By Travis Snider, Small Business Accelerator Lead Instructor and Business Coach
Travis Snider
In today's world, life is complicated. Things happen. The "To Do" List is never complete. Workweeks stretch out to 60 hours or more. Fatigue wears heavy and burnout lurks around the corner. How does an entrepreneur make it all work? How does she find time for the really important tasks that drive the double digit growth she desperately seeks?
A recent presenter in our
Small Business Accelerator Program brought up the subject of lean operations. It got me to thinking. "Could we use lean principles to define and develop the role of a business owner"?
Simply put, Lean is the idea of maximizing customer value while minimizing waste. Lean originated in manufacturing, but in recent years has been applied to many business processes. It has become a way of thinking and engaging for entire organizations. So how can a business owner use "Lean" to gain time for the really important tasks?
Let's look at some principles of "Lean"
Focus on the customer
Figure out what work to do
Remove inefficiencies and waste
Track data and require accountability
Recruit and develop people to operate the processes
"The need for cloud and data specialists is unlikely to abate anytime soon, especially as the software platforms powering businesses become more powerful (and, in many ways, more complex). For tech professionals, learning any new cloud-related skills is a reliable way to advance their careers."
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