Episode information
Episode Number: 46
Date: August 8, 2024
Duration: 23:32
Host: Justin Deese
Website: JustinDeese.com
Contact: Justin@JustinDeese.com
Co-Host: Kristen Deese
Website: KristenDeese.com
Contact: Kristen@KristenDeese.com
Summary
In this episode of Freedom Blueprint Podcast, Kristen & Justin Deese dive deep into the transformative power of systems in your business.
Are you tired of being the bottleneck?
Learn how implementing systems can streamline operations and set you free to focus on growth. We discuss the importance of documenting systems, the benefits of intentional actions, and practical steps to start building efficient processes even if you’re a one-person operation. Discover strategies that transform chaos into clarity and ultimately, lead your business to success.
Takeaways
- Start Small: Begin implementing systems with your biggest pain points to see immediate improvement.
- Document Everything: Detailed documentation makes training easier and ensures consistency.
- Intentional Systems: Create intentional, written systems rather than relying on unintentional habits.
- Scheduled and Triggered Systems: Understand the difference and importance of both types.
- Leadership and Communication: Effective systems rely on strong leadership and clear communication.
Chapters
Introduction to Systems [00:02]
Defining Systems and Their Importance [02:09]
Challenges in Creating Systems [04:28]
When to Start Creating Systems [06:43]
Real-Life Examples and Lessons [08:59]
Challenges with Scheduling [11:28]
Handling Judgment Calls in Systems [13:50]
Conclusion and Next Steps [18:27]
Wrap-Up and Call to Action [20:51]
Keywords
Plumbing, HVAC, Air Conditioning, Electrical, Contractor, Freedom Blueprint Podcast, Justin Deese, Kristen Deese, When Your Business Partner is Your Spouse, Business Systems, Documenting Systems, Small Business Growth, Leadership in Business, Systematic Business Growth, Effective Processes, Streamlining Operations, Business Efficiency, Technician Training, Business Strategies, Home Service Industry, Overcoming Business Challenges. JustinDeese.com KristenDeese.com
Transcript
Justin Deese (00:02.798)
All right, what is happening? Welcome to Freedom Blueprint podcast. Today I have an amazing co-host Kristen Deese.
And what are we going to talk about today? Today, we're going to talk about systems. Systems. Super exciting and very thrilling topic of systems. Well, I think that the idea when most people hear that what happens is they automatically go into shutdown overwhelm mode because it's such a big topic and it is really important. But I think it's so overwhelming that people, they just they shut down like, my God, that's too hard.
Well, so there's two things. There's two ways to look at systems. There's the things that you're doing that are the systems and then there's the documentation of systems. So probably the documentation part is what everybody gets all squirrely about, because they're like, how do I write down everything that we do? But just as important as that is having the actual systems and tasks be intentional so that it's kind of like a two sided thing.
Well, if they're not written down, then it's hard for you to train anyone else. And it's hard to hold someone else accountable. So I know we've talked about this before, but the term systems will set you free is very true because it allows you to teach people to do things in either a specific way or specific order, which really at the end of the day, it's about the result that comes from all of that more so than the order of operation, more about the...
take that back, I guess in certain things, the order of operation do matter, but it's about the end result. And when you have them documented, wow, man, it makes it so much easier to walk someone through that journey with you so they know what to expect. Yeah, it makes your outcome a little bit more consistent when your systems are intentional and documented. It makes training a lot easier. Yeah. There's a lot of things that not having your systems done. It's a
Justin Deese (02:09.614)
form of leverage. cause we get to a point in our business, especially when we're really small, where, like us as owners are doing basically everything. And then it comes to a point where we end up being almost the bottleneck, not almost definitely the bottleneck in our business, because we're the only ones that know how to do certain things and it feels hard or sometimes impossible to train somebody else to do it. So they'll never do it.
the way I do it. Yeah, right. Yeah, it's just easier if I do it myself because nobody else can do it right. So you're not ever going to be able to get to that point where you're not the bottleneck and you're leveraging without getting really clear on what your systems are supposed to be and getting undocumented so that you can train on them. So here's a question. So the reason we like talking about systems is, you know, through our journey, I think,
a lot of times when people approach us about business topics or whatever the case may be, normally, you know, it starts with how do you guys do that? Meaning be married and work together without killing each other is typically how they follow that up. And then the next question is, you know, they start talking about systems. So here's a couple of questions that that people ask us about systems. So here's the first one. You ready? You're in the hot seat now.
