Keep your business running like a well-oiled machine

In entrepreneurship these days we tend to shy away from anything behaving “like a machine.” And while it’s admirable that we’re reminded that businesses are run by humans and we should behave accordingly, I think we’re giving machines a bad rap.

I blame i, Robot.

Machines, when built correctly, are designed to behave how we train them. Your calculator tabulates numbers correctly every time if built correctly. You never have to cajole it to show up or stop fussing, at the very least some fresh batteries every few years.

Software is much the same. Once you program it to do x and y and z, it performs (or should…) as directed. That doesn’t make it heartless and cold, it makes the software reliable.

Systems can be performed by machines or people and are not inherently good or bad.

When we learn to hate how machines operate, it’s typically because they’ve been directed or programed poorly.

Instead of this cold, industrial feel of systems we tend to swing the pendulum to assuming that no systems means freedom, flexibility, and zero accountability. It must be great to be free from all that structure, right?

(I considered this for 27 minutes on Sunday while I stood in line as a single cashier talked and talked and talked to the woman in front of me checking out with 2 items. What I would have given for a self check-out machine! And yet I hate the robot voice that announced “UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA!” as if you’ve committed a crime.)

While it’s true that the machines, say in the agriculture space, work more efficiently than a human wielding a tool by hand, there are still systems in place. And how you decide to run your business will vary widely by your industry and values. Here’s an example:

Artisan burger. Hand formed beef patty, grilled one at a time, individually assembled upon order. Pickles carefully chosen, onions sliced thin by hand and when assembled this crafted burger is delivered to a table where your customer sits, cloth napkin in lap, happily paying for this custom experience and highest quality ingredients.

Versus…

The comfort of uniformity. Burger patties made and frozen so they’re always the same shape and weight. Cooked in batches and sold relatively quickly so customers never have to wait. Boxed or bagged to prevent ingredients from spilling while providing maximum portability. Handed through a window or placed on a tray for a customer who appreciates the convenience and low cost of the meal.

Now, you probably have a preference but neither one is inherently “wrong.” You might want an entirely custom business but, surprise, it can still run like a machine.

The manager of the artisan burger restaurant still makes a schedule, orders certain ingredients throughout the week. The chef in the kitchen knows how long on average a burger will cook, when to slice the tomatoes, how to melt the cheese. There’s still a process in place – even if it’s carried out by human hands, not a machine.

So when you’re thinking about your business remember that you don’t necessarily need to make everything automated – but it does need a system. The “machine” of your business can simply be “how we do things step by step” and that can be a mix of people and software.

When you’re setting up your business systems you want to marry reliability and flexibility. Here are 4 easy ways to incorporate humanizing elements in a business that runs like a well-oiled machine.

1. Review your language or copy – does it sound like it belongs in a tax manual or sci-fi movie? Freshen it up, be empathetic and write like you would talk to a client in person.

2. Always ask “what if” to provide other options. What if the caller doesn’t need any of these 4 options, what else can they do? What if these packages don’t serve their needs, what can we offer? What if that payment is late because a credit card was stolen? Remember that life is messy and sometimes we have to adjust our expectations of ideal circumstances.

3. Go through the system yourself. I have long contended that if the President of AT&T ever had to navigate their phone system it would be overhauled within a week. Test your own systems. Sit with a client or friend as they navigate your website or members area. Watch customers interact with your product.

4. Take in feedback and keep adapting. Listen to your team members who work in the trenches, hear out your clients when they have ideas and implement the ones that make sense. Not every idea is equal but the wonderful uniqueness of people is that we observe different things and have own own ideas. The least we can do is listen and consider other options to make our businesses more user friendly.

Action Step – consider which of your business systems can be infused with a little update this week. Not sure where to start? Look at your email auto responders and voice mail!