“It’s too hard”: How to simplify business operations
We’re in the age of overwhelm. Business owners need to do it all from marketing to logistics to customer service to financials. Never mind the competition, overwhelm is already a powerful enemy within. Studies indicate that 72% of small business owners feel like they’re underwater because of their responsibilities. 86% of businesses in general think internal processes and bureaucracy are the main contributors to complexity and stalling, highlighting the need for an answer to how to simplify business operations.
Bogged down and plain out of ideas
That’s the impact of overwhelm. You can’t get to new projects, solutions, or initiatives, because mentally the mountains are too hard to climb. These ideas might already be challenging in themselves. That’s OK because if they challenge you, they also challenge your competitors. So, if you can execute on good ideas, you’ll leapfrog the others. But in the face of obstacles and complications, you’re not even at the stage where you know what a new idea really needs. Instead, it’s a daily grind just to get the basics done and good ideas just don’t get a chance to grow and bear fruit.
Make everything as simple as possible
As the saying goes (attributed to Einstein), “make everything as simple as possible – but no simpler.” There are two ways of doing this.
- Break down ideas, processes, and procedures into manageable chunks. As an example, this is the basis of making good software. Instead of a humungous program where nobody has any idea about where it might be going wrong, separate it into smaller modules. The same works for business in general. Decompose processes into steps. If something goes wrong, check through the steps to find the one with the problem, then fix it.
- Outsource your task. In today’s digital era, you can have software do it for you, or you can find an external partner or service provider to handle it. For example, QuickBooks and Xero offer user-friendly software solutions for your financial planning. You can also delegate to a member of the team that you manage. For specialist can’t-get-this-wrong tasks, consider outsourcing to or collaborating with outside experts – especially the tasks you only do once in a while, like recruiting a new member of your team.
Quick wins
Apply the 80/20 rule which in this case translates as “20% of a process is causing 80% of the difficulties”. Also known as the Pareto rule after its discoverer, this rule has widespread application in many business areas. For example, you’ll likely find that 20% of your customers generate 80% of your revenue. So, it’s the 20% you need to pay attention to in each case. Yes, you’ll need to find where that 20% is first of all, but when you do, you’ll be able to focus your energy on the molehill rather than the mountain.
FAQs on how to simplify business operations
- Am I trying to do too much? Pay attention to signs like procrastination, tasks that never get finished, and feelings of being overwhelmed. They indicate that you haven’t found out how to simplify business operations. In this case, take a moment, make a list of things on your plate, prioritize, and start with the item at the top of your list. Decide if it’s something you should do personally or if it’s a task that is best outsourced. If it’s down to you, do it for a satisfactory result, cross it off this list, and move to the next item, and so on.
- I feel that I don’t even have the time to simplify, what can I do? You’ll need a little patience and perseverance. Pick a task, even a small one, that you can simplify, automate, or outsource. Act on this task and feel the benefit and the extra breathing space, however modest. Pick the next task that merits this treatment, etc.
- Will simplifying make me look stupid? On the contrary, simplifying to reach the undisputable truth will show that you know what you’re talking about. Richard Feynman, Nobel physicist, was a big advocate of simplification, and (apparently) so was Einstein. People who don’t understand a topic often try to disguise their ignorance through complicating the subject. Your team and your customers will thank you for being straightforward and easy to understand.
Next steps for how to simplify business operations
Tools, especially software tools, abound to help manage business and show enterprises how to simplify business operations. The simpler and more effective a software application is for your business, the more the developers put effort into their product to make it useful for you, not complicated. Apple for example has long had a reputation for user-friendliness. Try some tools for yourself. If you can see the potential benefit rapidly, push ahead to see how it could become part of your business. If it seems complicated, look around for a simpler solution.