When do I start creating systems? Like what size company do I need in order to create systems? You need a one man show to create systems. So essentially at the very, very beginning is a great place to start with systems. Even in my coaching, like I do coaching, which is separate than our home service business. And I even write systems for myself.
even though I'm the only person that's doing it and I don't intend on hiring anybody, there are things that I don't do on a regular basis. And so it's easier for me to document a system when I figure out a good way to do it than it is to try to remember or recreate the wheel every time. So even when it's just you, you can still document systems there. And then if you get into the habit of documenting your systems when you're very small, as you grow, it's going to be second nature.
Justin Deese (04:28.366)
Yeah. To do that. Becomes a habit. Ooh, there's a new thing I should make a system. And I think for a lot of times, especially home service businesses, when you're small and you're one or two trucks, it's usually you and the truck. And it is difficult, and I can say this, right? It's very difficult to change gears, to go from strategical, meaning turning the wrench, or from not turning the wrench to tactical of turning the wrench.
it's sometimes difficult to change those gears. And I used to refer to it like grinding gears when you're changing into second and third gear and you're not quite hitting it, you're like, but you're gonna have to make time, right? If you ever wanna hire employees, not only are you gonna do your employee service, right? Like giving them the systems. Now you're giving them the tools to be successful.
You're also going to like that employee better because you're not always doing that whole, they're just not doing it right. Well, do they know how to do it? Well, no. Well, and the tech, when you're a technician in a truck and it's just you or you and a helper or whatever, it's, if you don't start documenting the system right away and then you do bring on somebody else, then, then you almost get to a point where you just feel too busy.
to stop long enough to do the systems, which is kind of what you're talking about with the changing the mindset. Right. You get too busy. So then you hire another person and but you don't have really the systems documented for that. And now you're even busier and it just keeps compounding on itself. So really more of the story is start small. Well, and you know, it's always looking back. Sure, it's way easier if you're one person because you want it as a technician owner, right, as an owner operator.
Typically you want the people that you hire to do it the way that you want it done, but so rarely does that technician slash operator slash owner actually document what it is that they do and how they do it in order to teach it and train it. Yeah. And, and there's systems too, which we have definitely struggled with this is.
Justin Deese (06:43.342)
we feel like what we're doing in terms of a system is a judgment call and therefore it's impossible to make a system out of it, which I would argue that that is not the case. that when we're making judgment calls, I'm air quoting that when we're making judgment calls in our brain, we're going through a series of if and questions and we're answering those questions and we're coming up with a decision based on the data that we're seeing, hearing and feeling around us. That's how we're making the decision. So,
what's a judgment call is actually really your brain going really fast, taking in all the information and making a decision. So if you can take the time to slow down that decision making process, you can extract specific steps that you're following and questions that you're asking yourself. And then based on the answer, you're making a decision. So, you know, I would argue that there isn't really judgment calls in terms of decision making and that a system can be written.
from that. And we also talk about how when you're going to write systems, you're really only trying to write a system for like 80 % of the things that happen on an regular basis. That was going to be my comment was 80%. Yeah, it's impossible to predict anything, everything that would happen or could possibly happen and write a system accordingly. So we're going to tackle the 80 % of the most common things that are going on. And then,
Okay, the 20 % will use our decision making skills that we learned from the other 80 % to try to make a decision. Yeah, 80 % for me, when we first started writing systems, that was my hang up is I was trying every system that I was trying to write at the very beginning, I would go through it and I would break it. And I would go, well, that it doesn't work in this scenario. It doesn't work in this area. It doesn't work in this scenario.
because I wasn't thinking about it from the 80 % standpoint of figure out the 80 % and then the rest of it is, you know, figure that out later. Right. Figure that out later, you know, because, because there is going to always be weird things that happen and weird scenarios or weird customer interactions that you don't really.
