Systems Thinking

We are in a pretty unique time in history. As much as the pandemic and the economic fallout have caused difficulty and challenges for so many, it’s also a rare opportunity for forward thinking and innovative companies.

Many businesses have been put on pause in the midst of this downturn. Business models have needed to quickly adapt to social distancing while the economy has been flailing. But inside this dumpster fire is an opportunity.

The slowing down of business creates an opportunity to upgrade systems and technology for the inevitable reawakening.

“Invest more in R&D even during a recession, knowing that the market will eventually rebound and new and innovative technologies will drive future demand.” – Paul Otellini / former Intel CEO

When business is on fire, when things are jumping and deals are pouring in, how motivated are you to upgrade systems, processes and software? Internal projects get back-burnered and deprioritized until there’s free time. Enter 2020 and the gift of free time.

Guaranteed that you have been putting off upgrading an old outdated software platform, or streamlining a process that was a pain to manage, or implementing a new piece of technology but were too busy to find the time. What better time than when things are slow to level up and create a real competitive advantage in your business.

Benefits of investing in systems & tech:

• Cost savings through automation and optimization
• Improved customer experience
• Improved employee experience & productivity

Consider these questions while things are slow:

• What systems or processes are costing us time and money?
• What internal projects have we been putting off?
• Where is the risk in our systems?
• What are the opportunities if we were to upgrade our systems / technology?

Keep in mind that the rebound is coming and either you or your competition is going to come out of this more prepared, with a better offering or a better customer experience. Who is it going to be?

The COVID-19 Pandemic and the economic fallout has created a business environment that’s forced extremely rapid changes on businesses around the world.

Businesses have had to quickly shift operations to a remote workforce, with little to no strategy, planning and process around it. Compounded by the uncertain economic times, many businesses are left unprepared for the challenges and are also unaware of the opportunities in this new paradigm.

Many businesses will not make it through these difficult times. Some may just find their way through. Some, however, will come out with a massive head start against their competition. Those that will explode past competitors will have been smart by cutting expenses, of course, but what they will also have done is have invested in infrastructure, innovated their business models, improved service delivery and reimagined their companies.

Imagine a situation where the entire world was put on pause and you had the opportunity to optimize your business, innovate your business model and prepare for the rebound that’s 100% coming. That’s where we are today. We might be here for a while, but the fact is that the rebound is coming and you’re either skating to where the puck is headed or you’re playing a losing game.

If there is an obvious and in-your-face change that is crystal clear these days it’s that remote work is the new normal.

Remote Work as The New Normal.

Given the social distancing situation, nearly every single business today is having to manage significant change around a remote workforce. For MOST businesses, this is an entirely new mode of operating.

First, here are a few major benefits to a remote workforce:

• Increased Productivity
• Reduced Expenses (Rent, Equipment, Salaries) / Cost Savings
• Larger Talent Pool / Geographic Arbitrage
• Less Commute Time / Less Absenteeism
• 24 Hour Production Hours (If Business Model Supports It)
• Higher Morale
• Forced Automation and Streamlined Operations

It’s not all roses, of course, and here are some of the drawbacks to a remote workforce:

• Employee Isolation
• Decreased Employee Visibility
• Potentially More Difficult Collaboration
• Work / Life Balance May Suffer
• Challenges Developing Company Culture
• Some People are More Suited to Remote Work than Others

With that all said, the benefits of a distributed team to many businesses can be huge. The challenge, however, is in the implementation.

Using ZOOM Does Not Make a Company a “Remote Workforce”

It’s not as simple as giving everyone a laptop and a camera. Here are 6 quick questions that need to be asked and answered:

1. What’s the best way to adapt our systems, processes and operations for a remote workforce?
2. What do we gain / lose with a remote team?
3. Where is the RISK? (Technology, Operations, Security)
4. How can we maximize the cost savings?
5. How will our service delivery or product quality be impacted? Can it be improved?
6. How can we help our employees to be productive, engaged and creative at home?

These are just some points to get you thinking about the new normal. I hope it’s been a helpful read. Stay safe and lead on!

