What should this person consider changing in order to have greater impact? (stop/start/fix)

I’m not sure how long it had been going on before I realized it, but it was probably a while.

Maybe a little background would be helpful to start. As the cofounder of a quickly growing company, especially in our early years (which were just a few years ago), I was very accustomed to doing everything. We grew and things evolved, and I slowly didn’t have to do everything - but even then, I still had a good sense of how to do it if I needed to. Certainly I had a great grasp on what all those various little things were which together drove the company forward.

Now, in my role as CEO of a company of nearly 100 people, my focus is rightfully on that big picture: driving the strategy forward, creating the vision, seeing the next opportunity. By necessity, those little things don’t hit my radar as much. At no point however, did they become less important, and fortunately I’ve got great people to be my eyes.

The trouble is of course, those eyes never have a shortage of other things to do. People have full jobs and full to-do lists. They all know the pain points because they feel them, but for various reasons, also feel too busy to do something, that they don’t have the authority or means to initiate change, don’t fully appreciate the impact or otherwise don’t get around to it.

That’s how it ended up that we were sitting on 5 full days of cash flow. Now, at first read, that might not seem like such a big deal - so the money is coming in the door 5 days later than it otherwise could be; we were still paying the bills. But as business leaders can empathize, even 1 day of additional cash flow can be extremely impactful financially. Many would give their left arm for just 1 day! So how did we get those full 5 extra days of cash?

We sent an email to our customers and asked for it.

Yes - it was that simple. We used to send an email to a customer when a bill was due, and instead, we sent it about a week before. And guess what? They paid. It’s so painfully simple, but it’s one of those small things that I didn’t see, and didn’t learn the opportunity or its solution until I asked (insert ‘hand to forehead’ here).

What I did realize however, was that identifying all of those little things that make big differences couldn’t happen just by asking people one at a time - I needed a structure, a dedicated process and chunk of time to do it. The structure I implemented which teased this and many other insights out was the Start/Stop/Continue process, but with our own twist. Here’s how it works for our company and me in particular.

Setting up Your Start, Stop, Continue Session

I invited entire departments to a dedicated meeting time, sharing that we would brainstorm on things in their area which we should Start, Stop, or Continue doing. I introduced the participants to the session by explaining that during the last quarter or year, we’ve all been engaged in a variety of activities, projects and relationships. Time, as it were, didn’t permit us to pursue promising opportunities staring us right in the face, mainly because we were already over-committed. If only we had the time, energy and resources to start that new project.

I act as facilitator of the session which is a key point. With responsibility for moderating the group’s activity and bringing clarity to what is being said, this makes sure that my focus is on listening rather than participating. In addition of course to giving me a front row seat to conversations I may not have otherwise heard.

I make sure as well to have a separate person taking detailed notes under the three headings of Start, Stop and Continue. Getting into a room with a whiteboard or a means to display the notes in real time is also helpful.

Start

The best place to begin is, of course, the Start bucket. What ideas make the most sense to execute on? Are the conditions right to move ahead with a new process, initiative or activity given the present climate in the office? Now’s the time to chart a new course to gain territory in areas you know opportunity awaits.

Consider having a few leading questions at the ready such as:

• “If money wasn’t a factor, where would you invest?”
• “Imagine having another person on your team. What project would you assign to them that we haven’t yet begun?”

The takeaway should be a nice list of fresh ideas that haven’t been started before.

Stop

What really needs to stop? Is there something that consumes a lot of your time for very little return or reward? Spotting activities that distract you from your core purpose and then eliminating them can be like a breath of fresh air. If you find that a process needs to change or that a particular aspect of how you do something causes an inordinate amount of stress, that’s another candidate for discussion in the Stop phase.

On the flipside, you might hear team members say that although they enjoy a particular activity or initiative, they feel that it has run its course. Being able to stop something allows you to make room for other worthy pursuits. Just remember though that if you stop something, you need to consider who else in the company your decision may affect. If you find that what you’d like to stop does involve people in a different department, you’ll need to consult with them on what you’d like to do and genuinely consider their perspective before steamrolling ahead with your decision. You never know how much of an impact your decision will make, so be sure to ask before writing your decision in stone.

For this section, some questions to get going include:

• “What would you cut from your workday if you had to leave early for vacation?”
• “What activities do you mentally place at the bottom of your to-do list, even before you’ve written it?”
• “Have you ever noticed an area of your job that consistently gets bumped to the next day or even next month? What is that and why is it so easy to defer until a later date?”

Continue

Remember the old axiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Consider the Continue phase as a time to identify and evaluate which activities continue to show positive results. This section presents your team with the opportunity to identify those areas that they believe are positively contributing to the success of your company. These activities should be life-giving ones that sustain the efforts necessary to continue achieving your goals.

Keep the conversation going by asking:

• “Where are we adding the most value for our customers?”
• “Which responsibilities do you personally find most fulfilling?”
• “Is there an activity that defines our corporate culture that we should continue doing?”

Recognize that you’re looking for affirming statements and that it risks coming off as being corny. Keep the conversation focused on key stakeholders, namely your customers, employees and investors. Listen for those grateful sentiments to surface such as the time when we really “wowed” the customer or we helped turnaround a tough situation. It’s those memories that keep customers for life and employees engaged in the workplace.

What Comes Next

After you’ve met with all the groups, you’ll have a stack of papers with your organization’s ideas. The same week, decide which make sense to move forward with now, and which to keep but for another time (and set when that will be). Develop implementation plans as appropriate, remembering that if you can have some of the quick wins accomplished first, you’ll be giving everyone evidence that their opinion mattered, and that the process was valuable.

Finally, make a promise to meet again to ensure that the items were complete and schedule a fresh Start, Stop, Continue session in a few months (we do ours twice annually).

By demonstrating your willingness to explore all facets of your company, to listen to the opinions of each employee in a group setting and and to take action on those areas in need, you might be surprised with what you learn, and how a few small changes can result in huge wins. We found 5 extra days of cash flow - I wonder what you’ll discover?

What should I start stop continue doing that will help improve my performance?

What's one thing we should start stop and continue doing as a company?

What should I start stop continue doing examples?

What is a stop/start continue analysis?