At the beginning, we may be actually doing much of the work. But as our business grows things change. Necessarily. Our role changes, too.
We hire people. The business grows and expansion requires additional help. Perhaps even new skills. Over time we realize that our role, as the owner, transitions away from doing the actual work (selling the thing, or making the thing, or delivering the thing)…to helping others do the work better!
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When you feel like you need to reboot or shake things up it may be time for a cleanup. Don’t wait for Spring. Do it today!
Every business experiences the clutter that comes with not paying attention to details. Sometimes that clutter is physical, but it also takes form in other areas. Processes and systems get filled with clutter. Communication can get cluttered. Next thing you know, your people are doing things far less efficiently than you’d like. Time for a cleanup.
It’s the same thing that happens in your home. Stuff overtakes empty, or what-was-once-organized space. Next thing you know, you can’t find that hammer when you need it. Or the bug spray. Or whatever else you happen to be searching for. “It’s here somewhere,” is a common refrain around most houses. It’s frustrating, amping up our anxiety and costing us time.
But at work…the costs are likely higher. Clutter kills morale, efficiency, and profitability.
Think about the last time you cleaned out the garage so you could actually get all the cars inside. Remember how good it felt? Remember the sense of accomplishment?
That’s how your employees will feel after the cleanup. Consider picking out the worst space – don’t go for a company-wide ordeal (that’ll just beat everybody down). Pick some specific area, the area most in need of a cleanup. Don’t storm in yelling and screaming about how pathetic it looks. Instead, get all-hands-on-deck with the folks who work in that area and encourage them. Remind them of how good it feels to step back after a cleanup and see how great it looks…and how wonderful it feels.
Make it fun. Give them control to make the space more efficient. This is the opportunity to have it the way it always needed to be.
Tip: Have everybody take before photos. Then have everybody take after photos. Have a contest and give away a gift card to the winner. Let everybody vote on the best photo set (both the before and after pics).
The result will be higher efficiency, pride, and morale. And profitability, too.
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