Clear Simple Business

Bad processes can easily be mistaken for employee shortages. As systems fail to work well, it’s pretty common for employees to complain that they are overworked or unable to focus on their “real” duties due to focusing on an inefficient workflows. A standard response to the employee dissatisfaction is to hire more people to shoulder the load. But, without delving into the problem to determine is your employees are truly overworked, you are only masking a problem that may become a bigger problem, in time. Consider these worst 5 outcomes for adding employees, instead of solving bad processes: You will waste money. Recently, it was uncovered that the Pentagon has over $125 billion in bureaucratic waste, involving many unnecessary positions and employees. How did they get to that point? Many inefficient processes probably demanded the hire of new employees to make things run more “smoothly.” However, what has resulted is a gross display of waste. As you hire additional employees to cove...

Despite the advice recommending that start up businesses grow slowly and at a “manageable” pace, I’m going to suggest that your company should grow fast! While slow and steady may be great, there are so many logical reasons that fast growth in your business makes sense.  Consider these five reasons why your business should achieve fast growth: The world moves fast; so should your business. I always tell clients that your business only runs as fast as your slowest task. And, when the world around you is clicking along at a quick pace, you’re going to be left behind. Do what it takes to achieve consistent growth, move quickly and keep up with the world around you. The Internet makes news instantaneous, sends out products overnight and allows you to reach people around the world in “real time.” A world that moves so fast needs growing businesses to keep up. Technology changes rapidly. Just when you think you have the most advanced methods or software systems, new trends emerge making...

Inefficiency and disorganization can be two of the biggest reasons people are ineffective in their careers. While it’s easy to attribute failure to laziness or the lack of skills, talent or knowledge, it’s rarely the case. Many times, people are working hard -- and, they know what they are doing. But, it’s just not enough when they could be working smarter. What does it mean to work smarter? It simply means leveraging efficiency and process systems to work for you, leaving you more time to grow your business and focus on the tasks that focus on the future. In my experience as a process systems expert, I’ve identified the top four rules for working smarter, not harder. They are: Develop self awareness : Everybody works differently and has unique strengths. Analyze your habits and determine how your efforts are efficient, what distracts you and ways you can improve. Identify any systems you are having problems with, especially if the process, itself, seems flawed. Recognize your most eff...