(Time to read this Blog is about 3 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   “The 2 most valuable things in your business are your Team and your customers’ trust.  Anything or anyone that endangers either of those must be fixed or eliminated immediately.”   
   …Donald Cooper.
     
2. Quick Biz Tip:
    
   Do you know your costs…and are you using that info to price & manage effectively? 
    
   Many of our clients do not have accurate costing info for their products or services …especially when it comes to understanding and allocating overhead or indirect costs.
     
   They’re making pricing decisions without taking into consideration all their costs…and then they wonder why, at the end of the year, they haven’t made a profit.   Our profit is something we plan for, not something we hope for. Sit down with your accountant and calculate your costs accurately.  Then, start working on how you can get more efficient, reduce costs and improve profitability.
    
3. Solving 2 big problems at once. Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) have developed a low-cost, easily-manufactured advanced membrane that actually generates electricity as it turns wastewater, seawater or groundwater into high-quality drinking water.
     
4. The big exit. 76% of Canada’s small and medium-sized business owners want to exit their business within the next 10 years, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business…but only 9% have a formal Succession Plan.
    
   Why it matters:  Small and medium businesses employ over 80% of the Canadian workforce and account for 50% of Canada’s GDP.  So, it’s vital that these businesses stay in business after their current owners leave.
    
   Helping business owners exit from their business gracefully and profitably is a big part of my Biz Coaching work.  If you’d like to chat, I’m easy to reach at donald@donaldcooper.com.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

Everything that happens between ‘intent’ and ‘delivery’ is process:

Creativity and innovation are ‘hot topics’ right now, and I applaud that. But, in the end, it’s boring, unsexy ‘process’ that actually gets things done. Even ‘creativity’ is often a process. Sometimes it’s just dumb luck or a sudden flash of brilliance…but, often, it’s a process.

Most successful companies have disciplined and consistent processes that deliver a stream of innovative products or services, well-trained and highly engaged employees, more efficient operations, consistent quality, employee safety, increased sales and an amazing customer experience.

‘Process’ is what keeps airplanes from falling out of the sky. It’s what makes a Big Mac exactly the same in Montreal as it is in Moscow. Process is what gets cars designed, engineered and produced. Process is what allows a hotel chain to know that you want a non-smoking room on a low floor, near the elevator, with a king size bed, foam pillows and a USA Today at your door each morning.

In fact, everything that happens between ‘intent’ and ‘delivery’ is process. As a business, you can have the best intentions for your customers, your staff, for the environment and for your bottom line. But without clear, effective and well-communicated processes, these wonderful intentions will be just that…‘intentions’.

To quote the late W. E. Deming, the internationally renowned authority on quality and efficiency, “If you can’t describe what you’re doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
So, exactly what is a process, anyway? Simply put, a process is…

1. An effective and well-communicated sequence of activities,
2. Supported by the necessary resources,
3. Designed to deliver a consistent, efficient and effective result,
4. To a specific standard.

OK, so it’s not so simple. But that’s what a process is…and there are no shortcuts. Re-read the definition above again and, while you’re at it, rate your business’ performance, on a scale of 1 to 10, on each of the four elements. Then, ask your Team, “What needs fixing, or better training?” and then be clear on what will be done, by whom, by when, at what cost, with what outcomes, measured how in order to fix what needs fixing. Make ‘systems and process’ a priority in your business.

That’s it for this week…

Stay safe…live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.