By Eden Sunshine- "The Systems Guy" Making Your Business and Life Work For You! www.equestdevelopment.com

Business owners, I believe, by nature are about improvement.

How else did you end up in business? Most people get into business ownership because they either say.

•  "I don't like the way they guy that I'm working for does things. I think I can do it better" . Hence, improve it.

•  "I don't know of a business that I could work for that does it better than me and besides, I want the autonomy to change or improve things when I want to."

So the fact is, you are in business because you have, a least in part, an "I want improve things mentality."

That same mentality can, and often, gets business owners in trouble. Why?

Because sometimes they are so focused on re-inventing the wheel, they don't take time to put their foot on the gas to make the vehicle go. Or stated another way, they put too much energy and time into making thing better they don't focus on what is working and leveraging those things for greater results.

Let me give you an example.

I was speaking with a client the other day that wanted some ideas on how they could improve their lead generation process.

My first question was, "what are you currently doing or have done in the past to generate leads?"

They gave me a list of 6 or 7 items.

My next question. "Which of those items are producing the result of creating high quality, consistent, motivated buyers of your service?"

They narrowed the list down to four. Of course they were guessing because they didn't have a system in place to track and measure the performance of their lead generation activities. (By the way, that became the topic of a future conversation).

Still, they felt rather confident that the four items they listed were productive when they did them.

So that led to the next question. "How consistent are you with those lead generation activities?"

"Wa.wa.wa.well."

I begin to wonder when my client had developed a stutter.

"Only two," they finally responded, "and one of them is a personalized holiday letter we send out to all our previous customers."

"So of the seven items you listed you only do one consistently year around?"

"Well, no. We only do it during the slow season."

"So why are you asking me for a new system or idea when you haven't fully explored the possible results from your current methods that you have applied randomly at best?" I challenged them.

"Just what in the world are you thinking man?"

"You have the potential to make a great meatloaf, but you're leaving your recipe in the box."

In this particular case they had some potentially good, replicatable systems that they weren't using consistently but were too consumed with inventing something new. Their time would have been better and more productively spent documenting and then installing those systems for consistent performance.

Once they do that, then, when the time is appropriate, they can evaluate that system for opportunities to improve it, if needed.

Most of the clients I deal with have already achieved a level of success or a formula behind how something's are done in their business otherwise they wouldn't still be in business.

Now here is the controversy. I will tell a client to first get in order what is working BEFORE you started innovating. Before you start working on improving. Stop looking for the quick fix because your success formula is often right beneath your nose.

Now the trick is to replicate the formula.

Take the recipe for the great meatloaf, double, triple; quadruple it then you can serve more people.

Once you've identified the recipe, or documented your system, and then evaluated it objectively, then, and only then, do you engage in the process of improving or innovating it.

So here I've outlined the steps of the System Development Cycle.

•  Identify the system you want to install in your business. Let's pretend you want to look at your system for Marketing Clients Properties.

•  Sketch out or flowchart the system. At very least make a list of all the options you potentially utilize to promote a property and then decide how you would select and then place each of those options.

•  Determine the ideal result that the system is intended to produce. Perhaps the result statement might say, "To generate an abundance of high quality, motivated potential buyers of a specific property at the lowest possible expense."

•  Now get the system documented so you can apply the same formula during the evaluation period consistently.

•  Now establish the target number. Let's say that for every X amount you spend on advertising you want to attract Y number of leads on the property.

•  Now install your system for measuring the performance or results of the system as it relates to the target number. It might be as simple as creating a spreadsheet that your receptionist uses to log the calls that came in for a specific listing and where the prospect saw the listing.

•  Establish and test to system for a sufficient period of time, perhaps 30-90 days. Use the same system and methodology through the entire test period.

•  At the end of the test period, review the numbers as they correspond to the target and then determine if the current system needs repair or simply can be improved. Maybe you'll discover that it's a system not worth messing with right now, so you leave it alone.

•  Finally, using the Level Seven System for Improving Performance (yes, we actually have a system of how to improve your systems), evaluate the current system for opportunities to improve and innovate the current process.

Around the first of the year I committed to losing ten pounds of body fat without compromising muscle weight, while improving my overall health and fitness level. A set a target date of March 15th. That's the goal or result I set out to accomplish.

I feel the goal is reasonable because it's based on an approach or system I followed several years ago to do the same. It worked back then so I have no reason to believe that it won't work now.

Being an innovator at heart, I am constantly looking for ways to improve things. Let's face it there are a gazillion ideas, fads and techniques to lose weight or unwanted body fat. Beside automobile ads on TV, I think advertising all the fat loss pills, bowflex and the Chuck Norris home gym thingy majig's, take a close second.

With all that temptation to find an easier way, it is difficult to stick with what works.

So I made a decision. I am going to follow the system that worked before and at the end of two weeks, if I'm not on track to achieve my goals, then and only then, will I look at my current system to see if there are areas I can improve it, without throwing the entire system away. I might have to up cardio 15 minutes a day or reduce calories a little more.

What I won't do, is drop the entire system completely and get in on the Hollywood or Grapefruit lose 10 pound in 10 minutes diet.

So, objective number one in creating your high performing business, get your current systems or processes in place, no matter how good or bad they are, then evaluate them and then begin the innovation process.