By Michael Kline
Published in Conway Daily Sun
 
Systems, systems, systems... for years, it seemed like all I talked about. The fact is, most large businesses have serious systems
challenges and most small business have a serious lack of systems all-together. The truth is, your systems are designed perfectly to produce the results you are getting.  Repeat that and read it slowly: Your systems are designed perfectly to produce the results you are
getting. Slow sales? That is a result of your sales system. Blame it on the weather? The economy? Your sales team? Your systems allow for these factors. Even if you sell parkas and it never gets cold, perhaps your sales system has a lack of diversification. Just about everything that happens is the result of your systems or lack of systems.

I hear your point that your systems didn't cause your key supplier to go bankrupt, or your mall's anchor tenant to move out, leaving you with no traffic, or for your most productive employee to get married or retire. So how can I constantly preach that everything that happens to you is your responsibility? That everything is within your power? I thought you would never ask!

About every few months, most organizations have a challenge that, if left unaddressed, could jeopardize the success of the organization. It would make sense then, to have a system for adapting to change. Now before you roll your eyes and tell me I'm crazy, this isn't some deep philosophy of embracing your inner thinker or forgiving your mother. 
This is about a real, tangible, teachable, practical and useful approach to handling change and activating your team to their battle stations.

 I've always preached that to produce predictable results, you should design your business around systems, not people. Then, you hire people to run the systems. This remains basically true for many small startups because most small startups are not launched by people with a natural orientation toward creating systems. Either way, your systems will be obsolete very shortly anyway. The marketplace is moving at break-neck speed, so no matter how good your idea is today, it is likely to require minor or major adjustments soon. What's more, is that even if you were smart enough to create all the systems (hint - you're not), how do you inspire everyone to follow your systems? How do you create the accountability for following the systems? How do you find time and energy to create the next new system after you're in the deep weeds trying to juggle everything you have to do? Right, you create a system for
creating systems! 

This “Mother of all Systems”, will need to have a rhythm to it - our recommendation is a quarterly review of systems and the people running them. Annual employee and system reviews are far too infrequent to be useful. (If you don't do it at all, you should feel a little panicky right now). Covey's first habit of highly effective people - Be Proactive. That means find and fix problems before they happen. The way to get ahead of the curve and stop living in crisis mode, always "putting out fires" is to get into the practice of "fire prevention". Quarterly review of all systems and the people running them and weekly accountability with every team member reporting in on their contribution to the systems. This is hard core, focused, highly productive, strictly enforced, take no prisoners, all-business, no-more-Mr. Nice Guy, my retirement is on the line, grown-up work time! The Industrial Age is dead (no newsflash there). So why do we still try to motivate and correct employee behavior with the old model?

To do all the above will require a  team of people who love working with you and with each other. We need to create
a serious game that people take seriously and still have fun playing. Professional sports players take their work very seriously, work very hard, are extremely disciplined, held accountable, and have fun loving their work. Why then, in the typical workplace do we think that people can't enjoy their work life the same way? Let's be brave enough to be vulnerable, to ask for help, to count on the team, to invest in the team, to nurture the team, to engage the team and to hold the team accountable. It's time we took all the wisdom from the great business books we read and figure out what it would mean to really apply the lessons. I mean to really, really apply the lessons. My greatest joy is helping an individual or business discover how to put into practice, a system they created to produce the results they want and to repeat that process with predictability. You can get this process started on your own by reviewing your own goals, the systems you have to reach those goals and the people running those systems. Contact me if you get stuck, I'm good at un-sticking.

Its summer, so I hope you're reading this from somewhere beautiful. If not, we can work on that as a new goal! Because my systems allow me to be where I want, pursuing what I want, I'm in Scottsdale this week, renewing my personal and professional skills. I promise to find some time  to work on my next column about systems for communicating vision and co-creating goals and strategies with your team.

By Michael Kline
published in Conway Daily Sun
 
When you start a new job, your employer teaches you their systems. Experience has proven these methods produce the results they
want with predictability. Never mind that many businesses need to create more  and better systems. Let us imagine you went to work for a well-funded, progressive, brilliantly staffed and professional company with excellent systems.  Perhaps you could imagine that you bought a franchise with the same qualities and every franchise that has implemented the systems has been a wild success. It creates wealth for its owners and employees and a lifestyle that allows you to pursue happiness in your personal life.  You would be enthusiastic about going to training and working the systems. You would quickly learn that some of your fellow franchisees (or employees) misunderstood the deal. They thought the systems worked on their own. You watch those people flounder. You know you must work the systems constantly to produce real results.

 In all of life, do the same principles not apply? There are principles (systems) by which we live, that when practiced in a dedicated fashion, any person can produce predictable results. We teach children the value of doing their homework, and they get good results.  Most adults do not do their own homework. We teach children to keep
trying, to believe in themselves. When applied, this principle produces achievement and self-esteem. Adults seldom believe this about themselves, beyond the comfort of what they already have proven they can do. We teach children to be kind to one another, and as a result, others will be kind to them and they will be happy, positive people not hung up on the small stuff.  As adults, we keep saying we want people to be kind. By that, we mean we want other people to be kind to us. Mostly we are often unkind to ourselves, being self-critical and/or not taking care of ourselves, and this drives much of the unkindness to others as we protect our turf, fight for credit and compete for attention and love. Somehow, we find it hard to be motivated to use these simple “systems” taught to us as children. Perhaps we do not deserve them or we’ve been disappointed so many times we’ve lowered our sights.

Teachers, employers or franchisors hold us accountable and coach us to success.  The lack of accountability and self-discipline is one of the biggest contributors to failure in business, health, relationships and a life less fully lived. 

It makes sense to take advantage of proven systems. This removes some of the risk and fear of inventing your own wheel, and launches you on the fast track for success.  You could apply the same thinking to every aspect of your life.

Let us say that your goal is to create some wealth, good health and positive relationships, to engage in meaningful work and be able to contribute to your community. Sign me up! There are systems for all of these.  When you have some control over your life, you reduce stress, improve health, create wealth, improve self-esteem, decrease ego, improve relationships, feel more positive… is there a pattern here? You already have that control, but are you using it? By the way, it does not matter if you are just starting out or an accomplished millionaire with a thriving family, it is relative and the tools for pursuing life mastery remain the same. 

My first self-improvement training program was Brian Tracy’s Psychology of Achievement from the 1980’s. Dozens of genius-trainers later, I am now studying directly under Jack Canfield, as I see him as the master of creating user-friendly, practical training for life success. Maybe you prefer Tony Robbins or Wayne Dyer, or someone more or less spiritual, etc. It doesn’t matter. I promise they all carry essentially the same wisdom.  The proven systems for living a great life have not changed through the ages. Our environments have changed. Modern gurus can help us apply the wisdom to our current circumstances. 

These are lessons we study over a lifetime, but we have to start somewhere and we need to take action sometime. If not now, then when? I suggest a good time and place to start would be Friday June 13th, at Granite State College. I will be teaching a half-day introductory workshop, based largely on Jack Canfield’s Success Principles. I am doing this as part of my training program, so I’m happy to work for free. The only cost is $39 per person to cover the room, refreshments and material. Details and registration are on my website listed below. Learn the systems. Work the systems. Live the life you want.