After a career in the Air Force (Aeronautical Engineer, Pilot, Change Facilitator) Glenn started his career in the commercial world as a management consultant focusing primarily on large change programs in the corporate sector.
However, due to his experience in systems development, he began to be consistently asked to support businesses with developing systems and process improvement initiatives.
He was subsequently approached by the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Curtin University to develop a full-day workshop for business owners and senior managers.
So, after running the workshop for 15 years, and because of current client demand, the workshop was innovated and developed into a 3 Module on-line program.
The typical business journey involves 100% of the focus dedicated to working hard to win the next customer order and then deliver to the customer’s satisfaction.
Systems development is rarely a focus, and so systems mostly grow ‘organically’ after painful experiences generate the energy and focus to create a form or checklist – with a hope of avoiding a repeat of the painful experience.
Piecemeal developed systems generate inconsistent outcomes.
What if you were to now ‘backfill’ the business with well developed systems – systems that will set your business up to move to the ‘next level’ – systems which consistently deliver higher quality outcomes?
Systems that cause less errors and frustration within the business, and more satisfaction for the customers.
Many businesses that develop effective systems, during a phase of increased focus and energy, often don’t create and master the discipline of continuous process improvement.
Subsequently, the systems remain stagnant and gradually become less competitive in the marketplace as waste (inefficient practices) creep in, innovative competitors develop superior processes and systems.
What if your business generated the processes and systems that created the ability, motivation and culture for ongoing process improvement?
The business processes continue to improve, and the business continues to be leaders in the marketplace.
Staff are uplifted and customers are satisfied … and the business grows.
They fail to create systems and business processes that coordinate routine work in a standardised way. Their style of small business management pretty much boils down to just asking their employees to come on time, and then to watch them and hope their products and services are promoted and fulfilled correctly.
Well, what does “correctly” even mean?
This is a mistake that happens all the time; most entrepreneurs/businesses think they don’t need to set systems and work processes, or that it has to be done all at once in some monumental undertaking to make an employee handbook as thick as McDonald’s.
Because the average small business operates with less than a few dozen employees, their managers generally believe (incorrectly) that since the business only has few people, creating and applying business systems would be a waste of time and money.
This might work in the beginning, but the problem comes when it’s time for the business to grow. Then you may have 10 times the work going on, and things get chaotic. Quality goes down, morale goes down…it’s a confusing mess!
Same goes for when your business has to change employees (even satisfied employees change jobs, move, or otherwise stop working for you). With no systems in place, the new employee will have a tough time doing the task correctly because “correctly” has not been defined for them or demonstrated.
If the system doesn’t work … change it. If an employee will not or cannot work the system …change employees. Because once you systematise your business, it will run smoothly and it will run itself. You can then focus your efforts on growing the business, and reap the rewards of a fully systematised company.
The course has three modules as follows
Module 1 provides an extensive understanding of the concepts and principles of developing systems and improving the processes within a business. The module can be used to align the thinking of all staff within a business to support the building, implementation and improvement of systems.
The module includes the following:
Module 2 introduces the Engine Room Systems Wheel – a practical model for comprehensively systematising a business. The module uses the Systems Wheel to provide the principles, methodologies and tools to design and build tangible, useful business systems.
The module includes the following:
Module 3 uses the second half of the Engine Room Systems Wheel, to explain the principles, methodologies and tools to implement the business systems and to then continuously improve the systems.
Module 3 extensively covers the change management concepts, that are often neglected by many businesses, when attempting to introduce systems. The module also covers the concepts and principles of how to create a continuous improvement system – which drives the business forward.
The module includes the following:
