Anyone who knows me knows that I'm passionate about implementing effective operations into organizations to help them work more efficiently. Other terms you may hear for this type of work include capacity building, workflow optimization, resource optimization, growth readiness, and scalability. There's so much to unpack in these topics!
The core premise for all these is the same - if you can repurpose an equal of resources (or perhaps slightly more) in a manner that lets you accomplish more, you're setting yourself up for exponential growth.
True - it's not just about working efficiently. It's also about planning how to prevent bottlenecks and any other restraints you might have on your output. Effective operations isn't just one thing, it's a compilation of many - and that's why we've asked our experts for their input regarding what you can do to to strengthen your infrastructure. I hope you enjoy their responses as much as I did!
We'd also like to invite you to a panel-style webinar on Wednesday, August 13th at 12 PM EST, where we'll cover these strategies in depth and provide answers to commonly asked questions.
Question: In your experience, what is an easy or simple practice that organizations can implement to strengthen their infrastructure and/or increase their capacity?
Ashlee Berghoff, Operations Specialist at Smooth Operator
A trap almost every organization falls into is the trap of the endless to-do list. If every good idea and future project gets added directly to your team's to-do list, not only will it never shrink, but you'll never feel successful. There's more to do than can ever be done, in the timeless words of Lion King. Creating a separate 'ideas list,' while limiting your active to-do list to a much smaller group of monthly/quarterly goals and your 'rhythm tasks,' can give your whole team a sense of momentum. Now you're playing a game that can be won, and it feels great to come to the end of a week knowing you've accomplished everything you set out to do.
Theresa Robertson, Operations Specialist at My Office Professionals
One simple practice I’ve seen make a big difference is starting each day with a question: ‘What did we learn yesterday that can make us better today?’ Whether you’re working alone or with a team this question works. It invites reflection, sparks growth, and builds a culture of curiosity, without costing a thing. When people feel seen, heard, and empowered to grow, the whole organization gets stronger.
Dave Cortright, Professional Coach
Kaizen: continuous improvement. Be open to everyone at every level, providing feedback, always with the choice of remaining anonymous. Positively close the feedback loop by calling out actions you've taken and giving bonuses to people who improve things, especially if they positively move the needle on any KPRs (reduced expenses, increased profits, increased customer satisfaction…)
Sara Carrillo, OKR Coach at Sarachas
In my experience, one practice an organization can implement to strengthen its infrastructure and/or increase its capacity is to clearly define and consistently measure its current operational baseline and desired future state for key capacity indicators.
This isn't just about 'more' but about understanding 'what' and 'how much.'
- Define Your "Current Capacity Baseline"
- Define Your "Desired Capacity State" (The Gap):
- Implement Focused Action (Using a Simple Framework, OKRs, EOS)
Tee Barnett, Coaching Trainer & Personal Strategist at Tee Barnett Coaching
Have a discussion about times when team members should expect that each other are available to communicate. This is in contrast to being constantly available to respond to slack messages, or respond to email threads. The vast majority of all roles do not need to be maximally responsive and people for various reasons will trend toward checking their correspondences, especially if expectations regarding communication norms aren't established. Being maximally responsive almost always cuts against effectiveness.
In other words, it takes very little to open up hours of uninterrupted working time for everyone on the team each day by starting these kinds of discussions.
Bonus: try to blend the 'ideal' work style of each individual with the needs of the team, not just imposing pre-existing norms from the top down.
I hope these insights have given you some practical guidance to help your organization scale and grow!
PS: My #1 recommendation is to delegate. Everyone should be working to their highest and best use. If you're not delegating now, let's talk about it - I have a great team of virtual assistants that can help support, and I can help you figure out how to use them best.
Don't forget to join us for our upcoming webinar on Wednesday, August 13th at 12 PM EST! It's a great opportunity to dive deeper into these concepts and get your specific questions answered by our expert panel.
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