I’ve been thinking about why some business improvements seem to make life easier in several places at once, while others solve one problem without changing very much else.
It reminded me of the idea of “keystone habits”, popularised by Charles Duhigg in his book The Power of Habit.
Duhigg’s idea is that some habits can have a wider influence, helping other positive changes take hold around them.
That got me wondering: could the same thinking be useful when we look at the processes inside a small business?
Perhaps some recurring processes have a much bigger knock-on effect than we realise.
Take the way a business handles new customer enquiries.
An enquiry might arrive by email, phone, text or social media. Some details are written down, others remain in someone’s head, and the follow-up waits until there is a quieter moment.
At first glance, this looks like an enquiry problem. But the effects can travel further.
A quote may be delayed because information is missing. The customer might need to follow up. A booking could be rushed into the calendar. Someone else may have to ask the same questions again. Even the eventual invoice might rely on details that were never properly captured.
Making that first process easier and more reliable could potentially improve response times, quote accuracy, bookings, handovers and visibility of future work.
The answer might be something quite ordinary: one place for new enquiries, a short checklist of the information needed and clarity about who follows up.
No elaborate new system required.
I don’t know that every business has one definitive “keystone process”, and I’m not suggesting this is a proven diagnostic method. But I do think it offers a useful question when deciding where to start:
If this process worked reliably every time, what else would become easier?
ONE PRACTICAL STEP
TRY THIS THIS WEEK
Choose one recurring process and complete this sentence:
If we made [process] easier and more reliable, it would improve [one thing], [another thing] and [a third thing].
Then watch what happens the next three times the process runs. Notice where information disappears, work is repeated or someone has to chase something that should already be clear.
If a process comes to mind, I’d be interested to hear about it. Reply to this email, or contact me at [email protected].
WORTH YOUR TIME
The Power of Habit
Book by Charles Duhigg
Duhigg explores how habits form and how certain “keystone habits” can influence wider change. The “keystone process” idea in this issue is my own adaptation for thinking about improvement in small businesses.
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Published from Sydney, Australia by Rob Edgar, trading as eliminAIt Process Partners. Questions or feedback? Reply to this email or contact [email protected].
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