This article is the first in a four-part series inspired by the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) Model ® and the book “Process!” by Mike Paton and Lisa González. Read the rest of the series and share or discuss on LinkedIn.
A vehicle cannot complete a long road trip without every part, from the engine to the wheels, functioning optimally. At first, the ride is smooth. But over time, progress can slow as the car gets closer to needing a tuneup. You might ignore a “check engine” light or a slight squeak and keep going anyway, compensating in small ways to try to stay on track.
Your business is no different. It’s on the ultimate journey, and misalignment among team members will give rise to issues even if you don’t sense them right away. What’s going on under the hood can prevent you from maximizing profits in sneaky ways.
Enter: processes. And not just any, but ones that are clear, effective and rolled out with consistency. A well-designed process isn’t just bureaucratic paperwork or hoops to jump through. It’s a much-needed mechanic, offering clarity, enhancing efficiency and getting you back on the road to your goals.
When you’re not selling products that people can touch and feel, you face a unique challenge. You have a deep need for the individual expertise your team brings to the table, but your clients expect all of those forms of expertise to come together in a cohesive offering.
Hence, it’s common to get into bad habits, especially the following.
Engaging in these habits for any length of time can make it difficult to achieve operational efficiency and apply a business strategy. Think of it like putting off exercise: A couple of days or a week won’t make a huge difference, but procrastinate month after month and you’re on an entirely new track, losing progress and getting weaker. The thought of putting on your gym shoes again feels impossibly hard.
➡️ The best time to fix a problem is before it arises. Even if you don’t feel the inertia yet, paying attention to the above causes of stagnation can prevent it from creeping up on you.
To be truly free as the owner or leader of a growing business, you must commit to a level of rigor, discipline and consistency that may seem contrary to the way you're hardwired.
- Mike Paton and Lisa González
In every frustrating circumstance, business or personal, there comes a moment when something has to shift. Most people arrive at this point so desperate for change that they make rash decisions. Your clients and employees deserve better. Instead of waiting for said panic moment, let this be your “aha” moment.
We’ll look to the book “Process! How Discipline and Consistency Will Set You and Your Business Free” by Mike Paton and Lisa González for direction. Trained in the principles of the world-renowned EOS Model®, the authors put forth the not-so-radical idea that we naturally live by processes, yet often fail to see the need for them after founding a business.
When you’ve set them up correctly, processes run silently in the background. The goal is to get your business functioning like a machine, much like you do when you get up in the morning and go through the same set of steps to get your day started.
First, process provides direction. You may have started your business with a rush of enthusiasm and ideas, but at some point, repetitive daily tasks took over. Setting up a process for each of those essential but time-consuming tasks can relieve burnout and fire up your momentum again.
Process is also about discipline. Paton and González point out that discipline is, ironically, what makes us feel free. Thus, consistent systems are not just optional add-ons — they’re key components that give you the space and time to innovate and apply your team’s skills to growth-oriented work.
Most importantly, developing processes for your business is a way of insulating it from volatile market dynamics. The world can change overnight, and having some predictability behind the scenes gives you a significant advantage. Your clients will stick with you — and keep coming back — for that sense of stability, and stakeholders will come to trust you.
The word “process” often brings to mind bureaucratic nightmares: days spent sitting in a waiting room or filling out endless forms. In reality, processes set benchmarks, reduce errors and eliminate costly confusion.
At the foundation of the EOS Model® is the idea that a well-designed process is the antithesis of red tape. It speeds things up instead of adding complexity. Essentially, processes are well-oiled gears that set you up for a smooth ride.
➡️ Don’t believe this? It’s probably because the processes you’re thinking of are the ones that don’t work. We’ve all had to do things that feel utterly ridiculous because they result in duplication of efforts or miscommunication. Instead, try to access examples of when a well-designed system has saved you time, frustration or money — when a formerly paper-based application became digital or a team assigned duties to move more quickly. Emulate these simple but effective processes in your business.
A process is not a cage. It’s a ladder. The better your process, the higher you can climb.
- Mike Paton and Lisa González
Far from confining, processes help you break free from where you’ve been standing for some time. Consider what’s possible when you get those gears turning:
Painful as it can be to commit to new processes, there’s plenty of evidence that they work, especially in pivotal moments.
Convinced that more or better processes are what your service business needs? Next up in this EOS-inspired series, we’ll dive deep into the steps for developing an iterative workflow creation process to align with this aim.
Keep up with this series and share your thoughts or questions about getting over a business hump on LinkedIn.
