Are you a perfectionist? If so, you may struggle with getting things done on a timely basis. After all, when perfection is the goal, how could anything really be considered “done?”
Perfection is an entrepreneurial killer. When members of your team strive for it, momentum slows and your vision can quickly stall.
Learn to Simplify
The art and science of simplifying is one of the most important leadership abilities that entrepreneurs can master and put into practice. It’s an easy concept to understand, but hard to execute – especially for perfectionists.
“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”
These wise words widely attributed to Blaise Pascal, tell the story. We all benefit from well thought out – concise writings. But ask any good writer how they got there and they will tell you it took lots of time and many iterations to reach the right level of clarity and simplicity.
Why Simplify?
Short answer: To streamline what gets done and minimize roadblocks. Growing/entrepreneurial organizations have lots of moving parts that need constant attention and action. Knowing how to move through them quickly and efficiently is the key to building organizational momentum. But as Pascal’s quote infers, it’s not easy to simplify things.
Start with your Core Processes
Your processes can be complicated, but they don’t have to be. By starting with your Core Processes, you’re able to provide the BIG picture to everyone in the organization to drive more consistency and predictability. Don’t worry, you can dive deep into the details when necessary – but the BIG picture helps everyone understand and comply with your best practices.
Examples of Core Processes include:
Follow the 20/80 rule and you can’t go wrong. Just document 20% of the steps in each process that garner 80% or more of the results. You will determine how much is “enough.” You can then provide supplemental details as required with SOPs, checklists, etc.
If you focus on simplifying your processes, you’ll reap big benefits that include quicker results, fewer mistakes and bigger profits. Now, that’s something worth writing home about…just take the time to make it short!
Visit our website to learn more about EOS and how it can help you simplify your processes for better results.
11710 Plaza America Drive, Suite 2000 Reston, VA 20190
703.278.CORE (2673)
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