
My son Brandon, who had just finished a training session on our software with a new client, walked into my office the other day with a big grin on his face to relay what the client had just said during training. "Dad," he said, still grinning, "our new client told me his employees HATE the new systems."
Concerned, and wondering why that called for so much grinning, I asked my son, "But, what does the OWNER think about our software?" Brandon said, "Oh he LOVES it! In fact, the client said it was the first time he felt that he had any control over his business and a way to hold his employees accountable for their daily duties."
Even as I was relieved that the owner liked the systems, I couldn't help commenting to Brandon a little facetiously, "Well, I would hate it, too, if someone gave me a two-page daily routine checklist of my actual job duties and then EXPECTED me to actually do them every day. Yes, there are some things that are just too boring, and I shouldn't have to do them, especially if I don't feel like it...you know, mind-numbing things like checking the server back-up and then testing the backups to ensure the data is actually there."
I was on a roll now—sarcasm just rolled out, as I continued, "There are also those pesky little duties like filing job tickets and all the other paperwork that is really a nuisance to me. Someone should only have to do those not-so-urgent tasks when they feel they have the time. And, come to think about it, I would ALSO HATE IT if my boss asked me to keep my desk and work area clean and organized, which is not my cup of tea. It may be doable for those neat freaks, but it's just NOT me. I'm a little more free-spirited.

Philip Beyer, founder/president of Ebiz Products LLC and founder of Beyer Printing Inc. in Nashville Tenn., is a chronic entrepreneur, business systems analyst and consultant. Author of "System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business" and recipient of an InterTech Technology Award for the design and development of System100 business process management software. Beyer speaks to business owners across the country on how to bring lean, sustainable order to their businesses. Contact him at (615) 425-2652.