Justin Deese (08:59.758)
know how to document and weird employee interactions and it's going to happen. But in general, you can, you can get 80 % of it documented. especially the 80 % that you know, you want to happen. Well, and, and so, so here's the other thing. When people say, I really need systems in my business, my brain always goes to, well, you have them. Yeah, they're there. Now they're there. Now that kind of sets us up to talk about the different types of systems, but.
you either have intentional or unintentional. Like that's the two, either you have written the system or your team has somehow or customer has written the system on what happens. So that's the other part of it is there is systems in place, whether you know it or not. If you don't know it, we're talking to you. And then, so you have those two types of systems. What's two other types of systems that we...
Well, you really look out at when the system starts. So there's scheduled systems that happen like on a routine or a regular basis that you can usually predict when they're going to when the system is going to start. And then you have systems that are triggered by another event. So for example, a triggered system could be the system in which a customer service representative answers the phone. It is triggered when the phone rings.
Right? If you have a new hire system, you're not constantly running the new hire system. It's triggered when you have a new hire. Unlike the systems that are more scheduled, that could be certain reports that are run on certain days or certain times. It could be the way a customer service person's day looks in terms of tasks that have to be completed on every given day.
It's kind of more of the predictable and then your triggers are going to be the ones that are slightly unpredictable or the ones that just don't happen on routine. So let's talk about, okay, so I'm a new guy in a truck or girl in a truck and where do I start? So that's a question we get asked a lot. So, so where do I start if I want to make systems? Cause I see what happens a lot of times with, with clients that we work with.
Justin Deese (11:28.366)
I mean, they're going big. They're like 74 different systems. They're gonna write today by the end of the day. And obviously we would say, you know, go with one, but where would you start? There's two different places to start when you're looking at the beast of systems. The first one, and this is probably both of our favorite ones is,
to pick your biggest frustration or pain point at the moment and write a system that solves that. Even still to this day, after writing systems for years and years and being business owners for what feels like forever, I still get super frustrated by having to solve the same problem more than once. And so if I'm having to solve the same problem more than once, it tells me that I have not put an intentional system in place. So that is one place to start.
is something that I'm frustrated with or a big pain point, we can start there. So when we, when we first started writing systems, when we realized our company was kicking our butt and we were frustrated, I'm even going to use the H word. there's times we hated it and everything about it. That's true. And everyone involved in everyone wearing the shirt. Right. And.
And so we had a moment where you were looking at my cell phone bill and Kristen says to me, so that was, I don't even know if they do this on cell phone bills anymore because I don't know very close, but they tell you how many minutes you're on the phone. Like how many minutes in a month? I don't even know how many available minutes there are in a month. A quick calculation would tell me that. But your bill that month was like 16 ,000 minutes on the phone.
16 ,000 minutes on the phone. Yeah. And, and when you, when you said that to me, I went, yeah, that sounds about right. And then I remember us putting a little map that going, when do I sleep? wait, I don't. And, and so from that, that took kind of that awareness of, because I started thinking about, well, who am I on the phone with? It wasn't customer. Yeah, that was my question too. It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't customers. Like we had a whole office, they were talking to the customers. It was technicians.
Justin Deese (13:50.222)
And it was just, and I started thinking about, what are they asking me? They're asking me the same question. So, so I started carrying a notebook and that's really when I started writing systems and I, and I wish I could remember what the first one, that I wrote was, but it would have been something you probably still have the notebook. I guarantee you have a notebook. It's just a matter of finding where it is. but I just started writing down things that I was getting multiple phone calls a day because I got tired of answering the same question. And.
And for me running the business, I wanted to be doing sales. I wanted to be in front of people selling things. I did not want to be on the cell phone. I am not a technical guy. and so half the time I realized that these, these technicians are calling me for validation. They don't actually need my help. They know what to do, but I had created a culture to where they felt like they didn't have the, the, the ability, the right. I don't even know the, the authority.
Like they didn't have anything to just make the decision and move on. And later, later in our journey, we realized that's because we weren't real clear on mission and vision. And once we got clear on that, that certainly helped kind of push that, push that a little bit further along so that they knew they had a little bit more boundaries where before they didn't. And, you know, it's easier for them to call me and give me 5 % of the information. I go, here's what I would do. And then they do that thing. And they're like, but
You told me you didn't give me all the information. You told me like 5 % of itself. Well, and that's, that's certainly where I started was that that point of frustration, taking that notebook and figuring out. And I will say this, it's so much easier now, easier might not be the word. There's so many more tools out there now to create systems than there was 20 years ago and the use of video and the use of audio. And like it, it used to.
really just be written word. If you did video or audio, it was like an entire damn production where now you have these tools like the traneels and the looms and things like that that you can use that make for super simple systems and processes to write. Yeah. There was a lot of times that we prevented or I don't think prevented is right.
