Perspective on Management

"Systems run the business and people run the systems." Michael E. Gerber

Management isn't about doing things, it's about getting things done. It's knowing what has to be done and finding a way to get it done without doing it yourself. Management is not the same as leadership. Leadership focuses on you, your vision, the way you think, the way you communicate, and the image you project to your people. Leadership is about you. But management is about your business. How to get your business to do the things it has to do while leaving you free to do the things you want to do. When you reach the point where your business gets things done the way you want them done, consistently and predictably, without your having to do them, then you can be free of it.

Management in a Nutshell: Think Systems!

The key component of successful business management is systemization. To do it, you have to be able to think systemically as well as systematically. Systematic thinking is methodical, thorough, and pulls diverse information together into an integrated whole. People who think and act systematically can communicate with clarity and inspire confidence. People who don't think systematically can be perceived as "scattered."

Systemic management thinking is about viewing a business as a intergrated whole on one level, and groupings of systems on a different level. It means you're aware that your business is a system, and that it's composed of systems within systems, dependent on each other to achieve the higher result. It also means you approach your business operations by creating systems to accomplish them and you approach business problems by creating systems to eliminate them.

The current reality from many small businesses is either the "bandaid" mentality in which the manager comes up with a quick-fix solution to the problem, or "people dependency" in which the manager looks first for the right person to throw at the problem. In both cases the solution is only temporary. It works until the problem shows up again, at which time the manager once again either "fixes it" or "throws more people at it." And because the original problem was never really solved in the first place, you can be sure it will show up again.

You can see where this leads, and maybe you've lived it yourself. Problem-quick fix. Problem-quick fix. Problem-quick fix. And a cycle of perpetual frustration. Many business owners tell us the experience is like being on a treadmill. But there is a better management process: managing your business by implementing the principle of systemization. In other words, living by the adage "the system is the solution."

What we have today is more of task master management style rather than exemplary leadership.We need to teach our school systems on how to develop and use systems like this to assist them build a world class business. We are a company in Nigeria trying to use Emyth system to build an existing business and become employers of labor.

I have a question about a conversatin I had with a doctor the other day. I was explaining Michael Gerber's philosophy about it's all about the "SYSTEMS." He started to ask, how does he build a company that is service-based and very much dependent on him. He said clients go to his practice because of his personality and high technology. He understands how the technology can be systemizied and trained, but how does he train the personality? He wants to bring in other doctors and franchise but it becomes difficult because he feels like he can't train the personality. I didn't know what to say. I think employees are always a source of frustration on some level. It's so difficult to find good people. Esi Fassi

Esi:
I am in a position similar to your doctor. I have a business consulting practice, and through E Myth, have realized the necessity to have others in my office provide personal services to our clients. Like your doctor, clients have come to our practice largely due to my personality. I know this because I've been told that. But I realize the need to have others deliver the service, and have spent a lot of time considering how to hire/train/teach/or whatever others to provide our services. This is most definitly a work in process at this point, but here is what I am trying to do. First, I looked closely at the tasks I was performing, and determined there were certain services I was doing that could more easily be delegated to other employees, already employed and known to our clients. I have been working on delegating these duties, we've developed (and continue to develop more) detailed systems, done a significant amounts of training, and do continued training with these employees. My staff has risen to the occassion, I think primarily because they are looking for more personally challenging tasks, and they really enjoy working with clients. Admittedly, these types of tasks are more commodity type tasks-they must be done with almost every client, they all follow generally the same format in terms of "how we do it here", and they are tasks that are repeated-at least annually. There are signifiant differences in each client's specific requirements, but continuous training seems to be working here. I am using more outside training to free me up. My sceond challenge is to figure out how to document WHAT IT IS THAT I DO THAT IS SPECIAL, AND WHY THAT IS SO SPECIAL TO OUR CLIENTS. In working on this task, I am looking at the general types of tasks that-until now-only I provide. I have been looking at the market that uses specific services, or for whom I provide specific services. I am beginning to develop more information as to what the client is after. I feel right now, that I can hire someone who has an educational and experience level much different from my current employees, provide guidance and training regarding the REASON the market wants such service, teach how to provide that service from a technical standpoint-the system, and leave it to new consultants to work the system. Certainly, I am concerned that the personality of the new consultants will work. I am reasoning that the client is looking for help, answers, guidance. While personality will be a concern, I am hopeful that the bottom lin eto the client will be the ability of the consultant to help solve the problem in a manner that is acceptable to the client. I will be interested in following this discussion.

