Why You're the Bottleneck in Your Business (And How to Fix It)

I am recording this right now while walking because I am dangerously close to being the bottleneck in my business right now. I'm teetering on that line and it's not gonna happen. So I hit record. This idea of being the bottleneck is not something that's new and it's definitely not something that you are alone on. If this happens to be something that you time to time, fall into yourself. And in this particular episode, I want to talk through and have a conversation with you about what is a sign that you are being the bottleneck, when does it tip into the point of being a problem and when do you need to redesign your model and your system a bit so that you are not the bottleneck keeping your business from moving forward on delivering the things that you need to deliver on. In any role you play, in any organization, on any team, if you have commitments to other people in some way, shape or form, be it your clients or your teammates, there's always going to be a chance that we're going to become the bottleneck. But when you have founded a company, when you have an idea, a vision, a process that you are bringing to life, it becomes increasingly more likely that you will be the bottleneck at more points. And this is when it becomes a problem because things start to stack up. You're unable to hit all the touch points and the to dos that you need to hit to keep all of the things moving. And, and this is what we need to break down and talk about today and figure out, okay, are you the bottleneck? And if so, how do we remove you from being the bottleneck increasingly? So things can keep moving even if you have an off day. For example, most things in my companies keep moving without me, and some to different degrees depending on what my role is in any given process. Some things 100% can move forward without me. Other things, like recording a podcast episode, for example, I actually have a key role in that process. Without me giving this input of the recording the podcast episode, the video does not go forward. So there are some things that are critical. Regardless. Case in point, this was one of those things that last week I intended to sit down and have a conversation with you. However, I was feeling great. So I thought, okay, am I going to put my mental stamina and energy into this and it not feel great? Sometimes, yes, I've got to do that because I want to connect with you. We're going to show up no matter what. But last week I was feeling exceptionally tired and congested and I just cannot shake this cold. This January. So I decided, you know what, I think I can move some things around so that I can record this on Monday. But then Monday arrived and I'm looking at my list of to do's. I'm like, oh, there is kind of a lot to do here. Yes, I can move this recording to the afternoon after I run my errands, get my movement in, etc. But I was worried I wouldn't have the energy at that point in time. So, yes, I decided, you know what, going to go on errands together and I'm going to record this real time. Because if I do not get this recorded and handed off to the team, they will 100% have to move their deadlines and their timelines. And that's something I don't necessarily want to happen. Does it happen from time to time? Absolutely. But I have made a commitment to showing up, recording, connecting with you, and that's actually the key piece. Connecting with you is what is motivating me to do this. And the second piece of it is I don't like to impact other people's schedules and timelines. So how do we set this up in a way consistently so that we are not negatively impacting commitments that we've made, not negatively impact other timelines. And sometimes we've got to look at micro adjustments like I am doing in this case in point and just moving some things around and adjusting how I'd record and schedule. And other times we have to look at redesigning how things flow in our company. So now as we walk and talk and pause through throughout the city of Zagreb here, I'm gonna pop into a store to pick up some things I need to pick up today. And then we're gonna move over to the place where I'm actually gonna sit down and have brunch and write today. Based on what I know about you and what I discuss with my colleagues and my clients, oftentimes beating the bottleneck isn't a case of not caring. It's actually the opposite. It's that you care deeply about the results that need to be of quality, that you're delivering for your clients, for your customers, for your team members and handing things off. So we've got to make sure that whatever process or system you design underscores that quality is not diminished and that you continue to deliver at a high level and potentially even better because there's clarity of expectations on who is doing what and what is needed when. And things start to come off of your plate through either team or through strong Systems design and automations. So I like to think of this in twofold. Number one, putting automations and systems in place so there's as little hands on work as possible, meaning someone's hands are not touching the computer or the product or the production. If it is not needed. Can we automate this and streamline this in some way using technology such as Zapier or make or other technologies? The second piece is that if there's team handoff, it's so important that everyone knows what's getting handoff, when, what. My actual piece in this process is, what do I own and what is the measure of success around that. For example, I need to get this recorded