Get a grip on your business

I have read a number of “management books” in recent months but my favourite so far is a book called Traction by Gino Wickman.

If you are a business owner I strongly recommend this to you.

Particularly so if at any time you experience the common frustration of not seeing your business go forward at the pace you think it should be moving.

One of the many thoughts in the book that struck a chord with me was “You can only run your business on one operating system.”

In any business of any size you can bet your life that some people are trying to do the job differently to others.

You could argue that this is just human nature; each of us trying to impose our world view on the work that we do.

But this is no way to run a business. It weakens the collective endeavour if everyone is trying to get the same result but by using different systems and procedures, even different words to describe the same task.

Wickman asks the reader to imagine a couple of scenarios.

For example imagine coaching a sports team with two different methods or even running one country with two different governments. Chaos would ensue.

Businesses are no different a key component to making them tick is for everyone to follow the same systems and processes.

Progress is easier to achieve if this done.

If members of the business team choose not to follow the prescribed systems and processes then energy is wasted trying to get them back on track.

Failing to follow agreed systems and processes is also a contributor to reduced profits.

Wickman states “You cannot build a great organisation on multiple operating systems- you must choose one.”

Once you have done that your way of doing business will simplify and become much better at what it does.