Steal These Boring Systems So Your Business Runs Without You with Dr. Shannon Irvine

Speaker A: Foreign. Welcome to the Epic Success Podcast. I AM your host, Dr. Shannon Ervin. On the Epic Success podcast, we unpack the neuroscience of success and really help you become a hardwired CEO and also, um, hardwire your business to scale. All right, this is what we're doing here on the Epic Success podcast. So glad you're here. Steal these boring systems so your business runs without you. Most business owners are trying to build impressive systems. Big dashboards, complicated AI automations, giant SOP libraries, fancy project management tools. But the systems that actually get used, the ones that make your business run without you, they're usually boring. Dentists use them, restaurants use them. Software teams use them, delivery apps use them, virtual events use them. And most of them are so simple your team can understand them immediately. That's why they work. If we haven't met, I'm Dr. Shannon Ervin. I've been a business owner for over 25 years. I am the author of the bestselling book the 67 Day Year. And I help established founders and business owners build self scaling companies that that can grow without the owner being glued to slack, email and every decision. So today I'm going to show you five boring systems you can steal from other industries and install inside your business so your team can make better decisions. Your clients need less hand holding and fewer things have to come back to you. And I want you to listen for one question the whole time. Which of these systems would immediately remove me from the middle? That's such a great question. So let's start with the first one. Boring system. Number one, rebooking. Goodbye. Dentists may not be known for amazing marketing, but they're brilliant at one thing. They do not let a completed appointment become a dead end before you leave. They try to book the next appointment. Not two weeks later, not in a follow up email, not after you forget right there while you're still in the room. That system is called the rebookend. Goodbye. And most service businesses are missing it. This matters because most businesses lose momentum at the end of a great client interaction. Call was valuable, the client is clear and the next step is obvious. Everyone leaves feeling good, but nobody books the next step. So now momentum becomes homework. The client has to remember, your team has to follow up. Someone sends an email, then another email, then someone drops a slack message asking did they ever book? And suddenly what could have taken 30 seconds turned into a two week follow up loop. That is a system issue. So the easiest time to schedule the next step is when the client is already present, already engaged, already happy Already expecting a new step. So I see this all the time with business owners who have, um, amazing client delivery, but they still have revenue leakage because the next step is not set systemized. They do a great strategy call. The client says, that was so helpful. The business owner says, great, we'll follow up. And that sounds harmless, right? But the follow up usually means it's now floating somewhere between someone's inbox, someone's memory, someone's project management tool thread. That's where revenue retention and momentum go to die. All right, steal the system to install the rebook and go buy, add, book next step as the final agenda item on every call or client visit. Not as an afterthought, not if you remember it. It should be part of the structure. Before that engagement ends, your team should say, before we wrap, let's lock in your next 90 day check in, your next week check in so momentum doesn't die. Or before we end, let's schedule the next implementation review so we know this is actually getting installed. Make that work for your business. The key here is to default to a specific date. Do not say let us know when you want to rebook. That gives the client homework. Instead, say, I have Tuesday the 12th or Thursday the 14th. Which one is better? This is easier for the client and it's easier for your team. And it stops momentum from disappearing. Now you really want to make this a system. Every client should leave a major interaction with one of these three statuses. Next step booked, next step not needed, or next step at risk. If a client leaves, ah, an exchange with no next step, no clear reason, your system should catch that. That's the difference between hoping someone follows up and building a company that does not depend on memory. So rebooking is not just about revenue. It reduces decision fatigue. It removes client homework, it prevents follow up loops. It turns momentum into a scheduled next step. That's how boring systems create retention. Okay, boring system number two is a pre written panic button. The worst time to write a client update is when something is already going wrong. Virtual events figure this out, because when a live stream breaks, links fail, or hundreds of people are waiting to get access, the operator does not have time to write the perfect email from scratch. Right? They need a panic button. Not panic as in chaos, but panic as in we already know what to say when something breaks. This really matters because most small businesses lose trust in that gap between the problem happening and the client hearing from you. The issue itself might not even be that big, but the silence makes it feel even bigger. Client does not know if you saw the problem. They do not know if your team's working on it. They do not know if they need to follow up. So they start sending messages. Just checking in any update? Did you see this? Right, These kind of messages. And now your team is not just fixing the problem, they're also managing anxiety. Answering duplicate messages and pulling you into the middle because no one knows what to say. And that's the real issue right there. The founder gets pulled in. Not always because the problem is huge, but because communication system is missing. So think about the last time something went sideways in your business. Maybe a deadline slipped, maybe a client deliverable was late, maybe a tech link broke or didn't work. Maybe the technician didn't show up on time, maybe a payment issue happened. You get the idea. But maybe your team was doing the right thing, but the client had no idea what was happening. This usually creates the escalation is not the mistake, it's the silence. The nervous system hates open loops. Your client's brain starts filling in the blanks, your team gets flooded with messages. Suddenly you're right back in the middle of everything. So, um, I want you to steal the system. Create a few pre written messages before you need them. Start with the three situations that create the most urgency in your business. So I'm trying to think for some examples like a tech issue or a missed