If you're not getting LEVERAGE, you're probably working too hard.

If you're like most business owners I'm talking to right now, you're probably really busy and business is going fairly well. In fact you're probably "too busy" working in your business to create the time you need to work on your business!

Most people in business are too focused on "getting the job done" rather than leveraging their business passion into a money-making machine that delivers extraordinary value for others as well as themselves.

Working hard is admirable. But the difference between just "working hard" in business and truly creating a business that 'works for you" is Leverage.

The Concept of Leverage

The concept of leverage comes from physics, with the principle first being explained by Archimedes. Using leverage we can apply a small amount of effort to produce a disproportionately large result. The concept of leverage can be applied not just to business, but almost to all of life. Time, productivity, relationships, money, health.

The classic image of leverage is using a rod or crow bar to lever out a large rock. Ordinarily, trying to move that large rock on your own would break your back, but with a little leverage it's possible. You could say this physics principle enables you to work less while at the same time achieving more!

A Simple Test

So, here's a simple leverage test: Ask yourself this question: "if business doubled tomorrow would it be a good thing or a bad thing?" If your immediate thought is "we would have to work twice as hard", then it's likely your business needs some serious leverage systems!

Your Business as a System

One key to transforming your thinking about leverage is to view your business as a system.

Most businesses are complex systems of inputs and outputs. Inputs that undergo a set of transformation processes in order to produce valuable outputs. Whether it's the transformation of raw materials, labour, knowledge, at each stage in the process there are points of resistance that limit the system capacity.?

At what point in your business system are you currently experiencing the most resistance? Where in your business is it requiring the most effort to produce an output?

This is probably the first place to start when it comes to getting leverage.

A Recent Example

A recent client example was where the owner was controlling a manual scheduling calendar. Whenever anyone wanted to know what jobs were scheduled they had to chase down "the book". While having a manual system provided a high level of control, it actually created a massive inefficiency and was a key point of resistance in this clients "system".

Creating leverage in this area would not only make things more efficient for the owner, but would also act as a "multiplier" through engaging others in the business.

The simple solution was to create a shared online "scheduling calendar" that allowed others remote access to add notes or check what jobs were scheduled. Suddenly other staff are feeling more empowered in this area and the owner still has the level of control desired, but is spending half the time on scheduling queries. Definitely not rocket science, but until it was observed as a point of resistance everyone was willing to accept the status quo.

Getting more leverage in your business is often a matter of simplifying rather than adding complexity.

Need to get more leverage in your business? Ask yourself - "what one thing can I do differently at this point that would produce the maximum impact or outcome for the minimum time, effort and risk"?