Systems not Goals
Vivian Mandala
Interviewing Contractors for my upcoming book!! DM if interested. Published author supporting Contractors develop systems to control costs, retain more profit and scale. MBE & WBE Capacity Builder.
“Concentrate on what will produce results rather than on the results, focus on the process, not the prize.” — Bill Walsh
It’s easy to focus on goals.
Goals are easy and fun.
Once you make them, you feel the release of dopamine, which can move you take action.
A study published in Nature noted that dopamine not only spikes when we set a goal but also when we’re close to achieving it. The bigger the goal, the more powerful the spike. Unfortunately, dopamine isn’t released during the “action taking” part, so our problem arise when we hit a roadblock on our way to achieving the goal.
To get around this, you may tell your staff, family, and friends, thinking that the motivation will come through social pressures (expecting you’ll have to live up to everyone’s expectation of what you’ll accomplish) but research shows that telling people your goals creates a premature sense of completeness. So be wary of using this as a strategy for moving forward.
What you can do is use that initial bump of dopamine you get when you initially set your goal to create a structure and plan of attack, making sure to create the plan with a system to support your daily/weekly/monthly efforts/tasks toward the goal
Systems are required to achieve sustainable outcomes.
Otherwise, we struggle our way to our goal, getting there through sheer will, but eventually collapse unable to sustain it over time. Systems create a reliable set of processes and habits that deliver an outcome. They're the daily routines that are helping you improve or move forward in the broad direction that you want. Because they are done repetitively, you can adapt them over time to gain the outcome you want.
If a system for achieving the goal isn’t in place, making the goal sustainable, repeatable, and scaleable will also be incredibly hard. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, describes this with a rowboat metaphor. He compares your goals to the rudder, and your systems as your paddle, explaining that "Goals determine your direction. Systems determine your progress."
By focusing on the small steps each day, you’ll not only achieve your goal, but you’ll do it in a methodically organized manner.
This is easy to say, but hard to sustain over many months, of course. Self-doubt creeps in and you may begin second-guessing yourself.
Consistency is key. And you have to keep your eye on the prize. So instead of thinking about what you want to accomplish think about what skill (or system) you need to develop so you get the result you want.
First step, of course, is the decide what you want.
If you don’t already have reliably profitable projects, this is where I would begin.
You should have a crystal clear understanding of what it costs each day to send your crews out, this should include your operating costs.
It’s not enough to attach a dollar value to each project. You must also know how much you are spending in labor, materials, equipment in unit costs. Per day.
You should also have an idea of how much your crews need to produce to offset that cost by the hour per person. Per day.
“I will be making $56,000 in profit on this job.” How do you know if you hit that? How much of that is actually operating expenses and not really profit? This is the difference between Gross and Net Profit. They are not the same.
Your company cannot be profitable until your projects are profitable. You will not be able to sustain an office without being able to retain a certain percentage of your gross profit for your Operating Costs.
领英推荐
What about your crew? Do you want a crew that not only knows how to complete projects but also does it quickly?
You need to create a system to attract, train, and retain them. Trained workers know their worth, so they won’t stick around with a company that doesn’t have consistent work, pays less than they could make elsewhere, and doesn’t act like they value their workers.
Paying your workers a livable wage, offering to pay for training, and making health insurance and retirement benefits available are all ways to make your company more attractive.
Often Contractors think of these items as expenses, but they aren’t. You are investing in your workforce.
Investments and expenses are different.
Part of having your financial ducks in order is being able to fold worker benefits into your labor rate, along with operating expenses. If you need help with this, reach out.
You’ll also need a system for attracting and training your workforce.
Working with a trainer or a company is vital to making this happen. Throwing your crew into the field and hoping they learn themselves isn’t viable.
Using an apprenticeship model for training is ideal. Again, this takes deliberate action and a plan. If you need help, Michael Todisco from Apprenticeship Connections can help.
What about your projects? Do you want a network of solid clients who bring you the best, most exciting projects?
Of course, you’ll need to design and implement a system for connecting with them! As with the other two examples, this takes time. Relationships and trust build over time and with consistent and positive interactions.
With the three examples above, if you maintain a reactive management style, your crew, and your relationships you will not build a system that works with you. You’ll be creating a system that actively works against you.
By developing deliberate, proactive systems that you manage daily you will create a system that works for you.
Here are the steps:
Seriously, that’s most of it.
Do you want to build systems for your company but you are not sure where to start? Not sure what the daily/weekly steps that will get you there?
Reach out. I’d be happy to offer you a complimentary Strategic Planning Meeting to help you break down your goals.