Robby Reynolds

All of this is wonderful information, but it's way too top-down. You cannot create a culture from the top-down, but you can lead the development of one and blend with what's already there, including hiring people who fit that culture. A leader has the ability to craft and define a culture, but not "create" one. That's classic western cowboy arrogant individualism at work. The bottom-up aspect of organizational development is sorely lacking in the west and it's usually the obstacle for these kind of principles being actually implemented. Telling is not training, especially if your employees haven't asked. But what would it be like if a leader asked the "right" questions that led to a group consensus about what needed to be systematized, or what the culture of the business was all about? It takes more time and effort on the front end, sure, but when you lead collaboratively the buy in is so strong on the back end it makes up for the up front effort. If you don't make every effort to involve bottom-up dynamics, my experience is that "managing resistance" becomes a full-time job...and that's ultimately what limits freedom of the owners and the progress of the business--that barely tangible but omnipresent friction. To sum up, creating systems for the right ways to do things is a good idea, but it's a tool that won't be picked up unless you first blend with and lead the emotional dispositions of the people. If only there were such a thing as a "right" way to do something, that would be a very different world indeed. We do live in a world, however, where if we lead with caring and love, the appropriate action automatically arises. How much of top-down systemization efforts are thinly veiled attempts to block out the fact that so many leaders have no idea what they're doing and can't admit it, and really don't trust themselves, their people, or life itself? To the degree systemization is a cover for that dynamic, it will not take.

Hi Gang! This is absolutely essential to the success of a business. But I have tried on multiple ocassions to tell or show my staff what to do under circumstances that may not be what one would call the ideal scene with your customers. I have had 100's of different circumstances with customers that have required me to help out or not help out a customer to the best of my ability. Would you put one person in charge only for these circumstances? Train that person only to make the decisions? Best, Dan S. CEO

Not sure, whatever works best for your organization I guess. Something I have noticed that has helped business's with this is instituting a strong culture. When employees understand the culture of your organization and what makes it tick, they are more readily able to respond in the moment in a way that would support how you would respond. Give them the high level undestanding of you and what makes your business tick and as a whole they may be better armed to deal with situations. What I find is most important is not that they respond exactly the way you would, but with the same underlying feeling, same culture, same essence. There must be some common thread in the way you instruct your people to respond--make sure they see this, are aware of it and can do it. Role-playing is a great way to help them get comftorable with in the moment type of stuff.

Rachel

I run a firm of accountants with a specialist niche market here in the UK. Over a period of many years although we were very good at what we did we had become complacent and stuck in a comfort zone resulting in a culture of taking the clients for granted. Consequently we missed the first few warning signs that our client care was not up to scratch and clients began to drift away. It has taken a major reorganisation to shake up the firm and change the culture to one where the client comes first. Eighteen nonths later existing clients KNOW that we will take care of them, new client wins are on a significant upward curve, and we are developing new, innovative and systematic ways of showing clients that we will always put their interests first.

We are still in the early days of developing our client care systems to make sure that we do not repeat our mistake. As part of those systems, through internal newsletters, team away days, team reviews and constantly talking about client issues within the team, I make it clear that it is a WHOLE TEAM responsibility to make sure that the client is looked after. If we make a mistake, and yes like most human beings we do occasionally, every team member knows that if they are the first ones to be made aware of the problem, that they are to reassure the client that the problem will be looked into immediately, that irrespective of whether the client is right or wrong there will be no charge whatever, and that if something is wrong it will be put right quickly and effectively and at our cost. I am still trying to persuade my co-directors that we should also say thankyou to the client in a physical sense (flowers, wine or other reward)for bringing the problem to our attention. However we haven't quite reached that point on the change programme but we will!

Making sure the whole team is empowered to deal with a customer complaint as quickly as possible is very important. The true test of any organisation is the manner in which it deals with a customer complaint. If the situation is handled properly the unhappy customers faith in the Company is truly reinforced and their loyalty increased far above where it was before. They will tell their friends how well you dealt with the complaint and recommend you on the basis of that.

The future lost revenue to the landscaping company is far, far more than the cost of the newspaper. An unhappy customer will spread their unhappiness far and wide. I would suggest that an offer to refund the cost of the newspaper is not sufficient in a case like this and the employee should be empowered to 1. reassure Amy that she will not be charged for the cost of cutting her lawn that day. 2.That a replacement newspaper will be picked up and delivered to her as soon as possible and delivered to her and 3. a bunch of flowers will be delivered to her for bringing the details of the problem to the attention of the employee.

