Don’t you just love easy to follow instructions? I say that as a person who normally rebels against all forms of process in favour of #creativity, #spontaneity and freedom, or so I like to think! It is my daughter’s 4th birthday today and I have spent the last 30 minutes assembling a Play Corner Shop and I feel such a sense of accomplishment as I look at it all bright and shiny in our kitchen waiting for her return from crèche. My feeling of accomplishment is totally overkill of course as the instructions were literally Child’s Play. However as someone who runs a business and spends a lot of time making decisions, troubleshooting, marketing and selling I really enjoyed the experience of following the clearly laid out #Step-by-Step instructions, each step bringing me a little nearer to completion, #motivating me to finish the task at hand. Ta ta … job complete, lovely, and my daughter Ruth will be beyond excited. Result!
This simple experience gets me thinking, in my quest for an exciting life full of spontaneity and freedom could I possibly be blocking some of my own #potential through my more haphazard approach at times? Full disclosure I am exaggerating slightly, I am a little more organised than I am letting on but there is huge room for improvement. More and more I understand the value of having the basics in place, to have #clearprocesses that everyone in the business can simply understand. It not only removes the need for me to be always available but more importantly gives employees and partners the ability to feel ownership of their own achievements entirely.
Even though I am on a steep learning curve, I now truly believe being organised, having systems and processes in place and working to a plan not only helps us be more productive and frees up time and headspace for #innovation and #creativity but also leads to reduced stress, increased happiness and a sense of pride. Now that’s #motivating.
I recently listened to the #E-Myth, a business book written by Michael E. Gerber over 25 years ago based on the principle that business are set up by technicians rather than business people. The book takes us through a list of examples and helpful tools to move from a #TechnicianMindset to an #EntrepreneurialMindset. He wholly encourages clear processes to build a successful business of any type. I recommend this book to anyone running a team and looking to improve #productivity and #profitability.
Also extremely useful is David Allen’s book ‘Getting Things Done’. I was given this book by my husband when I was going through some changes in the business a few years ago. Reading David Allen’s book fundamentally changed the way I do business and lead others and probably was the beginning of me realising the value of having #clearprocesses, being organised and having the fundamentals in place to allow a business grow. I was so delighted with what I learnt from #DavidAllen that I added him to my portfolio of #MotivationalSpeakers so my clients can book him to speak at events around the world so that they too can gain insights into his methodology and adapt his tools in their own organisations.
Today I had set myself the task of completing this blog (rather than just procrastinating) and having done so I now feel free to call it a day and go collect my daughter so we can come home and do some ‘play’ shopping together. Let the fun begin. I am looking forward to discovering what I learn from her as she runs her new business. It should be #ChildsPlay!
