Daily Routines—Not So Routine

When we first offered our organizational and quality control software System100 to the public nearly 10 years ago, one of our first clients was a business owner from Canada.

"Linda" had a thriving commercial printing company, but she was seeking a solution to get a handle on the daily operations. Linda's printing company had grown beyond her ability to keep the operations in her head, which happens to many business owners. The seemingly endless activities, managing employees—literally thousands of items, processes and decisions that must be addressed in a growing company in order to maintain control—all of it causing frustration and a sense of hopelessness for her.

As a business grows, the complexity of the operation multiplies exponentially.

In order to keep control, owners usually just work longer hours, spending less and less time enjoying the life they dreamed of, when they decided to start their own business. Linda was typical in that respect, BUT she was determined NOT to continue business as usual—she was one leader who was willing to change things for the better, whatever it took.

I remember the day Linda and her husband Ron flew down to Tennessee to pay us a visit and see our operations in person. I spent an entire day showing her, in great detail, the very systems I describe in my book. By the end of that day, she was completely sold on the fact that written systems were the answer to her frustrations; they were the way to bring her company to order without her having to be there every minute.

She made the decision right then to systemize her own operation.

After completing a few training sessions with us on how to implement various systems, she called me unexpectedly one afternoon—whispering as if to keep someone in her office from hearing.