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Most businesses lose time, margin and customers at the handovers nobody owns. Mena and I map the full customer journey, the backbone of systems and processes for business growth, then show how to assign owners and hunt down hidden waste.

• Every business runs on five stages: reach, sales, delivery, billing and after-sales care. Southwest Airlines’ 2022 meltdown shows what processes nobody can see end up costing
• Give each stage one directly responsible individual (Apple’s DRI idea) and a defined output. “The sales team looks after sales” isn’t an assignment; “sales ends with a signed proposal and deposit in hand” is
• Scaling usually breaks business operations at the handovers, not inside the stages. When one owner is accountable for each handover, the founder can stop doing everything in the business
• Toyota’s seven wastes are a useful lens for finding the steps your processes have outgrown, such as duplicate spreadsheets or chasing information that should arrive automatically

Chapters

00:00 - Zooming out from one process to the whole business
01:20 - Why you can’t fix a process you can’t see
03:27 - Southwest Airlines: what invisible processes cost
05:20 - The five-stage customer journey
07:09 - Airtasker: a journey designed end to end
09:06 - One owner and one defined output per stage
10:56 - Apple’s directly responsible individual
13:28 - When handovers fail: the bank promotion example
16:41 - Hunting waste: Toyota’s seven categories
19:52 - Auditing your core processes
22:49 - What to do next: four steps

References

• Ep 198: Trust is the real thing your customer is buying
• Ep 200, the customer advocacy episode
• Ep 201, the founder-as-hero episode

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

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Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn. Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

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If your business still runs through you, that is an engine problem, not a people problem. Mena and I break down what systems and processes for business growth actually look like, and the four numbers that show whether yours work.

• Most owners start as what Michael Gerber calls the technician: excellent at the work, but stuck working in the business rather than on it. Learning to step off the tools as a business owner starts with building systems from day one
• Try the holiday test. If you couldn't take two to four weeks off at short notice without clients or your P&L suffering, you have an engine problem
• A real system has five parts: a trigger, defined inputs, clear steps, a consistent output, and an owner who keeps it current. Codify the mechanical steps the way McDonald's did, and train for the judgment calls with decision trees and escalation points
• To build a business that runs without you, track four numbers for each core process: cycle time, error rate, rework, and onboarding speed

Chapters

00:00 - From value to engine: the next VERT pillar
01:56 - Why talented people don't scale: the E-Myth technician
04:42 - The real cost of a founder-dependent business
07:26 - The holiday test
08:17 - What a business system actually is: five parts
11:15 - The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist
12:39 - Mechanical steps vs judgment calls
16:02 - Four numbers that show whether your engine is working
19:58 - Four questions to reflect on
22:39 - Next week: map the journey before you fix it

References

• Ep 186: The Holiday Test: Can your business run without you?
• The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber
• Ep 200, last week's episode on customer advocacy

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn. Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Send us Fan Mail

Your happiest clients are often your best source of new business, yet most owners leave referrals to chance. Mena and I walk through a referral engine framework: earn advocacy first, ask at the right moment, and make the introduction low risk.

• You can buy attention, but you have to earn advocacy. Fyre Festival's influencer spend couldn't cover for a promise it never delivered
• The right time to ask is straight after a client acknowledges the value they've received. Swap "do you know anyone?" for a question tied to the specific problem you just solved
• Referring is risky for the client, so position introductions as a no-obligation second opinion, make the process simple, and commit to treating every referral with the same respect
• If you're working out how to get consistent leads for your business, start with the clients you've already delighted. A pricing strategy for small business that protects margin funds the experience people talk about, while discounting trains clients to wait for a sale

Chapters

00:00 - Why customer advocacy needs a system
02:10 - Buying attention vs earning advocacy: Fyre Festival
04:32 - The right moment to ask for a referral
07:24 - A better question than "do you know anyone?"
09:46 - Why referrals feel risky, and how to reduce that risk
14:34 - Pricing power and the advocacy flywheel
18:10 - Five questions to test your advocacy system
21:22 - Our 200th episode, and what's next: the Engine pillar

References

• Ep 199: Why are your best customers quietly leaving?
• Ep 198: Trust is the real thing your customer is buying
• Ep 197: Pricing is a system, not a sticker
• Ep 196: Pricing strategy: are you a price maker or a price taker?

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn. Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.