Complexity has a weight to it. And if you want to run faster, you need to drop it so you're light enough to move fast. That's the key to scaling in business.
Complexity is the enemy in business.
It stalls growth and squashes any hope of freedom as an entrepreneur.
But because you add things incrementally, you don’t notice the damage until it's too late.
It’s only when you consciously start to remove it that you realise how light and agile you are.
You feel like you can tackle anything!
When you think about all the:
- Battles you’ve faced this year
- Dumb things you’ve wasted time on
- Failed internal initiatives or objectives
- Or that giant list of things called 'someone else’s priorities'
You can clearly see the problem.
Imagine if you removed all that noise next year.
Imagine if you got rid of the complexity bogging you down.
As the year winds up, the timing to do that has never been better.
The end of the year is a natural full-stop. An opportunity to do things differently.
And getting rid of complexity is fresh in my mind because I’ve been slowly chopping dumb shit out of my calendar and my business for months.
The results are good and bad.
Good - Less complexity, easier to run and better results than ever.
Bad - Carrying the frustration that if I started simplifying earlier I'd be in a better position.
Let's avoid that frustration and get you to the good bit faster.
Here's how you might be able to transform your year ahead…
Complexity shows up in two ways in my business:
When did the word priority become priorities?
How can multiple things be “most important?”
In my experience, if I make everything important (or a priority) then nothing is important.
And it shows by not making enough progress towards goals or not achieving the right standard.
If you have the same problem, here’s how you might be able to change it.
Use the ‘start stop keep’ method to assess what you want to:
Start doing next year
Stop doing next year
Keep doing next year.
In this case, make sure your STOP list is bigger than the other two.
Be brutal with yourself here.
The goal is to get to ONE key priority that would transform your year.
So once you've made your list, start to rank things in order of importance or impact.
Fight that urge to put everything on an equal level.
In my life, there’s a growing list of things I want to tackle, fix, or start - annually, monthly, or even weekly...
All of it seems equally important, urgent, and compelling.
So how do you pick?
Ask yourself questions like:
1. Out of all the things you do inside your business, what’s the ONE thing that if you just did more of without distractions, you’d get to your overall goal faster?
For me next year, it’s delivering brilliant customer experiences.
Prior to that, it was fixing profitability.
2. Out of all the behaviours you want people to demonstrate, what’s the ONE behaviour you want your team to demonstrate more of next year?
For me, it’s delighting customers.
Previously it was productivity.
3. Out of all the things you could do to improve your health and feel great, what’s ONE thing that will give you the most return on your effort next year?
For me, it’s better nutrition.
Previously it was consistent strength training.
Yours don’t need to be the same as mine. They should suit you and your business.
Once you’ve done this, it’s your job to fight that urge to add more things or let anyone else add complexity to it.
Everyone will want to expand the idea and add lists under it.
RESIST!
To recap, it's pretty simple:
Best of luck simplifying this year!
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