If you’re interested in learning more, Lithyem has developed a FREE Assessment to help you look at your Remote Readiness. It will take 10 minutes, it’s free and it will help you look at your company through the lens of innovation, optimization and a distributed team paradigm.

Visit http://remotereadytoday.com/ to take the FREE Diagnostic and learn how you can optimize and innovate today.

It’s a surreal moment in time right now with the entire planet uncertain about what tomorrow will bring. The rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic is causing fear and concern around the world.

The effects of the situation are not only health related, but economic as well. Businesses of all sizes are being severely impacted by market fears as well as by the logistical challenges of providing their services under these difficult circumstances.

One of the major challenges is the need to shift from in-office to a remote workforce to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Many, if not most businesses are not prepared for this shift. As a remote company ourselves, I wanted to offer some thoughts on the situation.

With the specter of a lasting economic downturn, and the need to implement “social distancing” strategies, you’ll want to consider ways of doing more with less and maximizing efficiency across the board. The good news is that even increasing the ABILITY to operate remotely has a trickle down effect on efficiency. 

To operate a company with a remote workforce, consider these points.

Improve lines of communication.

In a remote organization, communication needs to be bulletproof. It needs to be clear, persistent, streamlined and effective. Teams needs to be able to communicate quickly, maintain conversations and brainstorm. Communication must now be highly organized in a way that it doesn’t require in an office based setting. Not only are new tools likely required, but methodologies as well. Increasing the rhythms of communication is worth exploring, for example daily video calls between team members.

Some helpful tools to consider for streamlining remote communication are:

1. https://whereby.com/ – I LOVE this tool for video chat. Requires NO software to install to share a screen which is a huge help in overcoming tech challenges. It has a free plan as well that’s great for up to 4 people in a chat.
2. https://www.getcloudapp.com/ – This is a great tool for capturing and annotating and sharing screenshots and screen-videos. This the the most reliable, economical and easy to use solution I’ve found.
3. https://slack.com/ – You know what Slack is. Of course if you’re a Microsoft type you have Teams.

Leverage all the power of the cloud including productivity, automation and collaboration tools.

You have a nearly infinite number of software options to select from to shift operations to the cloud. Implementing a cloud-based tool and automating operations means projects continue to progress without restriction on time and location. It also reduces operational bottlenecks and frees employees up to do the creative work that only people can do (for now). The cost savings through automation can be massive. Some of the tools to consider:

1. Productivity suites like G Suite and Office365 for real-time collaboration on documents, email and files.
2. CRMs like Salesforce and Pipedrive (or any of the million others) to synchronize and organize contacts, sales activities, etc
3. Automation and integration tools like Zapier and Jitterbit to make nearly any software interoperable.
4. Docusign and Hellosign for back-office and e-signature solution.
5. DropBox and Box for cloud-based file management
6. Structured project management tools like TeamWork or less structured like AirTable

Have clearer systems and processes in place to maximize operational efficiency.

When isn’t it a good idea to have well defined systems and processes in place? A great time, however, is when your team is operating from different locations and potentially different timezones. Systems and processes can be thought of as a means of checks and balances. Well designed systems are efficient, standardized, repeatable, transparent (who is doing what by when) and documented. Without them, you’ve got people duplicating effort, finding different (not necessarily better) ways of doing the same things and having difficulty tracking outcomes.

Read: Work the System for some great thinking on creating effective business systems.

Reduce the need for paper.

Pretty simple in theory, but for many businesses this represents a major shift in business practices. Keeping this one short because it’s a topic all to itself, I’ll leave you with this idea – that making an effort to reduce paper in a business will save money, save time, increase productivity, and (if implemented properly) increase security. You simply can’t operate a remote organization, or a maximally efficient business today with a heavy reliance on paper.

Conclusion…

Remember that some of the greatest companies have been built in economic downturns and challenging times. Stay lean, stay innovative and stay focused on the bright future.

I hope these thoughts have helped you consider some options for doing more with less and wishing you and your families all well in these uncertain times.