How to Turn Entrepreneurial Instinct Into Repeatable Systems

Research & Sources / Entrepreneur Growth

Grandma’s soup always tastes perfect. She doesn’t measure anything, she just knows. “A bit of this, a pinch of that, until it tastes right.” When someone finally watches her carefully and writes everything down, a funny thing happens: the soup can now be made by anyone, and grandma has time to try new recipes. Entrepreneurial instinct is grandma’s cooking.

Instinct is valuable

Experienced entrepreneurs make many good decisions by feel. They know which client will be difficult, which candidate will fit, which price will work. This instinct is built from years of experience and is one of the most valuable assets in the business.

The problem: instinct lives in one head. It can’t be delegated, can’t be taught quickly and disappears on holiday.

Turning instinct into systems

1. Notice your instinctive decisions. For one week, write down every time you “just know” what to do. Pricing, hiring, client choices, priorities.

2. Ask what you are actually looking at. When you sense a client will be difficult, what signs are you seeing? Unclear requests? Pressure on price? Many decision-makers? Write those signs down.

3. Turn signs into simple rules or checklists. “If two of these four signs are present, discuss with me before saying yes.”

4. Test with someone else. Let a team member use the checklist. Where do they get stuck?

5. Improve over time. Systems are never finished. Each quarter, update them with what you learned.

Simple systems work

A simple surgical checklist, introduced in hospitals in several countries, reduced complications and deaths after surgery.¹ The surgeons already had the knowledge. The checklist made sure it was used every time.

In sales, Jason Jordan and Robert Kelly found that companies with a defined, formal sales process grew revenue faster.² The process captured what good salespeople already did by instinct.

Don’t kill the magic

Some entrepreneurs fear that systems will make their business rigid and boring. Good systems do the opposite. They take care of the routine, so people have more time and energy for the parts that need judgement and creativity. Systems capture the 80 percent that should always be done the same way, and leave the 20 percent for instinct.

Michael Gerber argued that building systems is what turns a job you own into a business you can grow.³

What this means for you this week

• Write down five instinctive decisions you make often.
• For one of them, list the signs you are really looking at.
• Turn those signs into a simple rule or checklist.
• Let someone else try it and listen to their questions.

Write down the recipe. Grandma can then go and invent the next one.

Sources

1. Haynes, A. B. et al. (2009). A Surgical Safety Checklist to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality in a Global Population. New England Journal of Medicine, 360(5), 491-499. doi.orgA simple 19-item checklist reduced complications and deaths after surgery in eight hospitals worldwide.
2. Jordan, J. & Kelly, R. (2015). Companies with a Formal Sales Process Generate More Revenue. Harvard Business Review, January 2015. hbr.orgA defined sales process, regular pipeline reviews and clear stage rules go together with faster revenue growth.
3. Gerber, M. E. The E-Myth Revisited. HarperCollins. harpercollins.comWhy many small businesses stall when the owner keeps working in the business instead of on it.