Chapter 4
Assign: Leveraging Your Team's Knowledge
The second stage in SYSTEMology recognizes that the knowledge of how to perform tasks already exists within your team. Many business owners mistakenly believe they must personally handle systems documentation to ensure quality. This mindset creates a trap where the owner becomes indispensable.
The truth is that business owners are typically the worst people to document systems. While they consider systems important, they rarely prioritize them over seemingly urgent daily tasks. Additionally, owners often know too much about their business, making it difficult for them to break processes down into simple steps that others can follow.
Instead of trying to document everything yourself, identify the knowledgeable workers who already perform tasks well and leverage their expertise. Your business is already functioning, so the goal is simply to capture what's already being done effectively. Creating consistency within your team can yield huge wins without reinventing processes or seeking perfection from day one.
The assignment process follows five key steps:
1. **Identify key departments**: Divide your business into functional departments like Marketing, Sales, Operations, Finance, Human Resources, and Management.
2. **Assign responsibilities to each department**: Break down your Critical Client Flow and match each step to the appropriate department.
3. **Assign department heads**: Identify who takes ultimate responsibility for decisions in each area. If you appear as head of most departments, it signals a desperate need for systemization.
4. **Identify additional knowledgeable workers**: Beyond department heads, identify other team members with critical expertise related to your CCF systems.
5. **Assign critical systems to knowledgeable workers**: List key systems and assign them to the best-positioned individuals, focusing on the 20% of systems that make 80% of the difference.
One of the most powerful aspects of this approach is modeling your new processes on your top performers' best practices. By identifying team members who consistently achieve above-average results, extracting their methods, and teaching others to follow the same approach, you can dramatically improve performance across your business.
By deliberately limiting your initial systemization scope to the critical few systems, you maintain focus and prevent overwhelm. The key insight is that business owners don't need to create all systems themselves-the knowledge typically exists in team members' heads and simply needs extraction.
Chapter 5
Extract: Capturing Knowledge Painlessly
The third stage in SYSTEMology is capturing knowledge from your team and turning it into shareable systems. This is where most systemization efforts fail, as people dread creating standard operating procedures. The common perception is that this means writing long, boring documents filled with numbered lists and screenshots that no one will read.
The SYSTEMology approach is different and eliminates the myth that creating systems is time-consuming and painful. The first secret is making it a two-person job: one person shares their knowledge (the knowledgeable worker) while another documents it (your systems champion).
Your systems champion should be a detail-oriented, organized team member who enjoys creating to-do lists and seeing things run smoothly. If you don't have this person on your team yet, consider hiring a part-time return-to-work parent with corporate experience.
The second secret is following a consistent template for all your systems documentation-a meta-system for creating systems:
1. **Identify the result**: Start with a simple system from your Critical Client Flow and name it clearly.
2. **Identify who produces the result**: Find the knowledgeable worker who knows HOW to do the job well.
3. **Determine the capture method**: Choose the most effective way to capture knowledge-typically recording the person doing the task using screen-recording software, cameras, or mobile phones.
4. **Record the task being completed**: Have the knowledgeable worker hit record and describe everything as they do it. Don't worry about mistakes-the first version won't be perfect.
5. **Create a new system**: Establish where systems will be stored and include key elements: a descriptive title, brief system description stating expected outcomes, relevant links to videos and resources, and identification of who can perform the task.
6. **Create step-by-step documentation**: Have your systems champion watch the recording and document steps linearly. Detail level should match task complexity and team skill level.
7. **Review the system**: Have the knowledgeable worker test the system while performing the actual task, looking for errors and omissions.
8. **Have your team follow the system**: After refinement, have the knowledgeable worker train another team member using the system.
Resist the urge to create flowcharts prematurely. While Six Sigma enthusiasts might insist on them, for small businesses they're often overkill. Similarly, avoid excessive screenshots that require constant updating with software changes. Save these visual elements for later optimization when systems are more stable.
Commit to documenting at least two systems weekly, prioritizing those that solve existing business problems. If a process seems too complex, simplify by documenting only top-level steps initially. Create accountability mechanisms to maintain momentum and remember that the extraction phase requires significant work, but mastering the System for Creating Systems makes everything else easier.
Chapter 6
Organize: Housing Your Most Valuable Asset
The fourth stage in SYSTEMology focuses on organizing captured systems and implementing the right technology to ensure team compliance. Systems are truly a business's most valuable asset-more important than any single employee who might leave. Systems-centered businesses command higher valuations because they function without key person dependencies, offering potential acquirers confidence the business will continue performing after sale.
Your systems need proper organization rather than being scattered across shared drives, desktop folders, or disorganized cloud storage. Before pursuing complex automated solutions, master simplicity first. You need just two essential tools:
1. **Systems management software**: A central location where all business systems are stored, giving your team certainty around how tasks are completed.
