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Sustainable systems need rhythm, ownership, and a well-paced roadmap.
Let’s make sure we’re on the same page: systemising your business is NOT a one-off project you tick off the to-do list, breathing a sigh of relief as soon as it’s over. Real systemisation is a habit, a mindset. It’s not dissimilar to weight loss: we all know eating healthy and moving our bodies are habits that will provide us the outcome we seek, and yet, the temptation of fast results with minimal effort is sweet.
If you want to scale without chaos, your business’ engine room needs regular tuning. Just like one salad doesn’t fix a year of takeaways, one new software won’t fix years of chaos.
Done well, systemisation helps leaders and teams feel clarity, confidence, and calm. Done once, then forgotten? It usually leads to underused platforms, key person risk, and too many 'we’ll fix it later' moments.
So, how do you keep your systems healthy, relevant, and genuinely useful over time? We call it building a System for your Systems.
Don’t try to systemise every corner of the business on day one. Identify what your Core Business Processes are that keep your operations running and your customers happy, as well as support a performing team. All other non-essential (but still needed) items will go into your Satellite Business Processes list.
Build a roadmap for change: which processes will you address first, and which can wait? What software do you need to bring in asap, and what can you already plan for, but hold on executing, so that your team does not get overwhelmed by the instability?
Map a systemisation road trip that will go the distance.
Once your first updated system is live and running well, add new processes and technology bit by bit, guided by your project map. Remember you can slow down or speed up if necessary, but don’t stop.
- Take our diagnostic tool: Systems Scorecard, to spot your strongest and weakest areas.
- Choose the top 3 Core processes: are they documented with clear inputs and outputs? If not, fix that.
- Create a simple Kanban-style board to track reviews and improvement for all your process; assign responsibilities and priorities…and voila’, you have the bare bones of your continuous improvement read-map.
This part’s worth paying attention to: this shouldn’t sit on the CEO’s shoulders or become the System Admin’s full-time job. When one individual holds the whole system in their heads, they become the bottleneck, and often, burnout isn’t far off.
Instead, we strongly recommend building a solid leadership team where each department leader takes ownership of their slice of the system. Of course, you need one central figure to ensure it all flows well, that’s your System Admin and they’re worth their weight in gold - but if ownership is not given to each department leader to drive innovation and improvements in their system, you won’t see the needle move quite as much as you might want to.
Clear roles, a shared language, and team-led improvement requests reduce resistance and increase buy-in. You’re not building a one-man show. You’re building muscle memory across your whole business.
- Assign a “Process Owner” in each department to lead innovation and flag gaps.
- Use shared communication channels and knowledge-base platforms so teams don’t hoard knowledge in silos.
- Create cross-functional problem-solving opportunities to connect the dots across departments.
Systemisation is a lot like looking after your health. Crash diets might look good for a month, but you end up back where you started (or worse). Sustainable change looks more like consistent meals and regular movement. It’s not flashy, but it works.
Your systems are no different. Weekly or fortnightly reviews when you first implement a new process or roll out new tech can help you catch issues early and course-correct. As your workflow stabilises, you can move to monthly or quarterly reviews to refine and improve. This cadence ensures your team never stops learning, adjusting, and growing.
- Schedule fortnightly check-ins for the first three months after a big change.
- Track all changes, requests, and issues reported.
- Plan quarterly system health-checks with leadership to review proposed changes and make sure they align with business goals.
Systemisation shouldn’t be a one-and-done effort. Make it a living, breathing part of the business. With a solid structure to identify priorities, shared ownership, and a regular cadence of review, any business can build systems that, rather than being flashy, are quietly powerful.
Just like eating well and moving your body, it’s not about perfection. It’s about consistency.
Our diagnostic tool Systems Scorecard is a great starting point to assess where you’re solid, where you’re shaky, and where to focus next.
If this article resonated, and you want to kickstart your system improvement rhythm: reach out for a conversation. We’d love to partner with you on this journey
