Basically, a consistent internal process or lack thereof, is the absolute most critical thing in your business. It is at the crux of everything: sales, cash-flow, production, communication, bookkeeping -- you name it.
I am not telling you this because I have a perfect process, but at Orange Star Design, we have a darn good one and it gets better all the time. Here is some background on how it has developed:
We used to operate as independent entities with mostly verbal status and instruction about projects between planning, design, production, etc. It was rough! We were always inconsistent and were spending a TON of time on the old "last 10% rule" with our projects. Nothing was getting completed and it was because the same tasks were being verbally assigned about 4 times per project and were then forgotten and assigned again.
We decided to find a way to track all this stuff. Most of the tools were bunk and poorly designed. Then we found Basecamp (www.basecamphq.com) and life seemed really good for a while.
However, we soon discovered that having a great tool did not make life complete. You had to learn to use the tool and basecamp is far from an out-of-the-box process enhancer. In fact, the creator, 37 Signals, make very clear in their book "Getting Real," that they purposely create a limited feature set in order to challenge the imaginations of the users to find ways to make the tool do what they need.
Basecamp's To-Do list function is pretty basic. It allows you to create a list, enter an item, assign the item to a user who is email, sort the items, and then close the item. However, it does not allow for the recording of dates, the association of files and the posting of threaded comments. So, we have learned a system where the to-do item is assigned with the date and the initial order and emailed to the person responsible. When the task is complete, the person put their initials and a note (ex. NV: Done) and assigns it back to the original person.
OK, so I know what you are thinking, this is some pretty basic stuff. Why are you telling me this? The reason I am telling you is that I want you to understand that the essence of a good process is simplicity. So many project managers create these amazingly complex spreadsheets, Work Break-down Structures and Gannt charts and, in the end, they have created a process so complex that they don't have the time -- or the brainpower -- to keep it going.
So, RULE #1: Keep your process simple.
Next, we used to attempt to segregate the phases of a project to the point that we would get all freaked-out when they overlapped. Which, by the way, they always do. Phased projects are great on paper and definitely help to sell some level of assurance to the client, but realistically, when the phases become badly overlapped or don't hit deadlines, you are generally worse off than without.
The reason this happened to us is because we really had no finite idea of what a completed phase looked like and when it was over and that is my point here. Spend some serious time thinking about how you develop your product or perform a service. Really think about what can be standardized and what cannot. Then, standardize everything you can and get good at it. Practice a lot so that it is fast and easy.
Try out standardization on yourself first until you have made it a habit and then teach it your team. As you do, it cut-out the overly complex parts and reduce the process to as few steps as possible.
However, don't try to standardize every last thing. Not everything can be standardized and there are many parts of a job that must be left to good old fashioned hand-crafting and talent.
Rule #2: Standardize everything that can be standardized, but don't get crazy!
Finally, it is important to keep in mind that you cannot ask anyone to do something you are not willing to do yourself. So, as I have said earlier, you need to develop your process and then use it yourself until it is automatic and then teach it to others.
Rule #3: Don't do unto others what you wouldn't do to yourself. (Or something like that.)
So, in summary, there are three things I have pointed out: develop a simple process; standardize every area of your business you can; and practice what you preach.
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