by a certain time or the dominoes will not continue to fall. And we want there to continue to be an easy progression through that process. Once I have handed my thing off, our systems are set up, the process and the ownership is set so clear I am no longer worried about what's going to happen or not going to happen, because it's all taken care of through clear systems and clear ownership. Whoa, I'm out of breath. Coming up the stairs is hard. All right. I just finished brunch at the Broom44 coffee shop. It's right at the Dolok market in Zagreb. Usually it's all filled up here at the market, but they're doing some construction, which you may be able to hear in the distance underneath, I believe. So it's a bit quieter here today, but inside the coffee shop it was way too noisy to have a chat. So I wanted to pick up where we left off in this bottleneck conversation as we go on this journey. And one of the things that is so important to think about when we think about being the bottleneck is as we build our businesses from scratch, right? You're starting with nothing and then you layer on processes and system and things may start to bloat up in a way that is just natural and organic and again, not your fault. This happens across the board, but there are things that may be getting added that we no longer need or no longer serve the way that we want to be operating our business. So I think it's so important to ask a couple of questions here. Number one, what is coming to you just by default? What is coming to you? Because that's the way it's always been or just kind of happened that way versus strategically setting up and aligning that system. The next question is, what actually does require your participation and your input? Like, truly, it has to be you. And sometimes I think there are things that we think needs to be us. But actually there's a decision making framework that can be put in place here so that it doesn't come come to us as the default, then there's likely a series of things unfolding that never need to come to you, but they still are. So what can we start to take off your plate? Like, oh, I don't need to make that decision because it's reversible because I have someone else on my team that knows what needs to happen here. So they're perfectly capable of and start peeling those things off your plate as things that need to be answered. And mind you, I would apply apply these same decisions and these same structures to everyone on your team in your company. Right. So these apply to you as a leader and as the owner, but they also apply to others. If there are things that we can put in place where someone doesn't have to pause and make a decision because we made that decision once and then it is just always made that way until we decide to reevaluate, that's going to benefit everyone because you'll be able to move and operate more efficiently with our starts and stops to pause and make a decision reset. Okay, we've got to run this by someone. No, we don't. So where can you clarify in your decision making processes? You don't have to start and stop. One example of this would be in approving invoices. Maybe someone else is paying invoices for your company right now. You're signing off every time invoices are paid. Well, maybe you flip the model on that so you only sign off for certain amounts or you only sign off when it's a new vendor and you expect payments to be in this range. So you don't need to continually sign off unless there's something that's out of range. So you set exceptions rather than reviewing things every single time. Along these lines, I'm a big believer that anything that happens twice can now be turned into a system. So the first time you do something, okay, I'm just going to move through this. I'm figuring it out. I don't know if we'll do it again, but if you know it's going to happen again or the second time it happens, document the system around that, create a system around that. So the next time that it happens, it's much more seamless and you're not rethinking it, you're not spending that time and that energy on it. Even just the brain power that goes to doing Something again and again is going to be a point where you may become a bottleneck. Of course we want all of those systems that are being set up to be designed with quality in mind. We want automations, we want processes and checklists and workflows and technology and humans in systems to be thinking about how can we do each process, how can we deliver on each thing to our clients, our customers, etc. Well, but it's important to remember that just because your hands are not on the thing, it doesn't reduce quality, it doesn't reduce our desire or demand for quality. And sometimes because we have a system wrapped around it, it can actually increase quality. I know, I always think about this idea that I will make mistakes. I am very human, I will make a mistake sometime. I will enter the wrong number in a spreadsheet that will mix up forecasts and projections. I will mishear something or misunderstand something and communicate the wrong thing. Whatever it may be, we're going to make mistakes. But when we can automate and streamline and put processes in place, that will reduce the mistakes that we make. Now, simply because, because you are handing something off to someone or a system that's automating some workflow, it doesn't mean that your leadership diminishes. So simply because we are putting systems in place, it doesn't mean that your responsibility or the need for you to have presence in the organization, in the team, in the company goes away. What