Inspiring Innovation and Creativity through Business Systems
Ok, I admit: "I am a big fan of systems, It's all about Systems." It could just be the Mechanical Engineer and Business Analyst coming out in me, but it goes much deeper than that. It is definitely grounded in my recent experiences with systems. We are surrounded by systems, and our lives revolve around them and rely on them working infallibly. The cars (or motorbikes) we drive, the computers we use and the human bodies we live in, are all brilliantly refined and intricate systems that we use everyday. We expect them to work predictably and consistently every time we use them. Imagine your business running as smoothly and consistently as the other systems that you rely on in your life! Imagine people having a consistently outstanding and exceptional experience, each and every time they come into contact with your Business. Surely it would result in improvements to your bottom line, not to mention the impact that it would have on your life, and that of your employees, suppliers, customers, lenders and investors. Every process in your business, even creative processes, have a specific pattern that can be observed, improved on then developed into a business system. You may view systems as having the potential to stifle the creativity of your people, but the effect of using a well developed system is quite the opposite (especially for creative processes). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well developed Business Systems have the effect of inspiring Innovation Creativity and Passion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This very article that you are reading is an example of a creative process that uses business systems to ensure that it is consistently produced. The steps required to research, write then release this article are all tasks in a well developed business system. The system is scheduled and reminds me that it is time to write another article. The tasks are laid out in order and contain the specific details for what is required. I follow the tasks, concentrating my energy on the most important part, the creative output of the articles contents. The system frees me from having to remember or reinvent the article writing process and ensures that I complete the process consistently as scheduled with the most time devoted to the creative process. The real value of business systems comes after they have been developed and refined. At this point you can either continue to operate the business system as is, assign the tasks to other people in your business or outsource the work. The work that needs to be done in your business will continue to be completed as you have specified in your business systems. The managers in your business can then monitor the results of the system ensuring that the work is being completed on time with the required quality and consistency. You can enjoy the extra free time that well developed business systems will give you, Isn’t this the very reason that you started your businesses in the first place? Copyright 2006 www.BusinessSystemsManager.com
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