Time is the most precious resource you have so it is very important that you are spending it on the right activities and that you are eliminating anything that isn't essential.
The most simple way to identify non-essentials is to do a quick assessment of the activities you do on a regular basis to determine:
- Is it adding value? To your customers, your business, or both?
- Is it (still) in alignment with your vision and goals, and something you want?
Here are some additional ways:
- Leverage the Pareto principle (80/20 rule) to identify the top 20% of activities that are driving 80% of your results. Double down on what’s working best and unapologetically eliminate what isn’t.
- Then, assess your Operations, the things you do to run your business and:
- Confirm you really need to do the activity
- Look for ways to simplify, simplify, simplify
- Systematize and automate what you can, delegate the rest
These are good practices to do regularly, at least every 90 days, because even the highest performing business has non-essential activities over time.
What works today may not work tomorrow, and over time all things must evolve and change or they stop adding value.
Want any help identifying and eliminating non-essential activities in your business? Here are 2 ways to get support with this activity.
- Grab a 90-Day Lean Out Planner if you don't have one already. The planner is such a valuable tool in keeping you focused on what matters most and eliminating the non-essentials.
- Join us LIVE every Thursday at 8pm (est) over in our Private Facebook Group for Lean Coffee where you have the opportunity to ask me any of your burning business questions.
What have you been able to eliminate in your business? XX
by Crista Grasso
Crista Grasso is the Founder of Lean Scaling Co and Strategic Ops Institute and the host of the Simplify to Scale Show.
She developed the Lean Scaling System™ to make scaling simple and sustainable for service-based businesses in the messy middle of $1M - $10M. She specializes in elevating the founder out of daily operations and into visionary leadership and in certifying fractionals and consultants to be able to effectively and strategically scale the businesses they partner with.
