How Do You Know What To Standardize In Your Business
If you have read the E-Myth and in the book it talks about having a system put in place to be able to duplicate and expand your business. To do this you have to standardize processes. The biggest question I get is what to standardize. The question usually comes from the belief that what is being done is unique. The perception is there is a scale ranging from 100% repeatable to 0% repeatable. The more repeatable then more standardization can be applied. The reality is that you can actually standardize just about anything.
To get started on how to standardize you can first breakdown a process into 3 categories:
100% repeatable – These are tasks that are the same every time and we can easily standardize the process. Example: Installing a screw into a panel.
0% repeatable – The task is diffrent every single time with no elements that repeat. Example: I have never experienced a 0% repeatable process
0% repeatable – Most tasks fall into this category. Example: Checkout process at the grocery store.
Once you take an inital look at your processes and determined which catagory they fall into then you look at to see if you can maximize the repeatable elements.
What every you can repeat make sure everyone is does it the same way and what ever cannot be repeated then standardize as much as possible. An example of a non standard process is diagnosis of a problem on a computer. Fixing a computer once you know what is wrong is a standard process but trying to find out what is wrong is not a standardized process. One way that your business can standardize something like a computer troubleshooting is to come up with a flow chart or a decision chart where it will help everyone start the diagnosis process.
The biggest obstacle to standard work is the thoguht that “I’m unique and my work cannot be standardized.” Try to fight the urge to think that way and instead think about how you can standardize your business.
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