For many established companies, there can come a time when processes become overwhelming, projects get out of sync, and stacks of tech become too complex to function coherently. All these signs point to a need for simplification – a “decryption” of the company and its systems. Taking the time to review what is no longer needed, retaining only what adds value to the business is essential if you want to streamline your processes, but where do you start?
Below are the members of Council for Young Entrepreneurs offer a few suggestions on where to start and what you may want to remove or rethink this year and beyond.
Members pictured from left to right.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Take a thorough look at your expenses
An in-depth look at your income statement is often a good start. Set aside time to review the costs incurred over a few months and you may be surprised at how many subscriptions and services you no longer use, but are still paying for. It could also be that platform costs have unexpectedly increased, prompting further research and cost-cutting opportunities. – Jack Perkins, CFO hub
2. Avoid unnecessary meetings
Cutting out unnecessary meetings is a great way to take the load off your business. We just checked our meeting calendar and identified some recurring meetings that didn’t need to happen or didn’t need to be that often. By eliminating meetings that weren’t delivering enough value, my team has more time to focus. As a result, we are already seeing more progress in our projects this year! – Diana Goodwin, MarketBox
3. Restructure how you spend your time
In our experience, the most effective “clearance” isn’t cutting back on business services or subscriptions you don’t really need, but restructuring the way you spend your time. We use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) to guide our work. It’s an easy way to prioritize, but more fundamentally, it helps you understand what’s important and what’s not. – Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers personal finance
4. Review your company’s knowledge sharing system
An important place to decrypt is your company’s wiki or knowledge sharing system. Archive old documents or processes that are no longer active. Review and clean up old project files and remove videos and other outdated marketing materials. This saves space, which you often pay for, and makes it easier for employees to find what they need, saving time and money. – Natalie Lussier, AccessAlly
5. Determine which projects generate a low ROI
Cut off projects and initiatives that generate low ROI. Passive business leaders continue to spend resources on anything that generates profit. However, there are opportunity costs associated with all the resources you deploy. Look at things that have a low ROI and allocate that labor and budget to projects that are likely to generate higher returns. – Firas Kittaneh, Amerisleep mattress
6. Discuss obstacles with your team
Start by asking your team what unnecessary hurdles they face in their day-to-day work that keep them from performing at their best. As a leader, you may be so far removed from the day-to-day that you are unaware of bottlenecks, unnecessary meetings, and clumsy processes. However, your teams are well aware of it – and have probably done all the work of brainstorming solutions. – Samuel Saxton, ConsumerRating.org
7. Reduce your paper consumption
Paper is not your friend. Businesses get so much of it and need so little of it. The first thing to do is to clean all physical files. You have to keep your bank and tax information for seven years, but you can get rid of all those pamphlets other sellers left you last year that you never thought about. You can also consider getting rid of old electronics. – Baruch Labunski, Rank safe
8. Evaluate your technical resources
With the proliferation of new tech apps in the business world, I recommend conducting biannual reviews of your company’s tech resources. This allows you to identify and eliminate redundant or ineffective tools and assess tool compatibility, leading to a more streamlined process and minimizing operating costs. – Samuel Thimothy, OneIMS
9. Simplify your processes
This year, try to eliminate unnecessary complications to relieve business operations. To do this, you should consider fine-tuning workflows and removing unnecessary steps to get the job done. To achieve operational excellence, business leaders must strive for simplification. So it is best to remove tasks or activities that are more of a hindrance than achieving the stated goals. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable shapes
