While strategy and product-market fit take center stage in the startup spotlight, don’t overlook the silent heroes: processes and structure. Do you believe that small teams can bypass processes? Think again. As your team grows, chaos grows. Demystify the myth that processes are exclusive to big players.
The Numbers Speak
Consider that an average person can maintain close relationships with about 5 team members. As the team grows, people lose track of responsibilities and get lost in the abundance of tasks.
Decoding business processes
A business process isn’t just a workflow; it’s a series of activities that lead to accomplish an organizational goal. For example the collection of linked tasks that lead to the delivery of a service or product to a client. Division into list of activities enables better control, task division and identification of key success factors.
The cost of chaos
In an organization without processes tasks take longer, activities double up, errors multiply, and valuable time and money are wasted. The lack of processes leads to confusion, miscommunication, and overall disorganization.
Building the right process
In building the right process the practical experience matters. Start by leveraging practical experience in the area you want to map. The everyday work observations will guide you in creating efficient workflows. Sequence is key. Identify what comes first, what comes next, who does what and why.
From processes to structure.
Structure crumbles without well-mapped processes. In fact, it’s even better to initiate structure-building once processes are outlined. A process unveils details of activities, functions, and competencies needed, paving the way for a robust structure.
Tips for building the structure
Use your mapped processes as a guide. Understanding process aids in determining the necessary structure for seamless execution. Identify the nature of functions and competencies required for each task in your process. This detailed functions and competence analysis streamlines structure building.
Ready to elevate your startup? Unravel the power of processes and structure!
About the author:
Agnieszka Węglarz is an independent consultant, business strategist and practitioner in B2B and B2C, as well as lecturer, speaker and blogger. She has over 25 years of professional experience working as manager in both large corporations and SMEs, where she was responsible for strategy, marketing and business development. She uses her long term executive experience and training expertise to assist companies and their managers in building and implementing their business strategies. She specializes in business modeling, segmentation, value proposition, sales and marketing strategies as well as consultative selling. She runs her own consultancy business, as well as cooperates with Google for Startups as the business modeling expert and mentor in the acceleration programs. Agnieszka is an author of many business publications. You can read her writing on her business blog on www.agnieszkaweglarz.com. You can contact her directly by sending a message via LinkedIN.