As I was writing Heptagram, I realized that all these steps could be combined into one business design system, a system that I wanted to be able to share with all of you. I hope that Heptagram will be as helpful to other entrepreneurs and business leaders as it was for me.
There are several ways to organize a company; you may choose to organize by function, by business unit, which is common in larger organizations, or by using a flatter structure. Whatever model works best for your company, it’s important that the structure be intentionally designed and not just a haphazard arrangement of functions that have been organized just to get the work distributed. Every role and function in a company should be included, and nothing should be left out.
That an organization should be meticulously crafted might seem obvious to a professional who works in a well-ordered corporate structure. However, for a growing company, the complexity is immense as workloads increase. What should go where? Who should do what? These are the types of questions that a newer company is constantly confronting to make sure all the work is done well and efficiently. Often, these questions are asked when it’s too late, and a problem has arisen, such as an activity that should have been completed and wasn’t or something that wasn’t finished on time.
Building an organizational structure is one of the hardest things I’ve worked on as an entrepreneur. It requires many hours of work and design, and the efforts must be constantly adjusted as the context and the way the company operates changes. The organizational structure is the skeleton over which all company responsibilities are built. When it is clear what team is responsible for what and how each role fits into the grand scheme of the company, work is more efficient, and the probability that an important task will get lost is greatly diminished.
How a company is organized depends on its industry, but I’ve found some overarching concepts that I’ve applied to Celaque. These ideas have held ever since I implemented them and have only become more relevant with time.
Creating and organizing a firm’s processes is not easy; it requires a lot of work and persistence, but it’s worth it. Once all business processes within an organization have been mapped out and designed to work together, everybody on the team will interact like a beautiful symphony. Less time will be spent wondering about possible missing pieces, and more time will be spent foreseeing future problems and thinking about strategy and innovating.
Streamlined business processes are highly beneficial to any firm. It makes all the difference in the world when everybody is working together.