Archimedes Would Have Liked Outsourcing – Seriously!

June 7, 2010 24 Comments

Location: Company HQ – Reading Time: 8mins

This is a Guest Post by Adrian Swinscoe of AdrianSwinscoe.com, where he writes excellent articles all focused on Growing Your Business and making it as an entrepreneur – I sincerely suggest you check him out at his blog, after you’re done reading this one and commented here!

“Give me a lever big enough and I’ll move the world” – Archimedes

Entrepreneurs tend to be visionary in that they are able to spot an opportunity to solve a particular problem and find a market for that solution.

Entrepreneurs are known to be the ones who do whatever it takes to get something done and they don’t give up.

However, there is more to business than having a good idea and being determined.

In building a business, very little of the hard work involves coming up with the idea. Most of the effort goes into developing the key systems and processes that go into delivering the entrepreneur’s vision and making a business successful. Marketing, finance, project management, new product development, customer service and customer relationship management, all of these things are key to the entrepreneur’s ability to scale and replicate the business.

However, entrepreneurs are not always the best at building the processes, systems and teams that are needed to create a growing, sustainable business. Therefore, a problem that many of them face is that they caught up in the day to day activities of the business when these may not be the best use of their time.

There is a huge difference between working ‘in’ your business and ‘on’ your business.

Many struggling entrepreneurs make the mistake of spending a significant proportion of their time working in their business and not on it.

Unfortunately, there are only so many hours in the day at the disposal of the entrepreneur, which is why time should be spent on building teams, systems and strategies to support the entrepreneur and allow them to concentrate on solving the problem they have identified.

This was beautifully expressed by Jose Mourinho in an interview before the recent Champions League final between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, when he said:

“Some people work hard and well and some people just work hard.”

Although it was not mentioned in a business context, I think this quote has a lesson for every entrepreneur. Some entrepreneurs work ‘hard’ and run out of time but some work ‘hard and well’ and leverage other people and systems to help them concentrate on the most value adding aspects of their business.

What does this mean? Simply, if you want to grow your business you have to learn how to delegate. Whilst, the traditional route would be to rent an office and hire some employees to help you this can prove to be risky and a high cost route. Some entrepreneurs balk at this idea, particularly in the current climate, and look around for lower-cost and more flexible alternatives. One of the best and most cost effective alternatives is to use an outsourcing partner like the one that Chris runs, the Live2Sell Group. [Chris: Thanks for the plug, Ade!]

Whether you hire someone directly or you engage an outsourcing partner to help you with some of the tasks that you would like to delegate the process is the same. Here’s some simple steps to help you if you are considering delegating a task to a team member or outsourcing a function to an outsourcing partner:

1. Define the task and output clearly

Think carefully about what you want to delegate or outsource. Remember, when you delegate or outsource something you are giving someone else responsibility for delivering that task. This, however, should not be an excuse for you to abdicate responsibility for things that you, as the entrepreneur, should be taking care of. So, think careful about what you should and what you should not be delegating. Finally, make sure you spend time defining clearly the task to be delegated and the expected outcome. The more work done at this stage will reap dividends and minimise mistakes and misunderstanding later down the line.

2. Delegate to the right person or partner

This can be one of the most difficult steps as its about trust, judgement and taking a risk. It can take time to find the people or outsourcing partners that fill all of the criteria for a successful relationship:

  • The right skills
  • A great attitude
  • Great track record
  • References

3. Prepare and Provide Process Maps, Detailed Instructions etc

When delegating or outsourcing, it is important to get as much of your understanding of how you do things and how you want things to be done on paper so you can share it with who you are delegating to. This documentation has to clearly outline the details of the work and provide all of the necessary information to be able to complete the task. But don’t leave it at that. Once you have shared all of this information, take time to review it and answer any questions that may arise to make sure that each party has the same understanding of what is required.

4. Set Targets to Manage Expectations and Be Able to Provide Feedback

You’re not done yet. When you’ve found your team and have delegated or outsourced the work, you’re job’s not over yet. Set targets and monitor progress to ensure it’s being done correctly and to your specifications.

5. It Won’t be Perfect First Time Out and Things Will Change

Getting it right first time is rare. So, be ready for the time when you will need to tweak what you as your needs change. On a regular basis, take a look at what you have coming in and who you are delegating to in order to determine if you need to outsource more work and possibly expand your team. By making this a regular evaluation process in your business, you will be able to anticipate needs and be ready to handle changes as they occur.

