The Entrepreneurial MD's monthly Business Development Series class this week, called "The Money is in the System", was a mind candy treat!

Beth Schneider of Process Prodigy taught us why "systems" in your business matter - would you rather get to the 38th floor by walking up the stairs (exhausting and time consuming) or gliding there efficiently by elevator at the push of one button?

What struck me most forcibly was the simplicity of her three-step approach to creating systems, and it felt valuable enough to share with those of you who couldn't attend.

Instead of bogging down with "what needs to get done around here?", it is time to ask yourself "How does it need to get done?".

Her three steps are:

1. Identify WHAT you want to systemize. Is it the way or your staff answer the phone or cope with emails? Your invoicing? Your appointment scheduling? What are those two or three activities in your business or practice that you just know could be handled better?
   
2. Decide what you want the end result to look like and be. What is the most efficient and consistently achievable outcome you want to get?
   
3. Create the specific steps that will get you to that specific outcome. This may involve some experimentation, beta testing and tweaking, and it is smart to get the input from the "front line users" of the system -- they often know the best shortcuts and workarounds.

Beth works with flowchart tools to document all the steps in creating a system, and you can begin with a sample flowchart from her website.

I can see that, once you get in the habit of systemizing, it could become addictive!

PS: Sign up for next month's class on the "Power of a Personal Brand" with Susan Hodgkinson, while you are here.