- Prioritize: Prioritize the list of all critical systems* in your business. You will start with the most important ones first.
- Research: Research and benchmark the current level of effectiveness of the target system.
- Imagine: Imagine new ways you can innovate the current system. See my example below for clarification. (I intentionally use the word imagine because you must not only “step outside the box” of conventional thinking, you must often smash that old box to pieces!)
- Make your move! Take action on the 20% that will give you 80% of the needed results.
- Observe and optimize: Observe your changes, measure and record your results, and change your approach as necessary until you get the results you want.
Recently, Greg Wittstock of Aquascapes Designs was featured on the cover of Inc. Magazine proving the value of these principles. As the article highlights, he innovates so quickly that his competitors are simply unable to keep up. It’s what has allowed him to go from $800,000 in sales in 1995, to a projected $44 million this year.
If you want to accelerate your success and innovate at a pace that you don’t even need to think about what your competitors are doing, you’ll need to rotate different areas of your company in order to polish and perfect.
I coach entrepreneurs on an effective techniques for getting the most out your PRIMO Sessions. Here’s some short-hand of how you can begin to apply the PRIMO Process on your own each month.
- Set aside at least two hours once per month to sit down with your team and proactively practice the PRIMO Process on one area that’s critical to your business growth. (For larger companies with 25-plus people, have one meeting per department.)
- During the month following that first meeting, observe, measure and document the level of improvement generated by the new system.
- At the start of the following month’s meeting, begin with a brief status report on your target system, and discuss further optimization. Then use the remainder of your meeting to address the next system in order of priority.
You won’t be able to achieve a leadership position in your industry without innovation, and you definitely won’t maintain that position unless you have systems in place. These two key components of growth can sometimes work against each other and it requires a fine balance between the two. The PRIMO Process is the key to keeping this delicate balance in your company.