I hope those steps make the process of delegating or outsourcing more straightforward. It’s important to remember that outsourcing or delegating a key task is a key ‘lever’ in an entrepreneur’s arsenal of tools that can allow them to focus on delivering growth. Smart and effective use of these levers would make Archimedes proud of you :)

Finally, a question for you… As entrepreneurs, what have you been putting off delegating or outsourcing? I look forward to your thoughts.

Coming on Wednesday – My May 2010 Virtual CEO Monthly Report!

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Guest Posts, Outsourcing Tagged With: , , ,

Comments

  1. Tony Ruiz says:
    June 7, 2010 at 5:43 pm  (Quote)

    Great guest post and awesome quote. Subject line number 5 is the most important line in my opinion. Nothing is never going to be right during the first launch. The important fact is you’re taking action and learning from the process. There is always room for revision once action is taken.

    Reply
  2. Adrian Swinscoe says:
    June 7, 2010 at 5:52 pm  (Quote)

    Hi Chris,
    Thanks for giving me the opportunity to write something for your fantastic blog. I hope that your readers like the article.

    Best wishes,

    Adrian

    Reply
  3. Joshua Black | The Underdog Millionaire says:
    June 8, 2010 at 3:59 am  (Quote)

    That is awesome that you put up that quote about the difference between working hard and well, and just working.

    There is way too much “just working” going on when people start up a business. Doing busy work to feel productive as opposed to working on something that will bring you money.

    -Joshua Black
    The Underdog Millioniare

    Reply
    • Adrian Swinscoe says:
      June 8, 2010 at 3:34 pm  (Quote)

      Hi Joshua,
      Glad you liked the quote. As it turned out Mourinho was right and his players ‘worked hard and well’ to win the Champions League.

      Thanks for your commect,

      Adrian

      Reply
    • Chris C. Ducker says:
      June 8, 2010 at 10:18 pm  (Quote)

      Hi Joshua

      Yep – couldnt agree more, my man. People think that ‘keeping busy’ is the right thing to do. They couldnt be any further from the truth!!! Why be ‘busy’ in any way, shape or form if you dont have to be???

      Always enjoy your practical comments, bud.

      Thanks for dropping by and showing support to Ade’s first (of many I hope) GP’s here at the blog.

      Best,
      Chris

      Reply
  4. Matthew Needham says:
    June 8, 2010 at 9:43 pm  (Quote)

    Great post Ade. I like the link to Archimedies, although I think the Morhino quote is just brilliant.

    Great tips for engaging with VA’s too.

    Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  5. Wilson Usman - Fun Lifestyle says:
    June 9, 2010 at 5:24 am  (Quote)

    Pretty good actionable content.

    @joshua said Doing busy work to feel productive as opposed to working on something that will bring you money.

    I really liked that.

    @Tony I gotta agree too. You need to ship, like it said on “Rework” ignore the details early on. Just start making something!!

    @Chris You’re the man! Dude you are seriously crushing it here. Why the hell did I stop coming here?

    Reply
    • Chris C. Ducker says:
      June 9, 2010 at 6:44 am  (Quote)

      Hi Wilson

      Welcome back to the VBL, bud.

      Yes – good question… Why the hell did you stop coming…??!!!

      Stick around, get up to date with things. Tons of cool things are happening in the background, which will be unleashed soon!

      Chris

      Reply
    • Adrian Swinscoe says:
      June 9, 2010 at 2:48 pm  (Quote)

      Hi Wilson,
      Good to see that you are back at Chris’ blog. It’s been a pleasure writing this piece and I am glad that you liked it.

      Adrian

      Reply
  6. Rob says:
    June 9, 2010 at 8:00 am  (Quote)

    Awesome, always love to see these process driven posts! The last point is key…it won’t be perfect…life is such a cycle. Trial and error, evaluate the risk, and then risk what you can. Go!

    Reply
    • Adrian Swinscoe says:
      June 9, 2010 at 2:53 pm  (Quote)

      Hi Rob,
      Thanks for dropping by and glad that you liked the process. I try to keep things as straightforward as possible. You are so right about the last point being the most important….action or just doing something manageable will tell you so much more than more thinking and research.

      Thanks for your comment,

      Adrian

      Reply
    • Chris C. Ducker says:
      June 9, 2010 at 9:00 pm  (Quote)

      Go, indeed…

      Thanks for dropping by, Rob – its been a while.

      Cheers,
      Chris

      Reply

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