhaps preferable for the customer too ) or to outsource some of the business processes to external suppliers such as accountants , graphic designers , IT supporters , or tele-marketing firms .
Emotional barriers
Even though it appears financially sound and profitable to streamline your business procedures , certain entrepreneurs have reservations about writing everything down . The biggest emotional barrier is perhaps the fear that too much structure will kill creativity and the flexibility that has been the foundation of the business . If you have such reservations , it is worth keeping in mind that structure also stimulates creativity .
Just think about the restrictive , dogmatic rules ( hand-held camera , natural lightning etc .) that the
Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier and others use for their film production , which created a whole new wave of creativity , because the directors had to be innovative within the framework of very tight rules .
Naturally , there are examples of bureaucratic businesses , in which strict rules and business manuals take over management and become an impediment to progress . However , this is usually something you find in very well-established or large corporations . Entrepreneurial businesses generally do not even come close to being too formalized . Most startups lack bureaucracy and “ office management ” and that can pose a problem . Ideally it should be the office , not the owner that has things under control .
Entrepreneurial spirit in the machinery
There are more advantages to documenting your business processes than first meet the eye . Besides the opportunity to make your daily work more efficient and save money in the short term , you also create a solid , long-term organizational foundation . With check lists , procedure descriptions , and business policies , you create a platform for growth , because it makes it distinctly easier to hire and integrate new employees , who have to perform tasks and handle processes to earn back their own salaries as fast as possible and contribute to the profit of the business .
However , streamlined business processes and toptuned IT systems are not enough . There is another “ ghost in the machine ” that makes the assembly line run smoothly . This ghost is the entrepreneurial spirit , the desire to constantly do things better and find new ways of doing them . Under no circumstances should you allow the entrepreneurial spirit to be stifled , but that will not happen just because you decide to focus on the role as business architect for a short while and make it your task to design the structures and frameworks that will make the business better at everything on a day-to-day basis .
Suggestions for the next step
• Make a diagram of all the most important processes in your business and try to divide each process into part processes .
• Make a written document that outlines how the most important processes should be executed throughout the day .
• Evaluate regularly how the various business processes can be made more efficient or eliminated if they do not produce value for the customer .
© Growth Wheel international Inc . and David Madié