When you talk about software like Asana, Calendly, Hubspot, and Salesforce, what do you call them?
A) Software
B) Tech tools
C) Systems
If you picked "systems," let's chat about why your systems are more than just tools and what a system really is.
"I used to get it all wrong, First name / friend!
Back in my early days at TDJ, I'd call any software a system. I might have even taught some teams to say the same. But systems are made up of a series of processes, not just a software tool by itself. The software alone isn't enough.
Let me break it down...
Business Processes - Details how something is done. Remember, a process is not the same as a procedure; a process usually has several procedures.
Business System - This is a group of processes that work together to reach a goal.
Some Business Systems include:
Marketing
Sales
Operations
HR
Payroll
Service delivery
Take Marketing as an example. You don't just "do" Marketing. It takes a lot to build marketing systems. You need people to do the work, processes, and software. That forms your marketing system.
Now, if we breakdown Marketing, it has processes within processes!
Your marketing system may include:
Lead Generation
Newsletter
Social Media
Podcast
Depending on the operation, each of these may have several sub-systems and processes. Does that make sense?
I now think of systems in 3 main parts because they each play a big role.
Team: The people doing the work are #1. Always put people first when creating systems. Your team is a huge part of your systems. Without them, nothing gets done—unless you can automate it. lol
Processes: A system is a collection of processes. Processes are how things flow and get done in your company. Without them, there's chaos, and results can vary depending on who's working. Whether you know it or not, your business is full of processes.
Tools and Technology: Good software makes your team's work easier. It helps with tasks, teamwork, and managing stuff. I've always said software alone isn't the answer. You have to set it up thinking about your team and processes. When used right, tech can make work much easier.
When processes, people, tools, and strategies are aligned, they create a strong system that works. Our work with teams is to help them align all 3 to ACHIEVE BETTER WORKDAYS.
Reply to this blog and let me know if this was your first time thinking of systems this way. I was unclear about the language at first, too!
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