Justin Deese (16:09.262)
We basically, without realizing it, taught our employees that they were incapable of making a decision on their own because they would make the decision and then it wouldn't be exactly the way that we wanted them to do it. So we would redirect them and be like, no, you don't do it this way. You do it that way. I'm raising my hand, pointing my finger at myself. And so basically what ended up happening is they were like, well, okay. So a prime example was scheduling. When you guys were scheduling and writing routes at the very beginning and
And this is actually bled into the first few years. You had, we were using a hair salon scheduling book. Yeah. Well, that's all another story. But what would happen? This was on the computer, actually. This is when you guys are scheduling on the computer. So what would happen is, you would have somebody in the customer service department who was tasked with creating a schedule. And, you know, as we know, scheduling is.
who's the technician? Where are they going? Where are they coming from? Do they have the skill that needs to be like, there's all the things that you have to think about when you're doing the scheduling of technicians. And it definitely is not an easy job. And they would come up with routes. And then the the Justin and the other lead tech guy who also knew how to write routes, regardless of whether or not the dispatcher wrote the route in a good way, they would come in behind him and rearrange it. And
Essentially what happened is the dispatcher lost the confidence to make the decision to do routing. Now, with that being said, there were times where her routes were jacked up, right? But there were other times when they're still getting from point A to point B. It's just a slightly different direction, not direction, but a slightly different route that they took. And we're still just as efficient as we were before. But what would happen is that route would get changed anyway. And it just...
It just made it to the point where they didn't want to make a decision. And so what would happen is they would say, they would come to you, they would ask the question, they would give you partial information, you would give them an answer. And then if it, if they still ended up screwing it up, they could just say, well, Justin told me to do that. And so now they don't have, they have zero accountability for themselves. They have placed it in his hands. And so they're just following his direction. Which I'll say that's two parts, right? So that, that was a failure for good systems.
Justin Deese (18:27.662)
which that took us years to get that in the dispatch department, but it was a failure of getting good systems. And then it was a failure of leadership. Like, and we'll talk about that. We should have, we're gonna have a whole nother podcast. Yeah, part two should be implementing systems. But really it came down to a lack of leadership and communication. Well, leadership, communication. It came down to all these things that we just weren't doing correctly. And really at the time in the business, you don't know what you don't know. So we weren't trying to...
make anyone feel inadequate to do their job, we were just in technician mode, right? Like we were like, get it done, move along, do this, do that, do, do, do, do, and yeah, you're right. There, there's probably 50 % of the time it was just as efficient ahead. It had been the other way, but you know, we changed it anyways. And I'm sure there's, I'm sure there's no one listening that they could relate to that. Well, in that specific system, actually, we got, I got, I,
I got pushed back because I didn't do the scheduling, but I did systems. So I got pushed back that that was a system that was, there was too many judgment calls to actually document the system and like make a system from scheduling. And that was the first one that I bucked the, it's not a judgment call. And you were right. It is a series of questions that you are asking in your brain. Now it's going super fast. So you don't necessarily realize what you're analyzing, but you're asking yourself a series of questions and you're making a decision on where to put that job.
So it is possible to teach somebody else how to do it. Well, I think we're up on time. OK. So and I think that we do have another we should do another podcast on implementation of the system. So now once you have it, great. And really, we have some resources on the website that you can go to if you're trying to learn how to do systems or you're just getting started. Really, if you've gotten started and you're like, you know what, I wonder if this is a good system, connect with us.
We'd be happy to look at it and tell you kind of our two cents of, yeah, you know what? I would change this or this looks great or whatever the case may be. we're certainly here to help. That's what this whole podcast is about is really kind of telling our story, and highlighting some things that I messed up. And then hopefully that helps because sometimes that's very helpful when you, you're like, well, that got death the crap out of that. So maybe I don't feel so bad now. So anyways, yeah, reach out to us. Let us know.
Justin Deese (20:51.214)
Thanks, guys.