Getting Things Right First Time...

Andy Clark 9.3.22

What’s the connection between flying a plane, SCUBA diving and performing an eye examination?

As someone qualified to do all three of the above activities, the answer for me is that they all rely on tried and tested systems that must be performed properly every time or there can be terrible consequences.

As a SCUBA diving instructor, I have spent long hours teaching people to stay safe underwater by following countless systems.

In flight school, my instructors did exactly the same thing for me, they made sure that I had learned and practiced  the systems of flight and only allowed me to fly on my own once they were second nature to me.

Just the same with optometry, I was taught systems, how they worked, why they worked and when to use them and only let loose on the public when I could prove that I was a master of them.

This leads me to a simple conclusion: if you want something doing well, systematise it.

This applies to everyday activities, from teaching our children to cross the road, to following Delia’s recipe for Yorkshire pudding.

And if they are not applied properly, then we don’t get the expected result.

System slippage occurs when either the system hasn’t been created in the first place, hasn’t been properly instilled in someone, or it is not adhered to.

Think of all of the jobs in your business that should be done in just the right way and all of the jobs that aren’t being done properly.

Customer experience done well doesn’t happen by accident. The best companies have systematised their excellence to ensure that every customer receives the same exemplary experience every time.

Your practice must have a Brand Standard customer experience system that defines exactly how to do it.

There are so many ways to make or lose a sale, and also so much rubbish spouted by people who don’t know how to do it. Your practice must have a Brand Standard sales system that defines exactly how you facilitate the purchase of your services and products. (If you've not got one look for I Can Help You With That online and we'll train your whole team to use a superb sales system.)

Poor businesses don’t have systems and, in their absence, the staff perform their  tasks in a manner that is determined by what they feel like doing today.

This is particularly tragic in an independent business, where a great deal of its unique proposition is found in a superior customer experience.

Creating a system requires you to document three items.

1.The Standard – a clear description of what success looks like.

2. The Why – so your team know why it’s important that they achieve it.

3. The System – the step by step list of non-negotiable details that will achieve the Brand Standard.

Failure to do this leads to the loser’s battle cry “If you want something doing right, you’ve got to do it yourself!”

If you would like to take a year systematising best practice in your practice, we have created the Big M programme to do just that.

Find out how it works at practicebuilding.co.uk/bigm