Business Force Multipliers!
There is a concept in the military called a force multiplier. This is anything that increases the effectiveness of the military unit. Like a machine gun verses a single shot rifle. The machine gun is several times more effective than the rifle. Thus, the machine gun can take the place of a whole group of riflemen.The main force multiplier of the modern business world is technology, and computers are our machineguns.Technology allows the small business owner to compete with big corporate organizations. Consider.Force Multiplier OneWe all know how the desktop PC

What is Experience Anyway?
I learned in first grade that one plus one equals two. But, that's not the right equation when counting work experience. We often think we're building experience to help us get ahead. In reality, we're passing time. Ten years working like a cloned Bill Murray in Groundhog Day is not ten years worth of experience. Doing the same thing again and again yields an experience formula more like: ten times one equals one.

Have you ever noticed french fries taste the same at every McDonald’s? The same can be said for Subway and its Italian BMT. How do these fast food icons replicate themselves at nearly 40,000 locations when some eateries struggle to get it right in a single restaurant? The answer is simple: it’s all in the systems.

Picture yourself waiting in line inside McDonald’s. Look across the counter and you notice the shiny french fry machine. Standing in front of it is a high school student. What is she doing?

Chances are she’s executing a procedure someone trained her on the first day. A system that goes something like this: “Take the bag out of the freezer. Empty french fries into the wire basket until full. Lower the basket into the hot oil. Push the green button. Return the bag to the freezer. When the buzzer rings, push the red button. Take the basket out of the oil and empty fries onto the holding area. Sprinkle the salt shaker four times over the fries. Take a white bag and fill it with fries using the silver utensil. Place the bag under the heat lamps. Repeat with different size bags until the basket is empty and all fries are ready to serve.”

I spent six years in the franchising industry as head of marketing for an international franchisor. Today, as a professional business coach, I help small business leaders develop and implement systems to make their companies work like McDonald’s and Subway.

Franchising is a major part of the U.S. economy, accounting for 14 percent of private-sector employment and more than $1.5 trillion of annual economic output (Inte

>Picture yourself waiting in line inside McDonald’s. Look across the counter and you notice the shiny french fry machine. Standing in front of it is a high school student. What is she doing?

Chances are she’s executing a procedure someone trained her on the first day. A system that goes something like this: “Take the bag out of the freezer. Empty french fries into the wire basket until full. Lower the basket into the hot oil. Push the green button. Return the bag to the freezer. When the buzzer rings, push the red button. Take the basket out of the oil and empty fries onto the holding area. Sprinkle the salt shaker four times over the fries. Take a white bag and fill it with fries using the silver utensil. Place the bag under the heat lamps. Repeat with different size bags until the basket is empty and all fries are ready to serve.”

I spent six years in the franchising industry as head of marketing for an international franchisor. Today, as a professional business coach, I help small business leaders develop and implement systems to make their companies work like McDonald’s and Subway.

Franchising is a major part of the U.S. economy, accounting for 14 percent of private-sector employment and more than $1.5 trillion of annual economic output (Int

the bag out of the freezer. Empty french fries into the wire basket until full. Lower the basket into the hot oil. Push the green button. Return the bag to the freezer. When the buzzer rings, push the red button. Take the basket out of the oil and empty fries onto the holding area. Sprinkle the salt shaker four times over the fries. Take a white bag and fill it with fries using the silver utensil. Place the bag under the heat lamps. Repeat with different size bags until the basket is empty and all fries are ready to serve.”

I spent six years in the franchising industry as head of marketing for an international franchisor. Today, as a professional business coach, I help small business leaders develop and implement systems to make their companies work like McDonald’s and Subway.

Franchising is a major part of the U.S. economy, accounting for 14 percent of private-sector employment and more than $1.5 trillion of annual economic output (Int

er the fries. Take a white bag and fill it with fries using the silver utensil. Place the bag under the heat lamps. Repeat with different size bags until the basket is empty and all fries are ready to serve.”

I spent six years in the franchising industry as head of marketing for an international franchisor. Today, as a professional business coach, I help small business leaders develop and implement systems to make their companies work like McDonald’s and Subway.

Franchising is a major part of the U.S. economy, accounting for 14 percent of private-sector employment and more than $1.5 trillion of annual economic output (Int

as a professional business coach, I help small business leaders develop and implement systems to make their companies work like McDonald’s and Subway.

Franchising is a major part of the U.S. economy, accounting for 14 percent of private-sector employment and more than $1.5 trillion of annual economic output (International Franchise Association). The fastest-growing franchising companies – names like Curves and Quizno’s – understand the impact of having detailed systems for every aspect of their operations.

A common approach taught to new franchisees – originating in Michael Gerber’s book “The E-Myth” – is to work ON your business and not IN your business. This means taking time to step back and plan where you want your business to go, then setting about working your plan.

Think about your employees. Do all understand their specific role in making your business successful? Or do you occasionally have thoughts of, “Why can’t they just get it?” If you find things falling through the cracks, then treating your business like a franchise would mean creating a job description for each position.

These one-page summaries identify every responsibility, with specific details such as which positions take out the trash, answer the phone and batch credit card charges each day. Taking the time to create these will transform every position into a meaningful role, ensuring you have all of the bases covered. It will allow you to hire for specific positions, enabling you to focus on finding the right people, which will help you achieve greater productivity.

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