Running a business is overwhelming. You’re constantly juggling priorities, putting out fires, and trying to grow—all at the same time. But if your company lacks structured systems, you’re wasting valuable time and missing opportunities.
The key to sustainable growth? Building systems that help you gather feedback, prioritize improvements, and create scalable solutions.
When I started my career, I thought all businesses had the same playbook. They would market to find customers, hire salespeople to close deals, create a product or service, ship it, and then start the cycle all over again. I didn’t realize how essential systems were until many years (and frustrations) later.
One of my first jobs out of college was working for a manufacturing company who sold a product that was manufactured in Germany. The company in America would repair the parts, but we were primarily middlemen for our customers. Our parent company had great systems. We didn’t. Our CEO in America was very scattered and unorganized. Turnover was high. We would have some great quarters, but other quarters were a struggle.
Our lack of systems held us back from success.
They eventually fired the CEO and brought someone in to help bring structure to the company. Within 6 months, revenue grew, and we became highly profitable because our leader brought in systems (technology, process documentation, feedback loops, etc.) to support our employees.
For many years I struggled with systems in my business. I didn’t document my processes and our results were inconsistent. I went on vacation for one week, expecting my small team to hold down the fort. It was a disaster. I lost a client, and another client didn’t sign the contract because of our disjointed systems.
After that, I was afraid to take a vacation.
Running a business can be fluid and creative, but a business needs structure. This is why systems are so important. With good systmes, people understand what is expected of them and how to deliver on their goals.
Below is a simple, actionable process to streamline operations and eliminate inefficiencies so you can scale your business and avoid chaos.
Step 1: Gather Feedback From Customers and Employees
What is one of the biggest mistakes a business can make? Guessing what’s wrong instead of asking. Your employees and customers already know where the most significant friction points are. You just need to create a system to capture their insights consistently.
Gather Customer Feedback:
- Send post-purchase or post-service surveys.
- Conduct customer interviews to understand pain points.
- Track support tickets and complaints—these are direct signals of what’s not working.
Gather Employee Feedback:
- Schedule regular 1:1s and team retrospectives.
- Use anonymous surveys to uncover roadblocks.
- Encourage frontline employees to flag recurring problems.
Why This Matters:
If you’re not listening, you’re blindly making decisions that may not actually move the needle. Collecting feedback ensures you’re solving the right problems.
Step 2: Find Themes From Feedback
Raw feedback is just noise until you analyze it. The goal is to find common patterns that point to the biggest bottlenecks in your business.
How to Do It:
Categorize Feedback Into Themes:
- Customer Onboarding Issues
- Product or Service Friction Points
- Communication Gaps (Internal & External)
- Operational Inefficiencies
Look for Recurring Issues:
- What complaints come up the most?
- Where are employees or customers experiencing the most frustration?
- What’s costing you time, money, or lost business?
Why This Matters:
Instead of jumping at every single piece of feedback, you identify the real patterns that cause problems so you can focus on what truly needs to be fixed.
Step 3: Ideate Based on Feedback
Once you have your feedback themes, it’s time to brainstorm solutions. The key here is to think systemically. Don’t just fix problems once—create a structure that prevents them from happening again.
How to Do It:
Gather Your Team:
Bring together employees closest to the issue (they have the best insights). Host a brainstorming session to explore different solutions.
Focus On Systemic Fixes:
- If onboarding is a problem, do you need an automated email sequence or a clearer onboarding process?
- If internal communication is breaking down, do you need a structured meeting cadence?
- If customer complaints are rising, do you need better documentation or a knowledge base?
Why This Matters:
Instead of applying band-aid fixes, you’re designing systems that eliminate problems long term.
Step 4: Prioritize the Most Valuable Ideas
Not all fixes are created equal. Some ideas will have a huge impact, and others should be low priority. The trick is prioritizing what will drive the most value.
How to Do It:
Score Each Idea Based On:
- Impact: Will this significantly improve efficiency, revenue, or customer experience?
- Effort: How hard is this to implement?
- Speed: Can this be executed quickly?
Focus On Quick Wins First:
- High-impact, low-effort projects should be tackled immediately.
- High-impact, high-effort projects should be planned carefully.
- Low-impact projects should be set aside.
Why This Matters:
Trying to fix everything at once leads to poor execution and burnout. By prioritizing, you maximize impact with minimal effort.
Step 5: Put a Plan in Place for Implementation
Ideas are useless without execution. Now, it’s time to turn insights into action.
How to Do It:
Define the Goal:
- What does success look like? Be specific.
Assign Ownership:
- Who is responsible for making this happen?
Set Clear Deadlines:
- When should the fix be completed?
Document the Process:
- Create a system so future employees can replicate the success.
Why This Matters:
A clear plan prevents projects from stalling and ensures accountability.
Step 6: Create Support Systems
This is where systems are most important. You can’t meet your goals if you don’t have a process to meet those goals.
“You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”
—James Clear, Atomic Habits
How to Do It:
Create SOPs for tasks that are done regularly in your business.
- Break down the process into clear, actionable steps.
Test and Review
- Have team members test the SOP and provide feedback.
Iterate
- Document friction points in your processes and have an ideation session to improve the system as a team.
Why This Matters:
A business that develops systems to support its employees will consistently grow.
Step 7: Set Metrics and Timeline
If you don’t measure progress, you can’t improve it.
How to Do It:
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators):
- Customer retention rates
- Employee satisfaction scores
- Resolution times for support tickets
Set a Timeline to Review Results:
- 30, 60, or 90 days after implementation
- Regular check-ins to track progress
Why This Matters:
Tracking results ensures you’re solving real problems and not just making changes for the sake of change.
Step 8: Review, Adjust, and Iterate
Improvement isn’t one-and-done. Great businesses iterate continuously.
How to Do It:
Review Performance Data:
- Did the solution work as expected?
Get More Feedback:
- Are employees and customers still experiencing issues?
Refine the System:
- Make tweaks to optimize the process.
Why This Matters:
A business that constantly improves never gets stuck in outdated, ineffective systems.
Systems Make Scaling Easier
Without systems, you’re stuck firefighting, reacting to problems instead of solving them at the root.
Gathering feedback, finding patterns, prioritizing high-value fixes, and continuously iterating creates a business that can scale easily.
Where To Start?
Look at one system in your business that is causing friction. Document the flow (each major step) and how each step fits together. Look at what is broken and start ideating as a team to fix the issue. After that, prioritize the best ideas and take action on one idea at a time.
You can get your copy of the Magnetic Systems Guide to build a better customer experience so your customers keep buying from you.
Photo by Alvaro Reyes on Unsplash
