It often surprises me that nearly every department in a company has
systems except one. For example accounting operates in accordance with GAAP standards. The warehouse, customer service, and plant management all have their procedures. Yet, in perhaps one of the most critical divisions of any company, the sales department, employees and managers are often left to their own devices with only rudimentary processes defined.
Any task or job can become systematic. Systems built the pyramids. Wendy’s, for example, did not grow its business by hiring people and then challenging them to figure out how to do their job. Instead, Wendy’s success is based that there is a best way to take an order and then produce a burger. Discover the best way, document the most efficient processes, train everyone the same way. As a result, people work the system – and the system works and you can create measurable and predictable results.
Because of their system, Wendy’s can make almost anyone, despite of their abilities, into productive, effective employee. This fact – that good systems create effective people – operates in every area of work. Even highly skilled, highly educated professionals apply this concept. There are, for example, better ways to become fit, to get dates, to fly planes, and to bake a cake. Talk to effective professionals in any of these areas, and they will verify that they use effective principles, processes, practices and tools to complete these tasks.
They use a proven system.