Don't sweat the process...

Part of the many?benefits?of being a creative is the?ability?to spot new ideas?quickly. It’s also can be an inherent weakness.

I’m like a freaking magpie sometimes, ooh that looks shiny.

I went down an entire rabbit hole last week of subscription models from a podcast I listened to (don't get me wrong it was time well spent) but it wasn't helping me in the here and now.

So I want to talk this week about systems processes and accountability. And yes, that CAN be sexy. So please bear with me ??

Okay, so there’s two parts to me (and I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this).

The little boy?- The cheeky, creative side of me. Occasionally a lot louder than I give him credit for. He is where a lot of my creative energy comes from. He is capable of amazing things and he’s completely fearless (a little bit too much sometimes).

But he has to be kept in check by...

The grownup?- the adult with a mortgage and bills to pay, a wife, kids, and a cat.?

Occasionally has to put other people first.?A mentor and a leader. He has to do the sometimes boring stuff and pay the bills. Show up on time and do the stuff even when he doesn't feel like it.

The way I describe it is the right and left side of my brain. Both have to be kept in check by one another.?

Too much creativity and it’s chaos. Too much logic, process and grown up stuff and the energy fades and the magic disappears. I’m a big believer in that the universe requires balance. At all times.

I think it’s a good metaphor for how all businesses work. They need creativity to inject new ideas and create new products and ways of solving problems and separate themselves from the herd and they also need processes and ways of doing things that keep that in check.

Probably explains my branding ??

So how do we introduce systems and processes in such a way that it can still be fun!

Accountability

Accountability is a BIG one for me, I need reigning in (ooh look shiny new cameras? Have you see this new plugin? What about training people in orbit in the upper atmosphere? Do those trainers come in pink and black?).

So I would throughly recommend having an accountability partner in place. I have a Hayley for that, or the nagger as I call her ??

The benefits of accountability are many

• improved performance,
• more involvement as a team
• increased feelings of competency
• increased commitment to the work
• more creativity and innovation (a big one for me)
• higher morale and satisfaction with your work

Having someone there who can call you out on what you haven’t done and keep you on track whilst you grow something is (I cannot stress this enough) a superpower.

The ability to really focus in the attention economy is what separates the good from the great. Allowing you to leapfrog the competition.

And don’t forget accountability isn’t a one way street. If someone isn’t showing up for what you’re asking them to do. Call them out on it (politely of course) it creates a much stronger bond between you and the overall team.

To Do Lists

These keep me on the straight and narrow and my week is planned accordingly.

Being able to see what you're doing and giving yourself dates and times to achieve them sounds obvious but if you need to get stuff done, this seems to work (for me at least). I seem to work better when there is a just a little bit of stress or pressure round the edges (which is why I switched to a 4 day week, cause I'll get more done in a shorter timeframe).

Having a to do list and achieving set objects helps when you're trying to tackle a monster and breaking it down into smaller chunks helps alleviate some of the fear of bigger picture thinking. Would absolutely recommend checking out Atomic Habits by James clear, about how the macro is built on the micro. The small stuff done every day is what moves mountains.

Automation

This is about the sexiest thing you can do with processes, building something that’s fully automated (and yes it takes time to build). Seeing an email sequence being built in Airtable gives me the tingles. Our CRM of choice is Airtable and so much can be done inside that little bag of magic, we haven’t even scratched the surface.

Having a team and culture that understand the usefulness of automation is also imperative. Me and Hayley are both nerds (which helps). The end goal of automation is to free you up to more of the FUN stuff.

My best advice is find what in your business SHOULD be automated or scheduled

Things like

On boarding

Followups

Customer feedback surveys

Customer recommendations?

Data entry and capture

Content (getting a handle on what should go out and when so it doesn't own you)

And what you SHOULDN’T?

Stuff like?

Relationship building?

Human to human interaction?

Complex processes?

Creativity (although AI might shortcut that node soon).

Broken processes (sound obvious right)

Anything that requires constant human validation basically

And remember whilst there is a HUGE component of creativity on social (clues in the name creator economy) it still has to be process driven. You’re in the business of business after all.?

Fortunately we have created processes, teaching and learning around social to make your social journey a pleasant one. That’s not to say it won’t be difficult (all growth is). But with some of this stuff in place, you’ll get to let the inner child go wild within the constraints of a solid framework. Keeps everyone happy then (especially YOU).

See you next week you crazy kids, for more of my creative musings!