Background
The client is a business owner operating largely on his own, supported by a small team. Despite having several opportunities and significant potential, the business was struggling due to a lack of effective management systems and clear organisation. As a result, many opportunities were slipping through the net.
The client recognised the need for a system that would:
- Capture and manage all aspects of the business
- Be simple enough for him to use consistently despite his own acknowledged organisational challenges
- Create visibility across all areas of business activity
Previous attempts to implement systems had failed, primarily because they were too complex or required a level of day-to-day discipline that the client found difficult to maintain.
Approach
The first step was to gain a high-level overview of the business. This involved:
- Conducting workshops and meetings to map out all activities within the business
- Creating a detailed process flow, which summarised each task from initiation to completion
- Highlighting bottlenecks and inefficiencies clearly within the flow (marked in red) for immediate visibility
This documentation was presented in a clear and concise manner, making it easy for the client to understand his business operations end-to-end for the first time. It allowed him to see not just the big picture but also to drill down into specific processes that were creating challenges.
Importantly, this exercise was not about selecting an IT system at this stage. It was about:
- Structuring the business operations logically
- Making a previously messy and reactive business appear clear and manageable
- Creating a foundation upon which appropriate systems could later be built
Key Findings
During the assessment, several critical insights were identified:
- The client is exceptionally strong in sales and business development but struggles significantly with organisation and project management
- Email and task management were overwhelming and unstructured, leading to missed opportunities and delays
- Without external support, any future system was at risk of failing, regardless of how well it was designed
Recommendations
Based on the findings, we made the following critical recommendations:
- Hire a full-time PA: A dedicated person to manage emails, track tasks, and organise workflows, allowing the client to focus on sales and client relationships
- Assign a project coordinator: Someone responsible for managing projects end-to-end, drip-feeding the client the specific tasks he needs to complete daily without overwhelming him
- Design a system with simplicity in mind: The future system (both IT and workflow-based) must match the client’s working style — clear, visual, and with minimal administrative burden
Conclusion
The assessment stage has been a resounding success. For the first time, the client has a clear understanding of his business processes, the problem areas, and the steps needed to address them. He has gained both clarity and enthusiasm, seeing a realistic path towards managing and growing his business effectively.
We now look forward to the next stage: designing and implementing the right combination of systems and resources to transform the business from a reactive environment into a structured, efficient operation.