Those of you who know me know how much I love process. I graduated from college with a degree in chemical engineering and took off to become a process engineer. I don’t know why, but my brain likes the order that comes from having a process. However, in college, I also earned the nickname “the creative chemical engineer.” So, while I do like process, I also like the freedom of being able to create. And I don’t think those two things are diametrically opposed.
When I decided to become a chicken mama, I wasn’t sure what I was doing. Honestly, I was “winging” it. I read some books, talked to some people and ultimately decided that I had enough information to jump in with both feet.
For the most part, I got the gathering of eggs and the feeding of chickens. But it soon became clear that I didn’t know how to manage an unruly rooster, nor did I understand the nuances around cleaning the coop. Dealing with Oden, my former mean rooster, gave me confidence in handling roosters and unruly chickens in general. The coop-cleaning process, however, took me a while to figure out.
The great thing about chicken poop is that as it breaks down, it generates heat. So, every week, I rake the coop and add wood shavings. The extra bedding and the decomposing poop create a warm environment for the chickens in the winter months. In the summer, I completely empty the coop, and then refill it with fresh shavings and repeat the process. Then, in the fall, I put this bedding in my garden as fertilizer. (Oh, the circle of life!)
Well, one day, I went up for my weekly coop cleaning, opened the large side door and out flew a hen. Fortunately, my two dogs were with me, and they took off to catch my hen. Unfortunately, they brought me back a dead hen. (To date, my retrievers are 5 for 5 on catching my escaped hens, and the hens are 0 for 5 for surviving.)
This unfortunate event made me modify my process to ensure that all chickens are out of the coop and the chicken door is down prior to opening the large side door.
Other aspects of my chicken care process include when to fill the food and water, how often to apply diatomaceous earth and the frequency of changing out the nesting boxes. All of this is designed to make things easier for me when time is tight (typically in the mornings) and ensure the chickens remain healthy and safe.
I am one of those people who applies process to many aspects of my life, from how I make my spicy margaritas to the way I do laundry to how I prepare for client meetings. What I get from these processes is consistency and simplicity. And if I don’t get the desired outcome, I can look at what part of the process needs to change in order improve the results.
I know many people who find process too confining, or too rigid, or they say it stifles their creativity. And while you could make that argument about process in your personal life, if you want to delegate aspects of your job to others while ensuring they are done the right way, I’d ask you to reconsider.
In EOS, we teach that every business has a core set of processes that make up your operating system. Typically, you will have an HR process, a sales process, a marketing process, a few operational processes, a finance process and a customer service process. While it varies for every business, these core processes define how the business is run. The benefit of having these processes is that it makes the output more consistent, which makes it easier to manage, which makes it easier to scale, which ultimately makes the business more profitable.
In the early days of a business, it is easy to make sure everyone follows the processes because, chances are, each process is handled by one person. But as the business grows, more people become involved in each process, and inconsistencies creep in. But if you want to continue to grow and be profitable, you need to maintain consistency in your processes.
Recently, I was talking to a business owner who sits in the Sales seat on the accountability chart. He was talking about hiring another salesperson, so I asked about his sales process. “Oh, you can’t document my sales process,” he said. “I go by gut feel and there is no way to document that.” This is a common answer, and not just from salespeople. But keep in mind that having a process to follow when selling your product or service doesn’t take away the “feel” that a seasoned salesperson uses to move the prospect toward the close. What it does do is provide consistency around the customer experience, which I’d argue improves the outcome of the process (hint, more sales).
In an entrepreneurial company, the goal is to find a process that ensures the most important things in the business are done the right and best way, then allow your employees to fill in the remaining details with their flair.
Here is an example that you can probably relate to: a recipe for making chocolate chip cookies. Picture an old-school recipe card, a 3×5 index card (before they were moved online). One side lists the ingredients, and on the other side are the steps to follow. The first step is typically: cream butter and sugar until thoroughly mixed. It doesn’t say how to cream them or how to know if they are thoroughly mixed. This understanding comes with baking experience. But, if you follow the steps on the recipe and have enough understanding of how to bake, you will make yummy chocolate chip cookies. The recipe provides a set of high-level steps to follow without stifling anyone’s creative flair (such as adding butterscotch chips).
Documenting your processes isn’t enough: you also need to ensure they are followed and then measured to see if you are getting the desired results. If you aren’t, then what is the point in having a process? Process for the sake of process is a motivation killer. Process with the goal of ensuring consistency of outcome while freeing up the individual to “humanize” the process is a motivation booster.
Ready to tackle the processes in your business? A few steps will get you started. As a leadership team, first agree on the most important things that need to be done the right and best way. Then, assign an owner to each of those processes and have that person document the process. Once that’s done, the leadership team should review what’s been documented and agree that it is the right process with the right level of detail. The next step is to train every single person who touches that process, then begin to measure the results of that process.
This project won’t be done overnight, but over time it will begin to build in consistency within your organization, which will lead to higher productivity, higher morale and increased profitability. Doesn’t that sound like a great outcome to a process?