define your process

Sure, you have a process for your business. You have a handle on what it takes to get work done each day and eventually get a deliverable to your client. The question is -- does that process exist outside of your own head? Have you ever paused to write it down, formalize it and communicate it to others?


Defining your process...

Improves workflow efficiency, creative engagement and effective problem-solving.

When you formalize your process, you crystallize your thoughts and better recognize. inefficiencies. This enables you to shape a framework that eliminates hurtles and minimizes creative burnout. For you, this means heightened work engagement, stronger creative solutions and, ultimately, a better work product.

Enables productive and respectful delegation of tasks to existing or future team members.

It’s tough to hand over to tasks to your team or outsource work when you lack a defined process to give them. Having a clear workflow ensures that you all stay on the same page.

Allows greater control of your workflow.

If you don’t define your process, your clients will. When you establish expectations up front, you alleviate your clients’ need to impose their own expectations on your schedule.

Boosts your credibility and professionalism.

You are the expert, but when you deal with clients haphazardly, you certainly don’t look like one. Lack of a process easily translates to lack of expertise or inability to take work seriously. Follow a clear framework, however, and your client can trust you to do your thing.

Deepens client understanding of the complexity and value of your work.

You know the depth of your work. Your client, on the other hand, only knows the face value of what you do. When you communicate your process clearly, their understanding of the complexity of what you do deepens. This increases their respect and your ability to charge more.

Few pause long enough to define a process. Do so, and you'll gain a competitive edge in your field.

r-e-s-p-e-c-t

Your clients don’t value you highly enough. They won’t pay you what you're worth. They don’t respect your timeline, and they try to tell you how to do your work.

Before you deal blame, ask yourself – do you give them reason to respect you?

Do you follow a defined workflow that demonstrates confidence in your proven process? Do you clearly share it with your clients in a way that communicates respect for their needs and establishes mutual expectations from the get go?

Or, do you just begin making motions haphazardly, expecting others to understand your process and recognize its complexity? Do you merely hope or assume they will share the same expectations?

Those broken business practices and the things you’ve grown tired of – the endless back-and-forth, the lack of perceived authority in your own area of expertise, the inefficient way of working, and the battle to communicate value and worth – those things are all avoidable and within your control.

From the onset:

• Communicate your process.
• Chart a timeline.
• Define deliverables.
• Clarify responsibilities.
• Develop an efficient workflow.

In doing so, you will demonstrate professionalism, credibility and effectiveness. Within your client relationships, you will command greater value and respect.

"A few weeks ago I was helping a girl in the store and I tossed a pink polka dot scarf her way. She looked at me bewildered and said, "what do I do with this?" I spouted out a few different ways she could wear the scarf, one being with a striped shirt or a floral shirt. She said "I can do that?!" all the way keeping her big eyes on the suspect: the polka dot scarf. I assured her that she can certainly mix that scarf with anything she darn well felt like mixing it with. Because really -- who is going to stop her? If she liked it, then she should wear it. Isn't that what personal style is after all?" 

-                                                           -from Kendi Everyday

The timid approach the gal in the shop takes toward personal style is more familiar to us than we realize.

In our lives and businesses, we look elsewhere for direction.

What am I allowed to say or do? What are the rules? What does the market want from me?

With that perspective, we take actions too heavily influenced by others. We begin to look a little more like everyone else and a little less like ourselves.

But, there’s a separate route to true differentiation. It’s a conversation that begins the moment you stop looking outside for direction and start allowing your own compass be your guide. And, when you let someone coach you through the process, it feels a bit like that moment you’re told the scarf can be worn absolutely any way you want.

ownership

I’ve read a few too many articles and books on happiness. There’s a common point most make somewhere in the discussion – levels of personal happiness are largely influenced by one’s perspective.

What does that mean? Instead of complaining about a roadblock, you should reframe it as an opportunity, extracting the value that lies within it.

I hate that. Don’t you?

It means we have to stop pointing the finger elsewhere. It means we have to own up to the fact that even if that roadblock vanished overnight, contentment would not suddenly be delivered on a silver platter. That transition requires ownership, not blame.

That notion is a big pill to swallow, but, in truth, we should welcome it. It means we can actively improve our lives through our daily choices. If you ask me, that’s pretty empowering.

"Enjoy the process rather than get all worked up about the tiniest of details."
- David Lebovitz

increments of change

Everything doesn’t have to change all at once. The incremental steps of progress are in themselves things of beauty, embedded with tremendous growth of character.

Don’t expect overnight transformation in life. Be at peace with pursuit of steps toward change. You’ll gain wisdom along that patient path.