Silver Bullet Systems Syndrome
Obsession with systems, its epidemic in business coaching and self help books.
Systems can be an amazingly powerful tool in un-locking efficiency and performance, but they are just a tool, and the effectiveness of any tool is governed by the base level skill of the user. A cordless drill in my hands is an incredibly powerful tool that can be used to create efficiency and improve performance, but a drill in the hands of my 4 year old son is dangerous tool used for destruction and carnage
I see it ALL the time, business owners come to us chasing a silver bullet and the solution to all their problems in the form of “Systems”. What most people fail to recognise is that “systems” are a tool engineered with consistency as its primary outcome. A system is a process that has been designed to create a consistent outcome. When people rush to systems as the solution to everything, they can end up creating a system that consistently produces a mediocre outcome - is anyone looking for “consistently mediocre” ??
Lets normalise the fact that it is totally OK to still be in the testing phase, trying things, improving things.
Truth is the “system” already exists - the unique way in which you approach and complete tasks within your business is your “system”. The way you prioritise your inbox, the way you layout your quotes / invoices, the way you answer the phone - these are all systems that have naturally evolved to produce the current result for you. The challenge is how do you unpack all of those intuitive steps that you subconsciously make in formulating a step by step guide for someone to be able to follow, and achieve a consistent result.
It’s far more valuable to first refine and perfect an outcome, before systemising the process behind it. The problem I see all too often, is people have been sold this dream of systemisation, and in reality they are not yet close to even perfecting the outcome. Systemisation is not something that you implement and then spend your days sipping mojitos on the beach. They require constant development and evolution, in the quest for perfecting the outcome.
This silver bullet scenario that is being peddled by coaches and authors, is creating unrealistic expectations that lead people to feeling confused and lost when it comes to implementing it.
