I’ve thought about and have implemented change in organizations for nearly 20 years. If you’ve read my posts before, you’ll know I’m a change agent. I also believe that change for the sake of change is never, ever a good idea.
One of the things I talk to clients about all the time is setting meaningful and measurable goals to reach their success. In my context, it’s marketing goals. Marketing goals are driven by business goals. If your marketing goals don’t support your business goals then your marketing goals are pointless.
Process Improvement
As a change agent, I’ve become a process guy. One of the first things I did when I started a digital agency was to set up processes that allowed us to scale. Some of the processes built in 2007 are still in place today. Most of the processes that didn’t work are no longer present.
In most companies that I've worked for, one of my key jobs has been to create systems and processes that are repeatable to enable our company's growth as well as our clients' growth. I am a firm believer that if it’s not repeatable, it’s not scalable. If it’s not scalable, you can never grow.
The only way you can make something repeatable is to create a system that allows consistent behaviors. It’s those consistent behaviors that will allow you to meet your goals.
Systems to Goals
When I heard of Atomic Habits by James Clear, it was through a quote that immediately struck me as brilliant.
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
Your goal is your desired outcome. Your system is the collection of daily habits that will get you there.
…spend less time focusing on outcomes and more time focusing on the habits that precede the results.
At my core, I have always understood that concept. I’ve always known that processes and systems were important to achieving your goals but James Clear’s statement of falling to the level of your systems summed up so succinctly what I believed. You can’t reach your goals without having a system in place that will allow the repeatability of behaviors required for success.
Marketing Systems
I’m a businessman who markets. I think of marketing from a businessman’s perspective. In fact, since I don't really know how to not be an owner, I think of marketing from a business owner’s perspective.
One of the first systems I implemented at a recent client agency was the system that allows our clients’ vision to be translated into meaningful marketing tactics.
You can learn more about this concept by reading “Strategic thinking requires tactical understanding”
In addition to this process of moving through our marketing process, we also have systems in place for how we fulfill marketing. Many are technical systems. I am a big fan of HubSpot for marketing. It provides a great methodology + technical resources to be far more effective in our marketing efforts.
As a side note, if you need help with exploring HubSpot, let me know. I hold a couple of certifications from HubSpot.
Where Do You Go From Here?
In your business, you likely have a whole slew of objectives you are trying to achieve. You have probably set goals big and small. You might have even adopted a framework from others to run your business like EOS (my preference) or eMyth.
In the end, you have to build a system or set of processes that will help you create consistent behaviors. Set yourself up for continued success by forcing the behaviors required for success.
Take it one step at a time.
You got this.