By dealing with the complaint in this way the customer, Amy, goes away satisfied that not only has her complaint been heard, but that the company truly cares about her and she will tell her friends about her positive experience rather than what would otherwise have been a negative experience.

All companies need to focus on customer care if they are to thrive and prosper.

Roger

Making sure the whole team is empowered to deal with a customer complaint as quickly as possible is very important. The true test of any organisation is the manner in which it deals with a customer complaint. If the situation is handled properly the unhappy customers faith in the Company is truly reinforced and their loyalty increased far above where it was before. They will tell their friends how well you dealt with the complaint and recommend you on the basis of that.

The futirelost revenue to the landscaping company is far, far more than the cost of the newspaper. An unhappy customer will spread their unhappiness far and wide. I would suggest that an offer to refund the cost of the newspaper is not sufficient in a case like this and the employee should be empowered to 1. reassure Amy that she will not be charged for the cost of cutting her lawn that day. 2.That a replacement newspaper will be picked up and delivered to her as soon as possible and delivered to her and 3. a bunch of flowers will be delivered to her for bringing the details of the problem to the attention of the employee.

By dealing with the complaint in this way the customer, Amy goes away satisfied that not only has her complaint been heard, but that the company truly cares about her and she will tell her friends about her positive experience rather than her negative experience.

All companies need to focus on customer care if they are to thrive and prosper.

Roger

Hi, this is my first time on the forum... and I'm hoping maybe you can help me out.

We've got a pretty detailed sales process, with scripts for each of the 8 steps, and information to send and faxes , etc. Everyone in the team UNDERSTANDS the process, but I'm out of control--I dont' have a way of managing the process (who's in process, who's out of process ... and making sure that we look after all our potential clients the way they deserve (consistently with promises kept)

I've got a documented process, how to I turn it into a system that works every time?

I'd love as many ideas or answers as I can (it's coming to a head.

Thanks,

Taki

Hi Steve (and others):

These are excellent suggestions. Standard medical caveats apply to my comments as well (see above).

Two things:

1) Cut out the caffeine. Caffeine starts working a few minutes after ingestion and does not stop for 48 hours at least (I have experimented with my body). So coffee in the a.m. does not stop at 10 p.m. and continues to stimulate you through the night, preventing enough mental rest.

This results in being groggy on day 2 and more need for coffee. As you can see, it just keeps us asking for more and more.

If you don't believe me, check out the lines outside Starbucks drive through, or the sales of Red Bull (both excellent products, but ...)

2) Try pranayama. These are breathing exercises under the aegis of yoga. They are very very powerful, in that they take a very small amount of time and have huge short and long term benefits. If you need more info, write me, and I'll send you some references.

Good luck.

