the slow productivity pill (yummy)
A new client and I were sitting in the middle of restructuring her whole delivery process on a Process Mapping call last week when she said:
"Right now, our team is so rushed that the delivery is actually embarrassing."
Embarrassing 😵💫
I have heard this sentiment a hundred different ways on sales calls and process mapping calls, but never quite THIS honest.
She said yes to all the work that came her way.
She hired team member after team member to keep up.
Now she's running so fast that the quality is slipping in tiny ways she can feel but can't yet measure because WHO HAS THE TIME TO MEASURE FAILURE AT THIS BREAKNECK SPEED?!
Did you scale up the same way?
Your team is putting things out the door that aren't quite right.
You are personally rushing in to plug holes you used to delegate.
You are not as proud of what you're sending out as you used to be.
Here is what I told her on the call:
"We are going to slow everything down and charge more money so we can afford to do it."
I know. I knowww.
::low whistle::
Listen, I have been reading a book called Slow Productivity.
The whole philosophy is this:
do fewer things
work at a natural pace
obsess over quality
GROUNDBREAKING, I KNOW.
DEVIN
you say
BUT I NEED THE MONEY! I CAN'T SAY NO TO THESE CLIENTS!
Well, my friend, those clients are now doing a wtf because the work you are sending them is not that great 🤷🏻♀️
So lets try this instead: You slow it on down for just a moment.
Together, we can re-evaluate the way you are delivering your services.
Then, you take on fewer clients.
The ones you keep, you charge more - because you now have a stellar delivery to back the prices you charge.
You spend the saved hours doing the work at the high standard you used to have, before the volume took over.
I know I know I know - easier said than done.
But picture this:
The team stops scrambling.
You stop plugging holes personally.
Quality goes up.
Margins go up.
The clients you kept actually get the version of your work that made them want to hire you in the first place.
This is the WHOLE bet of the Custom System Suite.
We rebuild your delivery process from the bottom up so that "less, better, for more money" becomes a way you actually run your business.
If you have been cruising through everything and it's starting to feel embarrassing... you already know what I'm going to say.
Apply to work with me.
