Want monster growth for your biz? Harness the async mindset.
Welcome to The Manual Weekly – LI edition , the can’t-miss-newsletter for small business leaders. In this special edition, we’re sharing a preview of a powerful new book by Liam Martin and Rob Rawson called “Running Remote.” (You can snag it on Amazon btw.)
Told through case studies, interviews, and easy-to-understand insights, “Running Remote” breaks down the secrets and lessons discovered by successful entrepreneurs and founders who figured out how to harness the async mindset and grow their businesses remotely in the most seamless, freeing, and cost-effective ways.
Sounds like something you might be into? We thought so.
Liam and Rob met Trainual’s Chris and Jonathan Ronzio at a tech event and instantly hit it off. With a shared mindset and passion for processes, Liam and Rob take a chapter to examine what makes Trainual tick — but not before providing a historical perspective on the role of processes in scaling and growing businesses.
We’ll let Liam and Rob drop some knowledge on you now.
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THE HISTORY OF PROCESS
(An excerpt from “Running Remote” by Liam Martin and Rob Rawson.)
We’d love to give full credit for process documentation to the remote pioneers, but the truth is that process documentation has actually been the secret to most large organizations that work. Historically, if an institution was or is long-lasting and successful, you can bet it was usually built off processes.
The earliest example we always like to pull from (because we’re history nerds) is the Marian Reforms by Gaius Marius of Rome. For the first time in recorded history, large-scale armies went from conscripted men who would fight when the need arose to a standing professional military force with a process in place. Many academics believe that this seemingly small action was the key that allowed the Roman Empire to last a thousand years. Let’s hope your company lasts longer!
The smart money turned to process right up through the industrial revolution when Fordism, or the breaking down of complex manufacturing processes into easily understandable stages, allowed for workers to get incredibly good at bolting on a single car door rather than becoming just kinda okay at making a whole car. Much like Gaius, Ford understood that a good process was repeatable and workers could be trained or retrained to jump in on any part of the chain.
A 20th-century example of the triumph of process is McDonaldization, popularized through George Ritzer’s book “The McDonaldization of Society.” If you’re a cashier at McDonald’s, you don’t even need to read in order to run the register because it’s built on pictographs. Every single thing in that restaurant is measured, managed, and documented in a series of these easy-to-understand processes, right down to your small fries and Shamrock Shake.
Unlike McDonald’s, processes play a counterintuitive role in a remote-first environment by freeing up the organization for creativity. Once you’ve thrown a lasso around everything that’s repeatable, you’re ready to grow.
At the end of the day, process is not just about the lines of digital communication, it’s about the way your company translates directives into real-life actions. Whether you’re making armies, cars, burgers, or apps, we believe that a great set of process docs makes life better for all involved.
To read more, pick up your copy of “Running Remote” today.
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IT’S NOT A REGULAR CONFERENCE. IT’S A COOL CONFERENCE.
Meet the entrepreneurs blazing trails in business at Playbook 2022
We’re welcoming the best in the (small) biz to share their proven playbooks with you at Playbook 2022 !
Ask best-selling author and marketing wunderkind Seth Godin all of your burning questions.?Get the inside track on how to train for running a business with pro athletes and Saysh owners Allyson and Wes Felix. Plus, hear from the people behind today’s fastest-growing companies, like Basecamp, The Giving Keys, PandaDoc, Little Spoon, The Cupcake Collection, and more.
It’s all happening September 21-22. And guess what? It’s completely FREE and headed for a laptop near you.
Hold up — you haven’t registered yet? We’ve got a link for that! Register here .
Check out The Manual for more small biz blog posts, podcasts, and more!