Piyush

Hi Steve, In addition to the excellent comments from Rachel about how you manage your work, time, and activity during the day, I would also suggest taking a good objective look at your diet, exercise routine, sleep hygiene, as well as how you manage your energy during the day. I am not a doctor or qualified to give medical advice, and nothing I am saying should replace the advice of a qualified medical professional, these are just suggestions that have made a difference to me, personally. I hope they give you some ideas to work with, because having energy is truly the foundation for living a passionate, inspired life, where you can be at your best. So, here's a few thoughts, from things that have helped me and I apologize if this sounds so basic... some people really need to suffer through cutting out caffiene to get them through the day (even though that seems impossible in the short run). It may suck for a week, and certainly tapering down by switching to green tea can help for the first few days, but it's worth it in the long run. This will really let you have a more natural energy balance over time. I am the type that powers through my day with lots of caffiene, but a few times a year, I have to cut it out and let my natural energy system balance out by cutting out the stimulation. I need to recharge my body's energy reserves, work on my nutritional foundation, and let my body regain its balance. NAPS, NAPS, and GOOD SLEEP: The biggest skill that most people lack as adults is the skill of taking a power nap. Either people think they will sleep too long, or wake up groggy, or they cant quiet their mind enough to actually take a short nap. There are ways to do it, and it's just a skill you learn by practicing and being patient. I learned how to do it when I used to do competitive sports - I simply had to recharge my brain and body quickly, before an evening game in order to perform. Working on your business is no different. you need creativity, focus and inspiration. And it's painful to think strategically if you feel fried and ragged. With a good power nap, you dont even need to fully fall asleep for it to benefit you. With the assistance of a good guided relaxation audio CD, you can get 10-20 minutes of full relaxation, learn to quiet your mind, slow things down, and the result is a huge boost of energy for the second half of your day. If you're afraid of sleeping too long, you can always set an alarm. Over time, you will learn what time works best for you, and whether doing a progressive relaxation or taking an actual nap is needed. Another idea is experimenting with what time you exercise, and also changing up your routine. I personally get more energy boost from lifting weights, compared to aerobics. Though they both have their place in my overall program. Some people are surprised by how well yoga and or pilates does this for them - by giving them both an energy they havent had before, but also a great form of exercise, and sense of well being. Sleep hygiene is critical too -- I know that when I stay up surfing the web on my laptop in bed, it reduces the quality of sleep I get that night. Without going into too much detail, this has to do with your body's circadian rhythym and exposing your body to light late at night. If you have chronic pain, arthritis, or other physical ailments that sap your energy, you certainly need to get those taken care of. Again, you need to have an accurate understanding of what's causing you to have less energy than you want, and then find the most effective ways of either managing your energy better, or finding ways of recharging and replenishing it, within an already busy schedule. I share all these things out of having gone thru them myself - and having family members struggle with them too. For me, learning to take power naps, optimizing my diet and exercise timing, along with investing in a good bed, made a huge difference. Personally, I have also found certain nutritional supplements are effective. In addition to having a good multi-vitamin to avoid any deficiencies (B vitamins in particular if you're stressed), there are some good supplements that assist in providing your brain and body with building blocks needed for sustained focus. if you're interested in researching some of them, look at l-theanine, ALCAR, l-tyrosine, choline, bacopa. Again, I am not giving medical advice here - just sharing some things that I've found helpful to me personally. There is a very interesting book out right now called, "The Edge Effect" by Eric Braverman, you can get on Amazon.com if you're interested in learning more about how your brain runs, and ways to optimize your energy, and avoid burnout getting even worse. In the spirit of having us all have more quality of life, and businesses we truly enjoy working ON, and growing, I hope some of these ideas give you some additional options to research and try out. Last thought, please if you havent done so recently, get a full physical and make sure you dont have anything going on, that really needs medical attention such as adrenal burnout, blood sugar anomolies, thyroid, or other things that need attention. You cant really build optimal health on top of having true health problems. And catching them early is really the key.

I completely agree and I think many of us don't fully go into taking care of our bodies with both eyes open.

Medical experts say over and over again to minimize stress in your life to reduce cardiovascular disease which is one the leading causes of death in America. We all know how stressful running a business can be, but we must honestly look at the pros and cons so we know what our bodies are agreeing to. Dr. Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet Ox, two heart surgeons say, " we don't know why, but if you get less sleep than you need you increase your arterial aging and your risk of heart attack. Studies have shown that the optimal amount is 7-8 hours per night for men, and 6-7 hours for women. And those need to be solid hours: You have to be snoozing about two and a half hours ina row before you sleep becomes truly restorative. Inadequate sleep causes you to relase less of the pleasure hormone serotonin in your brain. To compensate, you try to increase those levels with foods like sugar or harmful substances like tobacco. So ignoring sleep is like igoniring a leak in the roof- if you do, things will only get worse." (You the Owner's Manual, page 64)

The long and the short is take your body seriously! That is one thing you need to prioritize higher than your business stresses, otherwise you'll have regrets!

Hi Steve,

Well, I hope you don't feel alone, as many of us have been their from time to time. Below are a few key points I picked up a few years ago that helped immensly with focusing on what I needed to do to work on the business.

First and most important, ONE HOUR A DAY devoted to strategic work, working on the business. Strategic work is any work related to planning, tracking, or managing the operation of the business. You need to make this a daily practice and it needs to take priority over ANYTHING ELSE you do. If you develop this habit, you’ll begin to change the way you see the business. If you don’t, you probably won’t (or it will take a lot longer to make the shift).

Try doing something different at least once a week. Whether it’s a new way of thinking or approaching something, a new way of training employees, a new way of interacting with customers, a new way of producing the product or service, a new way of answering the phone, or even something as simple as a new way of dealing with incoming mail, trying something new helps to exercise the entrepreneurial “muscle.” You need to try something new even if you don’t have all of the answers or aren’t sure how it will work. It does not have to be perfect. Waiting for it to be perfect is just an excuse to not try anything new! Just try it, and observe it closely to see what works and what does not.
You can make adjustments as you go, based on what you learn.

