Episode Fifteen | If It Lives in Your Head, It's Not a System

In this episode of Top Branch, Ruth Ann Janson breaks down why keeping processes “in your head” is holding your business back. She explains how to build true systems through documentation, repeatable workflows, and clear ownership across your team. From onboarding to procurement, she shares how structured systems create consistency, efficiency, and a more elevated client experience.

Hosted by Ruth Ann Janson

Ruth Ann Janson

Hi, this is Ruth Ann Janson, and I am back solo today for another episode of TopBranch. And today, we are talking about something that I think probably hits home for especially smaller firms. Maybe those solopreneurs out there just getting ready to kind of launch their business. And this is the topic of, “if it lives in your head, it is not a system.” So, I think that what we're trying to hit home today here is that in order to scale your, scale your company, in order to, in terms of projects and in bringing on more team members, you having information living in your head is obviously creating a bottleneck. It creates inconsistencies in the experience, and it obviously leads to inefficiencies and, oftentimes, errors.

WHAT IS A SYSTEM

So let's get down to it and talk about what is a system. A system is basically a documented, reliable, repeatable process. So where in your business do you need to have these systems? This is a little bit different for each firm. There's probably five or seven things across every design firm that I would say most designers would agree that they need to have. And then there's some sort of nuanced things that might be more particular at your firm versus another firm.

ONBOARDING AS AN EXAMPLE SYSTEM

But I think one really simple example of where you need to have a system in place is your onboarding. So, you know, what does that look like? It means possibly having an onboarding template. It means having a checklist of some sort in place, and it means, identifying those steps that are repeatable such that you don't have to do those steps every time, and not even the same person on your team has to do them because they're so clearly defined, and they are attached to, different tech in your company, different storage, different, you know, whether it's email, whether it's Slack, things of that nature. And it's basically whether... It doesn't even have to be super automated, but it is, again, it is repeatable, and it's reliable.

IDENTIFYING WHERE SYSTEMS ARE NEEDED

In order to determine these systems that you need to put in place, you need to identify. So where do you need them? Onboarding, procurement, bookkeeping, all of your kind of client experience, like in terms of how you're proposing to your client, how you're invoicing them, how you're wrapping up projects. These are areas where you can have systems in place, and you should. And then, like I said, there might be some more nuanced areas of your business like gift giving or something like that, and you want to make sure that you do something when somebody comes on board, and maybe when the client or the project is completed, and then maybe something around the holidays. That would be an example of something, a more nuanced system.

TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT SYSTEMS

So we need to identify these systems. We need to come up with some; most likely, it can be in a notebook, but let's say we come up with some good technology to support these systems. Doesn't have to be the most complex thing on the market, doesn't have to be the most expensive. I would say that the best recommendation would be something that is actually more simple, something that you can have multiple users on, you know, a reasonable price, and something that is possibly design-specific. Obviously, something like Studio Designer for your accounting that's design-specific. Even for, you know, possibly your CRM, we have a product that is more, you know, nuanced towards a designer experience in terms of CRM in our product IDnest. So taking a look at that tech that can support these identified systems that you want to put in place.

MAPPING OUT STEPS AND BRAND EXPERIENCE

And let's think about then what are the steps that need to take place for this kind of documented, reliable process to be put in place. What are those steps that need to happen? And these are going to be different for every firm because while everybody, every firm should probably have an onboarding process, of course, that's going to look different for each firm. And this is, you know, a lot of these things when we're consulting with our clients about these different systems that they need to have in place, really a lot of these things are, you know, if you even take a step above that, are really a reflection of, of your brand and sort of what are you wanting to kind of put out to the client in terms of the experience they're going to have. So in your onboarding, I mean, that's something you really want to think through in terms of how many touchpoints you want to have, what are the types of touchpoints, you know, what are the types of documents that are going to be received, how are you going to be communicating with that client, and, along the lines, along that continuum of that onboarding process. There's a lot of things to think about when you're establishing these systems that really make a mark for your firm. So keep that in mind as well.

OWNERSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY

And then after these steps for these systems are put in place, you need to have ownership established for these steps. And maybe it's the same person owns the entire onboarding, or maybe, we keep going back to this onboarding example, but maybe it's different people own different aspects of that onboarding process. Regardless, there needs to be ownership put in place because if you put a system out there or you create a system document, it's in place, you've got this technology set up, you've got the steps, but you don't actually kind of implement who is doing what and having some checks and balances on who is doing what, I mean, obviously that is going to fall completely flat. So think through who are the best teams in your-- who are the best people on your team to be owning these various steps that are part of your systems.

TESTING AND REFINING SYSTEMS

And then lastly, I would say it's very important to testing and refining these systems. So you set up a system for your onboarding, for your procurement, for your invoicing, whatever those things are, you're going to be continually, because you are wanting to provide exceptional service, continually iterating those systems. You're going to be thinking about where is there friction? Where are those steps getting bottlenecked because one person isn't passing the baton? Where are they getting bottlenecked, possibly in terms of the tech that you're using? Maybe people don't know it as well as they should, or maybe, for example, procurement, you're documenting your, you know, you're doing your item entry, and one designer is doing that very different from another, so that, you know, you can't really pick up each other's work if somebody's out. So these are things that, as you get a system in place and you document it and you start kind of getting the train on the track and getting it running, you're going to want to be continually improving that in order to be continually moving your business forward. So again, identify the systems you want to put in place, let's get some tech to support them, map out the steps, figure out who's going to be owning what, and then continually test and refine those systems. 

SHIFTING FROM CHAOS TO STRUCTURE

And I think lastly, and this is probably, you know, the most important piece of this, is really making that leap from a firm that's small, and whether it's one person or maybe even two or three or even up to five, and you're sort of running it by putting water out on every fire that comes up every day, and every time you, you know, push a proposal out the door, it might look and feel a little bit different. You know, that is something that has to start with the owner. The owner is going to have to say to, you know, the team, "We are now moving from kind of this willy-nilly style to putting more systems in place." And that means leading by example, and you have to be utilizing the systems in the same way that the team is and kind of holding them accountable to the fact that, "No, no, no. We're not doing this, you know, proposal in Canva. We agreed that we're, you know, putting every proposal through," you know, whatever your project management system is or just for an example. You have to hold the team accountable to these systems, and you have to basically say, "We are now going to become more buttoned up, and we are going to be following these systems that are reliable and repeatable so that each part of our service delivery is the same experience and the same level of exceptionalism." And I think that's a good place to land because we're all striving for exceptionalism in our businesses.

CLOSING QUOTE & FINAL THOUGHT

And we know that we love a little quote here at the end of our TopBranch episodes, and this is of course no different. We have probably leaned in a little bit too hard to James Clear. He wrote this fabulous book called Atomic Habits, but this one was just too perfect. I had to use it, and it is, "You don't rise to the level..." Excuse me. "You don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." So keep that in mind, and just remember, if the information is living in your head, it's not a system. See you next time on TopBranch. Thank you so much.