deadline or a client deliverable delay. Maybe it's a billing mistake or scheduling issue or maybe you're at uh, a launch or an event problem. So those are some ideas. But then write a simple message your team can send immediately. For example, we saw an issue and our team is working on it now. You do not need to do anything yet. We'll send you the next update by 3pm today. That one message does three amazing things. It acknowledges the problem, it tells the client what is happening, and it gives a clear next update time. That alone can stop a flood of extra messages and tasks. And then now I want you to make it a system. The key is not just having templates. The key is creating rules for when they get used. So for each panic button message, define what triggers this message, who is allowed to send it, where does the template live and when does the next update go out? When does the issue escalate to leadership? This is how your team can communicate quickly without waiting for you to approve every word. So a pre written panic button protects trust before the problem gets bigger. It gives your team language, it gives your clients certainty, and it keeps small issues from turning into founder Level emergencies. All right, now let's talk about the system that stops the same mistakes from coming back again and again and again. Boring. System number three, bug backlog. Software companies would collapse if they treated every bug like a personal emergency. They do not just panic every time something breaks. They log it, they score it, they prioritize it, and then they fix the highest impact problem first. Most businesses do the exact opposite. Something breaks, someone slacks the founder, everyone reacts emotionally. Then two weeks later, the exact problem comes back again. That's why you need a bug backlog in your business. A bug might not be software. A bug might be a client onboarding step that keeps getting missed. Or a handoff that always creates confusion. Or a billing mistake. Or a sales call. No show pattern. A delivery issue. I love giving lots of ideas here. Maybe it's a team question that keeps coming back to you. These are not just fires. They're data. But if you do not capture the data, the business cannot improve. It can only react. This is why so many founders feel like they're solving the same problems over and over and over again. The issue gets handled, but the system never changes. And when the system never changes, the business keeps proving to your brain as the CEO that you are still needed everywhere. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched a founder say, my team keeps asking me the same questions. And then when we look closer, the team is not the real issue. There is just no trusted place for the question to go. There is no owner for the fix. There's no weekly rhythm to review what keeps breaking. So the team does the only thing that works. They ask you. They ask the founder. That is not a team problem. That is a missing backlog. All right, So I want you to steal the system. Create one shared list called the bugs and breaks. This can live in Notion, ClickUp, Asana Monday Airtable, Google Sheets. Wherever your team already uses. Don't overcomplicate the tool. The system matters more than the software. That is a big system statement right there. Use five simple columns. What happened? Column number one, where did it happen? Column number two, what was the impact? Who owns the fix? What's the status? Then create one team rule. If something breaks, it gets logged before it gets escalated. That does not mean urgent problems get ignored, but it does mean that the business starts building a memory. And now, from there, I want you to make it a system. Once a week, review the bugs and breaks list in your leadership meeting. Do not try to fix everything. That is where founders get overwhelmed and abandon the system. Instead, ask what Software companies ask what are the three highest impact issues we can fix this week. To make that easier, score each from like uh, a one to a three. One means annoying but low impact. Two means like it slows the team or creates client friction. And three means it affects revenue, client trust, delivery quality or founder time. Then fix the highest impact items first. But here's the most important part. Every fix needs to become a system change. That might be a checklist update or a decision rule or a template or a new owner or a dashboard metric or a client facing expectation or a handoff improvement. If the issue gets fixed but the system is not changed, the bug will come back. So a bug backlog turns mistakes into process improvement. Without it, every issue becomes drama, right? With it, every issue becomes data. The more your team learns to fix from data, the less they need you to be the emergency answer key. Now let's steal one from delivery apps. Boring. System number four, Self service status. Delivery apps changed what clients expect from every business. When you order food, you do not want to email someone and ask where's my order? You want to open the app and see the order received. Because being prepared driver assigned on the way delivered, right? This is in our psyche. That little tracker calms your brain down. Not because the food arrived any faster, but because you can see what's happening that is the self service status. Why does this matter? A lot of client anxiety comes from not knowing. They do not know if your team saw the request. They do not know if the project is moving. They don't know if the delay is normal. They don't know if they are supposed to do any. So they send an email every business owner hates just checking in. That email is not always impatient. Sometimes it's a symptom of poor visibility. And poor visibility creates support tickets, slack messages, client anxiety and team interruptions. The real problem here is that the update lives in your team's head instead of somewhere the client can see. This is one of the simplest places to buy back team time. Because a lot of support volume is not really support. It's a status anxiety. The client is not always asking you to do more. They're asking, is this moving? Am I forgotten? Do I need to worry like and when your system answers that question before they ask it, your team gets fewer interruptions and most importantly, the client feels more taken care of. All right, so I want you to steal this system. Pick one high anxiety process in your business. Do not start with everything. Please choose the process where clients ask for updates. The most that might be Onboarding a big project, a launch, a deliverable, a coaching application fulfillment process, or a client renewal. What works for your business there? Then create a simple status tracker. It could be shared project board, a client portal, a Google Doc, a notion page, uh, a ClickUp view, even a weekly status email. The