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Note from Donna… Have you bought your copy of the new Clockwork Revised and Expanded yet? Are you listening or reading it and enjoying every morsal of information? If you are, let’s compare notes and if you aren’t then let me give you some information and encouragement. This is a must read.
I’m not usually a fan of watching a remake of a movie. It’s not usually as good as the first one. My thoughts on the revised edition of Clockwork Revised and Expanded by Mike Michalowicz is completely different. He clarified areas of confusion and added sections that make this book worth the time to re-read.
There are 3 phases to Clockworking:
1. Align
2. Integrate
3. Accelerate
In the Align phase there are 3 big questions we need to answer as business owners.
Who do we serve? We cannot serve everyone. The broader the horizon of your audience, the harder it is to systematize your business. I will admit that I’ve struggled with this a bit. I also have to say that I’ve done it and it works. I know narrowing your field of play is truly the way to keep your team focused and laser clear on what they are to do each day.
My struggle comes in where you’ve been serving a niche market and you find you and your team ready for a new challenge. What then? For me, I’ve decided to move markets. I think it’s a lesson learned for me – pick a market that can offer continuous growth opportunities for the team.
What’s your big promise? This has not changed for Sooter Consulting. We still want to be known as a firm that provides financial clarity. However, that isn’t to say our method hasn’t changed. We are now a Profit First Professional Certified Firm. We are not leaving the world of Profit and Loss, and Balance Sheets. Rather, we are adding to the clarity with a world-renowned cash management system. Adding Profit First to our services adds richness and fullness to our service offerings.
What is your QBR (Queen Bee Role)? The Queen Bee Role is that one thing that the business does that if it doesn’t happen things start to fall apart. It’s not to say that other items are not important. Rather, it’s to say what is the one thing that everyone needs to drop what they are doing to protect if need be.
I will not lie. I’m still struggling with what our one thing is. At this moment, I believe it’s the month end financials. We can not deliver on our BIG promise of financial clarity if we don’t have the financials complete and accurate.
I will tell you that I have joined the Clockworks Accelerator program and I’m sure I will receive plenty of guidance and feedback from the RLC team (Run Like Clockwork’s team) and the RLC community. I’ll get back to you if I am encouraged to re-define this statement.
BTW – as I write, I have a team member out sick. I just messaged the team to see if I needed to drop everything and protect the QBR today. It’s month end and nothing matters more than protecting the QBR.
So, there you have it – the first phase of Clockworking. There’s a lot of work for us business owners to do in this phase, but help is coming for the next phase. Your team will be a key part in integrating.