I have this notecard on my desk to keep my priorities aligned while running Ambler. My new framework for growing the business is based on this 3-word hierarchy.

Structure
Process
Tools

This is all business management 101. I read this and think “Duh, makes sense. Of course this is how it should be done”. 

Bull riders know about optimal positioning, feet placement and grip techniques. But when the bucking starts they’re just trying to hold on.

That’s the entrepreneurial conundrum - theory and action don’t always line up. 

Here’s a bit on the theory that should lead to better actions:

Structure

This is what the business looks like from an organizational perspective. We’re a small team where everybody wears a lot of hats (figuratively and literally) and there’s cross-over in who’s doing what and when.

Getting clear on the structure and who owns each area of the business make the blindspots and gaps in responsibility very clear. 

As the owners, my wife and I are accustomed to taking on every new role and slowly delegating it over time. By creating a clear structure for the business it has become very clear that we’re too heavy on doing and too light on delegating.

Process

This is how we do what we do. Most of the time in a small business, the process for a task or role lives inside the head of the person doing it. We start out with clear standard operating procedures (SOPs) and put the manual together and then we’re off to the races. But time goes by, little changes are implemented and we pick our heads up down the road and the actual process looks nothing like the SOP.

Because we have a solid structure we now have clarity on who owns each process and who is responsible for maintaining SOPs.

Tools

My hunch is that this is the default mode for many entrepreneurs. There’s a problem so we find a tool to solve it. 

Software. 
Online course.
Productivity hack.

The problem most likely needs to be solved with a better structure or a clearer process, not a new tool.

Tools are great. We need them to be effective. But the perfect tool in a faulty process is like running on a treadmill. We’re doing the work but we’re not getting anywhere.

This is the hierarchy of priorities for us now: 

Structure
Process
Tools

We start at the top and work our way down. 

Thanks to a coach that I worked with, Gerrit van Bruggen, for giving me this simple framework to apply to my business.