Everything that's relevant to our existence has a purpose that plays a vital role in a system. - To be relevant in your industry you need to become a 'Systems Thinker'.
Most entrepreneurs are system thinkers, what this means is they view things as a system. Inputs > Processes > Outputs > Feedback. Let's look at the world and point out the most valuable systems known to mankind.
The Galaxy - Has a Solar System that's made up of planets, every planet is interconnected, and different elements have a cause and effect on every other planet. - Its purpose is to keep balance.
Earth - Has an Ecosystem (Nature) As Humans live in nature, there are trees that have a purpose to supply oxygen, to do that they require water which comes from 'The Water Cycle' - The sun evaporates the water to the clouds, warms the clouds and raindrops down.
- The Sun's purpose is to make things grow.
- The Earth's purpose is to grow vegetation.
- Water has a purpose to keep us hydrated.
The best system in the world is Nature - It's smarter than Humans!
ok, we've identified both the Galaxy and Earth follow very important systems that are core to human existence. - Let's look at humans.
Mankind - The human body functions on multiple systems to keep us alive, for example, Circulatory System, Respiratory System, Nervous System, Immune System, Digestive System, Cardiovascular System, and Reproductive System.
Humans live in society. In society, we have Social Systems and Legal Systems. Without these systems, humans wouldn’t know how to communicate and be accepted in society.
As children, we attend school to learn two key systems. The Language System and the Numbering System. When we become adults we get into business and use the numbering system to create Accounting Systems to identify profit and loss.
When we observe this understanding, humans operate and interact better under systems and processes on many levels that have a purpose for groups of individuals to connect.
How does this help your business? In business, there are key components in a Brand's Strategy that have a cause and effect on each other. An example is Customer Support, this is often overlooked. I've had personal bad experiences where after-sale customer support has been outsourced or passed onto staff with little to no training. This is usually because the business owner cannot see a direct influence on income coming from customer support. - This is a mistake!
A systems thinker will look at the complete brand experience and realises if that person has spent money with the company and has an after-sale question and you don’t respond late, badly, or in fact, you don't respond at all, the chances are they will become frustrated and in the future when you have something new to sell (which is highly likely) the chances are they won't purchase from you again. When a customer has an amazing experience they will rave about you to their friends and family! - Customer Support is just as important as the sale itself.
Plan out a step-by-step process the customer takes from the initial interaction, all the way through to future recurring product sales.
Let’s look at examples of service businesses with one product to sell operating at a high level, using systems and processes in their delivery to make a huge impact.
FITNESS INDUSTRY
Joe Wicks, The Body Coach - The Biggest name in the UK for Personal Training (A highly saturated industry). When Joe launched his website he offered a packaged service product called the 90-Day SSS (Shift, Shape, Sustain)... 5-6 years later, he still offers the same service, except a heavily refined called the 90 Day Plan. - Joe has the audience and finances to offer more services, but he sticks to his plan!
Naturally, we think by offering more services we will increase the chances for more opportunities in business. Yes, this is possible, but it comes with huge consequences… If Joe was to offer a second service that was not an extension of The 90-Day Plan he would be doubling his team's workload. More pressure on the team could result in mistakes and unsatisfied customers working at this level, if this was to happen it would not only affect the new product, it would have a major impact on his core product and potentially damage his business as a whole.
F45training - A gym franchise that has a systematic process structured to facilitate functional fitness for 45 minutes. The fastest-growing in-demand business franchise in the world throughout all industries in 2019. You arrive 10 minutes before class, there is a circuit demo where you line up on the blue track, and you have a group warm-up before a functional fitness circuit for 45 minutes followed by high fives! - People arrive they follow the system and people get results.
If you're a service-based business owner wanting to make a real impact on people's lives you've got to make it before it can matter!
RESTAURANTS
Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares - Messy unorganised restaurants, Gordon Ramsey simplifies everything and puts systems in place. The 'Service Product' (which is the menu) Gordan Ramsey simplifies with only a handful of options so it can be delivered at a high standard from day one. - Six Starters / Six Mains / Six Desserts. Everything has the potential to be delivered with perfection as practice makes perfect.
Add more meals to the menu and you're adding more pressure on the team to deliver. - After a few weeks 'every' restaurant is thriving with business!
Burger & Lobster - A business pushing this understanding to the extreme. Do you want a burger or lobster? People go there knowing the process and what to expect and the staff will only get better at cooking and refining that process with time way ahead of any possible competition. - The result is the customer's expectations are always achieved, so they go home, tell their friends and family and bring them along next time.
Let's say you were considering opening a burger restaurant and you’re a component thinker, it’s highly likely that the first thing you would be asking yourself is how can I make the ultimate burger for my business to be successful? - You don’t necessarily have to build the best product, you need to build the best experience!
McDonald’s - They’re not trying to build the best burger, yet they are one of the most popular restaurants in the world and have been for decades! No bespoke menus, everything is cooked and served following a systematic process, to the extreme that they are a restaurant without chefs! - The customers know what to expect and they keep coming back!
Five Guys - has a regimented process, similar to McDonald’s, however they're triple the cost of a McDonald’s and they too have a constant queue of customers wanting to eat out at their restaurants. This shows that the price tag is irrelevant. - the customer experience business model always wins!
It's easier to hire staff and teach them a system, with the added bonus you know the specific tasks required for the role that the individual has to master. - You're guaranteed to hire a team of experts!
So what's your purpose and what systems and processes can you put in place to deliver your solution? Keep it simple! get fancy later... (If fancy is required). Picture your business as a drive-thru, whats happenings at each stop?
Talk soon,
Lawesey
