Recently I was packing for a trip. I was flying to another country for a conference that I was both attending and speaking at. This was a great opportunity to look at my current processes and assess if I can leave and things still get done without my constant control.
I have some shortcuts for travel as I keep a travel bag with my essential toiletries always packed and ready to go, and a list of items I always need to bring with me. I don’t have to worry that I have forgotten my brush, deodorant, or lip balm, because these items are already in the bag. I just grab it and put it in my suitcase. Is this the same for my business? Do I have the same type of shortcuts for leaving my business?
My biggest decision was, do I take my computer or not? Taking it is easy, but adds weight and bulk to my bags. The saving in space would make it much easier to pack the extra clothes I needed for my photo/video shoots.
But what did this mean for my work. If I didn’t have my computer, what would be affected?
I walked through my week.
Access
- Do I have ‘todo’ list up-to-date on Trello for my VA to complete? Yes.
- Do I have access to my work (email, Dropbox, google, Trello, etc.) from my phone? Yes.
- Do I have my work complete (e.g. my writing)? No, but we are changing the schedule for this month, so I had extra time.
Communications
- Can I easily communicate with my VA without my computer? Yes. We already have a robust virtual communications process that ensures what we need to work on will get done.
Connection
- Did my team know where I was, what I was doing and how to reach me? Yes. I was reachable via WhatsApp, Trello, phone, and email. I had access to my files and my email.
This travel was for a short period of time and would test the effectiveness of our operational processes. Before this trip, our regular process needed to change if I didn’t take my computer? But now, it looked like this was going to be possible. For this to work, everyone needed to know what was happening, when it was happening, and what their part in this adjustment would be.
This is the same for the changes you need to build into your business so it can Run Without You. Everyone needs to know what is happening, why it is happening, and their role in the change.
I had everything planned to go without my computer and last minute I changed my mind. I took my smaller computer and, as it would happen, there was a challenge of permissions & access. I could not help if I had not had my computer with me. It would have stopped my people from doing their work. The work around would not have been a week of downtime, but it would have been a day before I could get the access they needed. This was great learning for the next time and every time after. I needed to know what other things could be handed off now, so the business can operate well without my input.
Besides this access issue, everything else when well; deadlines were met, clients were served, I was accessible, and communications were open and clear.
If you want to make your transition for your business to Run Without You, plan like you are packing to be away without your equipment, or simply go away without your equipment, and find out what still needs to be handed-off so you don’t have to control everything, all the time.
This article is 100% original content – The articles you read in this blog are 100% created by Barb Stuhlemmer, not by AI.
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