2. **Project management software**: A way to create accountability and hold your team to defined standards.
This combination eliminates confusion and excuses by providing clear instructions and accountability checkpoints. Even if experienced team members stop referring to systems documentation, project management software ensures they check off key steps, creating uniformity of results while reducing errors and waste.
When selecting project management software, look for these key features:
• Basic task creation with assignees and deadlines
• Sub-task capabilities based on documented systems
• Task descriptions that allow linking to system documentation
• Templates for repeated tasks
• Appropriate permission levels
• An intuitive interface that won't create friction for team adoption
For systems management software, prioritize these capabilities:
• Dedicated design for creating, editing, and managing systems
• Ability to attach rich media (videos, spreadsheets, images)
• Permission levels to control access
• Sign-off functionality to confirm understanding
• Intuitive, easy-to-use interface
Despite the appeal of automation, start with "human automation" first. Rather than immediately automating processes, do things manually, perfect them, then automate. There's no point automating something until you're sure it's worth automating.
After selecting your software platforms, customize them for your business. For project management software, set up workspaces for each department and create tasks that match your Critical Client Flow. For systems management, create department folders and import your documented systems, then link them to corresponding tasks in your project management software.
Chapter 7
Integrate: Building Team Buy-In
The fifth stage in SYSTEMology is getting your team to buy into your new, systemized approach. Having your core systems documented and stored isn't enough-getting your team to actually follow them is the real challenge. This is where many systemization efforts fail, as new initiatives often revert to business as usual within weeks.
Success hinges on positioning the benefits to individuals rather than the company and involving team members in the creation process. Existing team members who've been with you longest will likely present the greatest resistance, while new hires will adapt more easily.
Before implementing systems, honestly assess your management style. Building a systems-based culture requires someone who can hold people accountable while leading by example. If you're a visionary leader who generates ideas but moves on before completion, you'll need a detail-oriented manager to implement your vision. This leader-manager partnership is essential for business growth, as history shows in successful companies like Disney, Ford, and McDonald's.
The integration process follows eight key steps:
1. **Identify who's leading the charge**: Demonstrate unwavering commitment to systemization and determine who will lead implementation-ideally a manager on your team.
2. **Know your selling points**: Prepare a comprehensive list of benefits, both for team members (fewer errors, improved onboarding, reduced micromanagement) and the business (duplicated best practices, improved client results, increased business value).
3. **Introduce SYSTEMology to your team**: Take a top-down approach, starting with partners using business benefits, then moving to department heads and team members focusing on their specific advantages. Include them in refining the Critical Client Flow and Departments charts.
4. **Start the extraction process**: Begin extraction using the System for Creating Systems, letting your systems champion handle the heavy lifting.
5. **Introduce your software**: Add links to your documented systems within your project templates, making systems easily accessible when needed.
6. **Manage via the systems**: Train your team to consult relevant systems first when questions arise, empowering them to find answers without judgment.
7. **Identify resistance and meet it head-on**: Prepare a graduated approach to handling resistance-starting with understanding perspectives, moving to disciplinary action if needed, and potentially termination as a last resort.
8. **Build a systems-thinking culture**: Deliberately cultivate an environment that attracts the right team members by incorporating systems-thinking into your recruitment process and company values.
Accept that not everyone is naturally systems-oriented. Some people simply won't follow systems regardless of incentives or consequences. Rather than forcing compliance, recognize when someone fundamentally doesn't align with your systems-based approach and make necessary personnel decisions sooner rather than later.
Chapter 8
Scale: Creating Space for Opportunity
The sixth stage of SYSTEMology focuses on extracting and organizing systems needed to scale your business. The myth that systemization destroys creativity is fundamentally wrong. Systems actually create space for creativity and opportunity by eliminating trivial decisions and preserving mental energy for important matters.
Many creative geniuses like Einstein, Jobs, and Zuckerberg used systems (like wearing identical outfits daily) to eliminate decision fatigue. Business owners must systematize routine tasks to focus on high-leverage activities only they can advance.
With your Critical Client Flow systems documented, you can now address other mission-critical systems, focusing particularly on finance, human resources, and management departments:
1. **Finance department**: Finance naturally lends itself to systemization since it consists of repeatable, regular processes like issuing invoices, paying wages, and reconciling accounts. Organize tasks by frequency (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually) and highlight the most critical systems.
2. **Human resources department**: HR systems directly impact who you hire and how well they fit your company. Unlike other departments, HR systems may need to be created or heavily modified rather than simply documented. Critical systems include hiring, onboarding, leave requests, and annual reviews.