As soon as possible, start looking for ways to delegate technical work to others. Make a list of what kind of technical work you want to delegate, decide which POSITION (not person!) is most appropriate to delegate to, and create a timeline and a plan to hand it over.

Take away employees’, customers’, and family’s permission to interrupt whenever they feel like it. Few strategies will have a greater impact on your productivity! Have employees get in the habit of prioritizing their “crisis” and develop a proposed solution to the issue BEFORE they come to you. Only events that require IMMEDIATE attention are worth an interruption. If the situation does not require immediate attention, the employees MUST find another way of communicating with you. E-mail, voicemail, adding it to the agenda of the next scheduled meeting, or putting it in a report are all preferred to interruptions. For customers, make someone else in the business the point of contact. Change your cell phone number and don’t give the new one to your customers. Instruct your employees not to give out the new number to ANYONE. Instruct your family to limit calls to you during the work day. Let your voicemail pick up the calls that do come in. You can listen to your messages and return them in batches a couple of times a day, instead of dealing with every perceived “crisis” in the moment.
Review your goals once a week and create a plan to do some work that week to generate observable, quantifiable progress toward those goals.

This is not easy, yet a little bit each day will make a huge difference. Good luck!

Rachel

I'd be interested in knowing how E-Myth came to its conclusions about what is described in the article as Gratification Mode and Purchase Preference. Is there some scienfific proof that validates this theory?

Thank you

I'm currently a Beauty Professional and am in the process of creating a hair care product line and an online marketing strategy. Since the customer can't touch or feel the product we will have to appeal through an audio and visual vehicle. Any suggestions on approach or strategy?

Any advice on an on-line business where face to face contact is minimal.

Hi Sally, what a great question. If you surf the web and look for presentation styles, you'll see that websites too can use gratification modes! A website that wants to attract interpersonals might have a live chat option, for instance, to give the technology a human touch. Another website wanting to attract introverts with experimental tastes might use the latest technology. And yet another one looking for an objective/performance market might show a price comparison chart, or a features comparison list. It an actually be fun to analyze other websites. Take a look through new eyes at Amazon, for instance. What gratification mode and purchase preference do you think they're trying to attract?
So -- although you may not have face to face contact with your clients in the traditional sense, your website can be your "face," just the same way! All you have to do is think outside the box about who you want to attract, and how you can use the internet instead of a person to make the approach.

Hope that helps!

What if you have a product that YOU sell on a wholesale level, say to a distributor, and THEY in turn sell to a retail level. Since you not only depend on the product selling to your customers, but also it must sell to their customers in order to be successful how do you try to position it and to which customer?

I have three strong target market segments. Does E-Myth suggest that I only pick one and concentrate on it, or can I have more? I've always been confused if you can have more than one target market. If so, how does that affect your segmented marketing campaign? Is it confusing to customers. Esi Fassi

Esi, you can have as many target markets as you want however, realistically you'd be best to focus your time and money on the most promising market (based on your initial market research). It is unlikely that a product or service would have 3 markets that each comprise exactly 33.333% of sales. Target markets are not an exact science; sometimes demand for your product or service may emerge from a group you weren't even soliciting. Sometimes a group you were sure would have potential appear to be uninterested.

Your marketing campaign will not be confusing to multiple customer segments if your commitment, or main message, is consistent. You may have two very different marketing campaigns with their own look and feel that address the individual needs of each market yet your main message should always be consistent to prevent conufsion.

It may simply come down to targeting the one market that will be the easiest to reach first, the one that will require the least amount of your resources (since I assume this is a new venture with little capital).

I hope this helps.

Im not sure if this is the right forum, but I am looking for some help with management. I have a small business that combines physical therapy and personal training services and offers them out of local gyms. My niche is that I provide medically based fitness programs. It is of course a service based business. Thats where I am running into a problem. In order to keep my niche, I must grow by bringing in another therapist. Another possiblity might be to work with an assistant which would typically earn less. I know that Michaels book takes about creating the system and then bringing in less skilled people to run the system. However, in my situation, I dont know how to approach this. My business in based on the idea that people get to work with a healthcare profession vs. personal trainer. Therapists require a higher salary. How do I approach this problem. Where can I go to learn more about how to create a system that will work for me. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Management in a Nutshell: Think Systems!

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