Systemized organization has become the mainstay of my businesses!
Doing some research, recently, about Internet radio and pod-casting, lead me to a business acquaintance who was producing an Internet show featuring “obscure” music. He had a growing audience of listeners from all over the world, and suggested our company be a sponsor for his show. I liked the idea of getting advertising “at a great rate,” for my sons’ online printing company, buyerprinting.com.
Well, he was right. It didn’t cost much and, since he was also one of our customers, I wrote the ad copy and sent it to him.
A few days later, he gave me a CD of the show that had aired our commercial. While driving to my office, I put the disc in and began listening.
When my friend said his show was about “obscure” songs, I guess I thought maybe he meant just “blasts from the past.” But, these songs were beyond anything I’d ever heard, and now I understood the term “oldies but moldies.” Obscure, for sure!
The song that got me laughing, was an old cut by Burl Ives…
“Mr. In-between” and a Systemized Organization
Have you ever listened to a song, and then find yourself unable to get it out of your head? Some call them “musical earwigs.” I kept singing that crazy song, “Mr. In-between,” all day long, until my wife was becoming a little annoyed. But, being what I used to think was a pretty good songwriter, I started making up my own lyrics to the song, in sort of a mocking way, which only annoyed my wife further. My wife and I agreed on one thing, however…
By today’s standards, “Mr. In-between” was a pretty lame song. However, the title and some of the lyrics, I thought, would make for a pretty good BLOG.
So, here it is… a blog about “Mr. In-between,” or (for the PC crowd) “Ms. In-between,” if you prefer. Either way, it should work just fine.
In my book, “System Busters,” I went into some detail about the process of making that important decision to bring your business to order, by way of systemization. In other words, writing down the way your business operates, step by step, process by process, policy by policy, etc. That’s how you create an Operations Manual.
Next—to ensure your employees have easy access, so they can do their jobs—you train them on how to improve the Operations Manual (the system). You want them to be ready when a “system busting/non-conforming event” causes errors, bottlenecks or just plain ole chaos.
Some Owners Are Stuck In-Between
A sad thing my team experiences sometimes, working with many business owners, is they just can’t bring themselves to make the decision to JUST DO IT. Seems they’re stuck somewhere IN-BETWEEN. They’re caught between the dream they once had of OWNING a business, and the nightmare of having a very difficult and stressful JOB, along with all the ownership responsibilities.
It’s not a happy song, and it’s definitely NOT one you want stuck in your head! But, maybe you can relate to Burl Ives’ lyrics to “Mr. In-between,” when it comes to your business lately? Sing along, if you know it, or can relate!
I’ve looked all around and my hopes are a-dimmin’
I feel like a fish not allowed any swimmin’
And it makes a fella mean
To feel he’s a part of the Lost Generation
I feel like a choo-choo that can’t find the station
I work like a dog with no recreation
They call me “Mr. In-between”
Thinking I can write a better song for you!!
Did I mention? Great systems work?
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