Predictable results.
Look at all those people in the photo above following processes! Have you ever been to a coffee shop where the baristas aren’t following processes? Probably not – or if you have, you stood around waiting for a really long time for a tepid espresso that you either choked down or demanded they remake. Coffee shops (especially high end emo ones where the baristas are all wearing vests and bowties) are a great place to look for the benefits of processes in the workplace. Why? Good coffee shops have mastered the art of predictable results.
We know that in generating our product or service, we are able to provide value when we know that a series of actions will yield the result we want. That series of actions is what is commonly referred to as a process. However, as entrepreneurs, we often shy away from the use of standard processes. In fact, we may even scoff at processes because of the “bespoke” nature of our work. Even the most skilled craftsman follow processes.
As entrepreneurs, when we get going with our businesses, the last thing we are thinking about is the process of executing. The goal is simple: GET IT DONE. The results being predictable and repeatable is a distant possibility – one we rarely consider until we are staring the prospect of handing the process off to someone else. Sometimes, we don’t have the luxury of handing it off, and it’s the fact that we have too much to do that forces us to consider what our processes may be and if they can be simplified.
Creating processes and then improving them is often not what we excel at as entrepreneurs. We revel in the new ideas, figuring out the problem and then the solution. Ask us to burn our ships, we’re already lighting the match! But predictability makes us want to die. Doing the same thing over and over sounds like the third ring of hell. Don’t force us into the monotony of processes! we scream.
Fortunately for us all, processes have generally gotten a bad rap. Yes, determining a process can be tricky when you are in the midst of it. It can seem unappealing to look at how you’re actually executing something rather than just getting it done so you can check it off your list (I love checking things off lists). At the end of the day, processes are what will save you time and energy. Processes are what will allow you to hand something off to someone who LOVES doing the same thing over and over as long as they can do it well.
The truth about processes is that they allow business to excel. No human is perfect, and when we rely on the perfection of humans to provide us with predictable results, we are often let down in very painful ways. Why do we need predictable results? That’s what our customers expect from us. You know about defects. Defects in a product or service are what cause customers to call you up demanding their money back. Defects are what result in customers leaving. Defects result in lost time and business – something that never feels good.
Back to your favorite coffee shop barista. In agreeing to use an espresso machine of any kind, that barista has agreed to follow a process. This is because following that process ensures that the shot she pulls isn’t too bitter or too watery. It becomes part of a delicious caffeinated beverage that the customer is not only willing to pay for – generating income for the business – but may also tip the barista herself extra (depending on many factors). In this instance, the product must appeal to the customer, and establishing a process that can be transferred to an employee allows the business owner to execute higher-level tasks that making coffee drinks all day.
You may be thinking, I don’t need to figure out processes. I can just hand things off to someone when I hire them. They can figure it out. My response to you: Maybe. Perhaps they can. Nine times out of ten, when a business owner hands something off without understanding exactly what they want and how they want it, the person receiving the hand off fails because the expectations are unclear. My first rule of process hand off is this: Never hand off a mess. It will only get messier. Do what you can to clean it up, understand the pitfalls, and then hand that off. Perhaps you have a gem of a person who will improve it. But if not, you are at least getting what you want out of the process you created.
Perhaps this has piqued your interest. How can you start understanding the processes in your business? See the activity below for an entry point. Past that, you can also consider this question: How does the work get done? Processes live inside of systems, and when you understand the systems that house your business processes, you can tweak things here and there that are getting a little too heavy. You are poised to scale because you have stable processes.
In short, the power of processes lies in the stability they offer.
Activity: Set the timer for 20 minutes. Perform a review of your week. What processes do you encounter over the course of your week? Is there anything that you spend too much time doing? Is there anything that you often make mistakes doing? Is there anything that you are desperate to hand off? Could you build a process around it that would make it less time consuming and generate predictable results?