we're simply doing is we're automating and streamlining those things that we can potentially product fulfillment, client delivery, right, customer service, those things that happen on repeat and that can be streamlined and systematized. And then you have time and energy to pour into improving your next product development, the next revenue generating activity for the company. Showing people, teaching, training, having conversation with people that show shows them how your company can serve better, the values of your company, demonstrating shifts in perspective and thinking that are going to allow everyone to elevate and improve what they're delivering and the quality of what they're delivering. Right. It also allows you to spend time on strategy and vision and seeing what's happening in the market so you can identify the next best way forward. So again, it doesn't remove you completely from the organization, but what it does is it removes you from the minutia. Ideally, systems are set up in places so that most of your team member are removed from the minutia, what we call the $1 bill versus the $100 bill. When the $100 bills represent your high impact activities that are going to get you a bigger return on your investment. And the more people you, you have spending on time on $100 bills, right? Okay. The overall value is increasing across your company, across your business. So you aren't removing yourself completely from this business, but your presence is showing up in a different way and you're removing yourself from the noise. The construction keeps popping back in here and there. So the noise is present for me right now. And so where you can remove yourself from the minutia and your team and stop the noise and the distractions and the clutter and really focus on those things where everyone, your entire team and all of your systems and your processes are set up in a way that's going to offer and deliver increased value. This is only going to elevate everything. And as you do this and as you watch for this, and we're removing ourselves from the noise, we are cutting down opportunities for bottlenecks to emerge. So the shift that we make to focusing on those higher impact activities is going to reduce the noise, it's going to reduce the touch points and the opportunities for us to become the bottleneck. And we increasingly have less touch points, we have less time drains, and we have less opportunity to become the bottleneck. Okay, now that we've looked at some of the themes that may come up when we're being bottlenecks and some ways to shift our thinking. Now let's look at some very tangible things that we might shift in our behavior to stop being the bottleneck. And a lot of these tie to how we respond. How do we connect with people, clients, customers, team members, and how do we approach these situations? So first up, let's take a look at responsiveness. So this is a little bit embarrassing, but in corporate, my first out of college job, I made it a game for myself to reply to emails that might be slack messages today if there were an equivalent. But to reply to emails messages very quickly, something came in. I made it a game for myself to respond so quickly and so comprehensively that no one else had to worry about anything. And what happened there? I started shifting responsibility for questions and answers to myself, which at the time was fine. But from a leadership perspective, as you grow over time, you're like, wait, now that falls to you. You've taken on responsibility for answering these questions, questions so clearly, so comprehensively that hey, if you don't answer, you start to become the bottleneck. Whoa, we're going up a big hill here. So I'm probably gonna be out of breath in a second. So as you think about this, right, where are you in places that you are responding with instruction, when you are giving all of the answers, when you are always so on, you're like, it has to be me replying. And we are shifting responsibility for those things to you all the time. Now again, this is something that happens when you're building companies, when you're managing projects, when you're managing teams. But at some point we've got to shift responsibility and share that with others. So maybe you don't reply so quickly, maybe you let things sort of percolate and see where they go. Maybe you don't reply with instruction every time so that people are waiting for you to know what their next move is. But you reply with questions, guiding people to find answers for themselves and giving you the opportunity to still reply and reflect. Oh, you know, ask the question, what would you do in this situation? I think I don't really know what to do here. What do you think? Let them come back with an answer and say, that's a great idea. Thank you. Oh, okay, good. We're starting to shift responsibility from you carrying all that weight, having all the answers, being the bottleneck to sharing that responsibility with someone. Secondly, a shift that we have made on my teams in my companies is to make decisions and tackle big topics in a weekly team meeting. So a lot can be covered by email, a lot can be covered in slack and in messages. However, those things start to stack up and create friction so that you become the bottleneck and you become message email replier and everyone on your team and company really becomes message team replier. And they're not doing the work that needs to be done. And there's back and forth, back and forth versus hey, we've got to talk about this thing. It is important but not necessarily urgent. So we're going to put