Ep 205: Business that runs without you: 100 things 1% better

From Business By Design · 25:58

Show by Stuart Wemyss & Mena Abraham

Send us Fan MailIf every improvement depends on your next big idea, you’ll never build a business that runs without you. Mena and I explain how to make a hundred things 1% better, with everyone spotting problems and one owner fixing each.Small beats big. Dave Brailsford’s “aggregation of marginal gains” took British Cycling from almost no Olympic success to eight cycling gold medals in Beijing, through changes as small as bike seats and hand-washing routinesMake spotting problems everyone’s job and fixing them one person’s job, so the founder can stop doing everything in the business. Log every idea, triage it by effort and impact, test it on a small slice of the business, then measure the result, the way Booking.com runs a thousand experiments at onceAn idea only becomes part of the business once it’s documented, trained and built into your systems and processes for business growth. McDonald’s tested the Big Mac in one Pittsburgh store for a year before rolling it out nationallyCheck every change at 30, 60 and 90 days: is everyone using it, did it move the number you set out to move, and did it cause a side effect you didn’t test for? Pixar runs a postmortem after every film, hits includedChapters00:00 - Recap: the VERT flywheel and the engine series 01:36 - Meetings find problems, but they don’t fix them 03:14 - Why small beats big: kaizen 06:32 - British Cycling and the aggregation of marginal gains 09:31 - Whose job is it to identify and fix problems? 10:58 - Jack Welch’s approach at GE 12:14 - Log, triage, test, measure 15:00 - Booking.com’s thousand live experiments 15:59 - When an experiment becomes part of the business 17:50 - The Big Mac: tested in one store, then systemised 18:59 - Reviewing changes: the engine room improvement log 19:54 - Pixar’s postmortems 21:59 - The 30, 60, 90-day check 23:14 - Where to start 24:56 - Next week: how cash flow can break the engineReferencesEp 202: Systems and processes for growth: Map before you fix https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/2006849/episodes/19960187-ep-202-systems-and-processes-for-growth-map-before-you-fixEp 203: Business scaling frameworks: Consistency beats heroics https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/2006849/episodes/20011910-ep-203-business-scaling-frameworks-consistency-beats-heroicsEp 204: Business meeting rhythm: Stop oiling the squeaky wheel https://www.businessbydesignpodcast.com/2006849/episodes/20054348-ep-204-business-meeting-rhythm-stop-oiling-the-squeaky-wheel 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: LinkedInIMPORTANT: 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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