3. **Management department**: Management oversees strategic direction, performance reviews, and goal setting. The key systems to document are your meeting cycles and their specific agendas. Consistent meetings with clear purposes are the secret to effective management.
After documenting department systems, focus on eliminating key person dependencies by identifying critical systems for each key team member. For each role, ask "If you were going to take a month-long vacation, what tasks would need coverage?"
The ultimate test of your systems is whether the business can operate smoothly when key people are away. Start with the business owner taking a vacation, then move on to other key team members. This vacation test reveals things that might have been missed and verifies your systems are truly working.
When you master SYSTEMology, every potential problem transforms into an opportunity to create a useful system. You can't predict exactly when or what opportunities will present themselves, but you can stack the deck in your favor through preparation.
Chapter 9
Optimize: Continuous Improvement
The final SYSTEMology stage creates a dashboard for business visibility and begins the optimization process. Trying to systemize like McDonald's sets you up for failure. McDonald's represents Olympic-level business systemization after six decades of development. Start by systemizing based on where you are, not where you'd like to be.
Your business is one large system composed of interconnected smaller systems. Small tweaks in one area can dramatically impact another. Before creating more systems, you need a measurement system that highlights these interconnections, improves consistency, and allows predictable performance improvement.
The optimization process follows three key steps:
1. **Create a CCF dashboard**: Rather than tracking thousands of metrics, focus on 5-7 key measurements based on your Critical Client Flow: Attention (website visitors), Enquiry (proposals issued), Sales (number of sales), Money (average sale price), Onboarding and delivery (profit margin), and Repeat/referral (client returns). Create a spreadsheet listing these metrics by date ranges, updating at least monthly.
2. **Spot the problems**: When team members return from vacation, new problems inevitably surface-either from holes in existing systems or areas lacking documentation. For quick fixes, empower team members to address issues immediately. For larger problems, create a "Problems List" in your project management software. Address this list in monthly meetings, working through issues systematically.
3. **Begin optimization**: While improvements naturally occur throughout the SYSTEMology journey, formal optimization comes only after establishing a solid foundation of systems and shifting company culture. Monitor your numbers, listen to your team, and let your business tell you what needs attention next.
Once you've established baseline systems and key metrics, you're well-positioned to benefit from expert help. Consultants can work more effectively when you have existing systems to build upon. Working with experts accelerates your progress toward making your business "saleable"-the final stage of business systemization.
Chapter 10
The Transformation: From Survival to Saleable
Most business owners already understand the value of systemization but struggle with implementation. The obstacle isn't recognizing the importance-it's prioritizing when to start. Delaying systemization makes the eventual jump from survival to saleable business riskier and costlier.
The financial impact of not systemizing is substantial: even conservative 10% improvements across key metrics (attention, enquiries, sales, pricing, repeat business, and margin) can compound to increase profits by nearly 80%. In Jenyns' example, simple 10% improvements across these metrics increased net profit from $250,000 to almost $450,000-an additional $190,000 simply by implementing systems.
Sometimes the greatest opportunities arise unexpectedly, like Jenyns' TEDx speaking invitation that came from a YouTube video someone remembered watching fifteen years earlier. While such opportunities may not offer immediate commercial benefit and require significant investment of time and resources, being prepared to seize them when they appear can lead to tremendous growth.
Jenyns experienced this firsthand when his agency's manager unexpectedly resigned. Rather than replacing her or returning to manage the business himself, he realized it was time to sell. Within weeks, he found a buyer who valued their systems-centered approach. The new owner confirmed that while financial performance was important, it was the comprehensive systems that gave him confidence to take the helm.
Without systems, Jenyns "would have been up sh!t creek without a paddle." This sale allowed him to focus completely on SYSTEMology, demonstrating the transformation of a business from survival to stationary to scalable to saleable-the ultimate proof that systems truly are the path to business freedom.
Chapter 11
The Seven Myths of Business Systemization
Throughout the SYSTEMology journey, seven common myths about business systemization are systematically busted:
1. You need hundreds of systems to systemize a business
2. Only the business owner can create systems
3. Creating systems is time-consuming
4. You need expensive and complex software
5. Teams won't follow systems even when they exist
6. Systemization destroys creativity
7. You need to systemize like McDonald's
By addressing these misconceptions, SYSTEMology removes the barriers that prevent most small business owners from achieving true business freedom. The methodology provides a clear, practical path from the chaos of owner-dependency to the freedom of a systems-centered business that can run without you.
The ultimate question is not whether your business needs systems-it's whether you're ready to prioritize creating them. As Jenyns demonstrates through his own journey and countless client success stories, the rewards of systemization extend far beyond mere efficiency. They create the space for creativity, opportunity, and the true freedom that most business owners originally set out to achieve.