this on the agenda for the next meeting. Then when you go to the next meeting, you have an opportunity to ask all the questions that need to be asked, hear from each other, problem solve, strategize together and make a decision in one point in time versus it. Dragging out in back and forth messages, question, answer, waiting, right, reacting. And it's stretching out and consuming again your time. $1 bill, $1 bill, $1 bill versus you could get on a weekly call, have one solid conversation, $100 bill piece of time and make a strong decision in one fell swoop versus stretching it out. So instead of a million slack messages back and forth or emails back and forth, there's an opportunity to have one meeting, discuss everything that's needed. People can come prepared to that meeting with the information that's needed and make a final decision. Lastly, one final idea as you strive to not be the bottleneck on your team, with your colleagues, for your customers and clients, is to set clear feedback loops, meaning identify a flow for when you will follow up on things and how you will follow up on things so that everybody knows what the next touch point is. For example, if someone is left wondering, I don't know what I'm going to hear back from them, I'm waiting on you for this thing. And they don't know exactly what feedback they're going to get. So should they take action or should they not take action? And they don't know when it's coming, so they're pouring energy into this and holding on things when maybe you're expecting that they're going to go ahead with certain steps and you're just going to follow up on this one piece in a week, or maybe you're going to follow up tomorrow. So they might as well just wait on everything because the feedback you're going to give is coming quickly and it's coming tomorrow and it's going to impact other things. So knowing when the next piece of feedback is coming or the next touch point and what it will be related to allows people to take the appropriate action. And you then either, yes, are deciding bottleneck point, but it's strategic and it's by design or no, you're not the bottleneck at all. Go forward with all those things. I'm just going to throw this one piece of feedback in to the mix tomorrow and it's only going to impact this one piece of the pie. So, you know, I'm not the bottleneck on all these other things. So those feedback loops of allowing people the opportunities to be informed about what's coming when just sets everyone up for success. And if there is a case where, hey, I know you really need feedback on this, but I'm not going to be able to get to it for two weeks or three weeks or et cetera, based on all of the other things that are on your plate right now, that allows the whole team to have an opportunity to come together and reevaluate action steps around that so that the entire project or work activity isn't delayed or it just is delayed. And sometimes that's okay too, sometimes taking the pressure off of you to say, hey, this is, you've done a lot of great work on this, but I'm not going to be able to get back to this until three weeks from now. So let's just pause for a minute and come back to it then. So no one is spinning their wheels on this. And that in and of itself is a gift. I'm sure that you've been in those situations where you are doing something and then a piece of feedback comes in and it changes everything. That is not a great feeling. So by sharing that information and allowing people to pause until a certain date is not only a gift for others, but it's a gift for you. And whether you have a team or not, that is something that you can give to yourself. Hey, I need a little space and time to think through this. I need a little space and time, and I don't have it right now. So I'm going to put a pause on this. I'm going to take that weight off my shoulders and I'm going to revisit it on this day. Or maybe there's some data coming in that you still need to make a decision on it. So take that pressure off of yourself and just decide that I am not going to be the bottom. We're going to move this project deadline, this activity to another date. So with all this in mind, I made it up that big hill. I'm huffing and puffing a little bit, but I really enjoyed this time with you, and I hope there were some pieces in here that were helpful as you think through being the bottleneck with the team, getting systems in place so that it reduces opportunities for becoming the bottleneck, and then rethinking and reframing how you lead and how you engage and what presence is and how you can take some pressure off of yourself if you ever feel like the bottleneck, like I know I do sometimes, and when it comes to me teetering dangerously close to that bottleneck line, today was not the day. It was such a pleasure hanging out with you. We headed out of the house together. We made it to run a couple errands. I swung by. What is this, like, a fitness store? It's part fitness, part nutrients, but I got some of my clear protein powder. I swung by. Oh, I didn't go in because it was locked, but I would have popped in an art gallery, stopped at the coffee shop to have some brunch and did a little bit of writing and then continued our walk home. I was also hoping to find a watch repair store to take Matt's watches to get his batteries replaced, but I ran out of steam for that one. So that can wait until another day. And as a reminder, as you are walking this path and going on this journey, everything you're doing is right on time. So keep moving forward and focus on those $100 bills. See you next time.