format matters not at all. It matters less than the clarity that's in it. Use simple stages like received assigned in progress, right waiting on, client in review complete. That alone can remove a massive amount of uncertainty. And then from there I want you to make it a system. The system only works if someone owns the update. So create a rule like status is updated by 4pm every business day or status is updated before every client call or status is updated by Friday by the project owner. If there's no owner, no rhythm, the tracker becomes another dead dashboard. Then update your client communication. So instead of sending vague check ins, say here is your current status. The project is in review. The next step is our team will be finishing the audit by Friday. If you need anything else, reply here. That gives the client context and context creates calm. Love that, don't you? So self service status does not just help the client, it protects your team. It reduces interruptions, lowers anxiety, prevents that repeat question, and makes your business feel more premium without adding more meetings. That is what a real system does. It removes friction on both sides. All right, now let's talk about the small surprise that makes every client feel taken care of without burning out your team. And that's boring. System number five Overflowing Fries. So the smallest surprise can create more loyalty than the biggest promised bug bonus. Think about french fries. When a restaurant overfills the container just a little, it feels generous even if the actual amount isn't that much more. The experience says you got a little extra. And that's the overflowing fries system and service businesses need this badly. So why this matters is A lot of business owners confuse over delivery with overworking. They think that if they want the client to feel taken care of, they need to add more calls, more access, more support, more custom work and more of their own time. That is not a system. That's scope creep and with a nice personality of course. So overflowing fries. It's different. It's controlled generosity. A small, low cost repeatable extra that feels personal but does not break the business. This matters because most founders accidentally train clients to appreciate the wrong thing. If the only way a client feels cared for is when you personally jump in, personally customize something, personally answer late at night, or personally save the day Then the client experience is still dependent on you. But if the business has a small repeatable moments of care built into the delivery system, the client feels supported without you being the source of that feeling. That is the shift. So I want you to steal this system of overflowing fries. Pick the one tiny extra that costs very little but feels valuable to the client for coaching business. It could be a quick loom after the first call summarizing the big insight or a bonus template send after onboarding. Or a one page scorecard or short personal note or a quick audit. That's a small thing that they just didn't expect. That's the key for an agency that could be quick. We caught this fix a bonus headline pass or a tiny reporting insight or one small implementation note. The important part here is this. Do not lead with it in the sales process. If you promise it up front, it becomes part of the expected deliverable. Then it's not overflowing fries anymore, it's just fries. The magic is that it feels like extra care after they've already said yes. Then you got to make this a system. Create a repeatable rule that your team can actually deliver. So I want to give a lot of examples here. So now every new client gets a three minute onboarding loom within 48 hours. Or every completed UH project gets one bonus recommendation. Or every 90 day review includes one unexpected next step template. Or every client milestone gets a personal note. That surprise should support the main result. Don't give random bonuses just to look generous. Give something that makes the client's main goal feel easier, faster or more personal. That's what makes it memorable. All right. Overflowing fries is not about doing more until you burn out. It's about designing one small moment where the client thinks, wow, they thought of me. And because it's systemized, your team can create that feeling without you personally carrying the whole client experience. All right, so how do you choose which system to steal first? Now here's the mistake I don't want you to make. Do not watch this to try to install all five systems this week. That is how business owners turn great ideas into more chaos. Instead, choose based on the bottleneck. If clients love the work, but the next steps keep disappearing, start with the rebook and goodbye. If problems create panic and your team does not know what to say, start with the pre written panic button. If the same mistakes keep coming back to you, start with the bug backlog. If the clients keep checking in for updates, start with the self service status. If your client experience Is good but not memorable. Start with the overflowing fries. One bottleneck, one borrowed practice. 90 day install. That's how you build a self scaling business. Not by adding more ideas, but by installing the right system in the right place. All right, before we wrap, I want to give you one simple checklist for installing any borrowed system. Because stealing the idea is not enough. The idea only works when it becomes a behavior. So for any system you want to install, answer these 45 questions. First, what's the trigger? When does this system start? Is it at the end of a client call? Or is when something breaks when a client asks for an update? When a uh, project hits a certain milestone or stage? Second, who owns it? Not who helps, not who might remember who owns it. And I hope it's not you. Third, what's the exact next step? Does the team know what to do without asking you? Number four is where does it live? Is it in the project board? The CRM, the client portal? The weekly meeting? The script? The template? You get the idea. If it does not live anywhere, it will disappear. All right. And finally number five. What number tells us it's working for the rebooking, goodbye. It might be a percentage of clients with the next step booked. For the pre written panic button, it might be response time during issues or fewer escalations to you. For the bug backlog, it might be repeated issues being reduced. For self service status it might be fewer clients check in emails. And for overflowing fries it might be referrals, reviews or client satisfaction. That is how you turn a clever idea into a self scaling system. So here's the big idea. You do not need to invent genius systems from scratch. You need to notice what already works somewhere else and install it where your business is. Creating friction. Dentists figured out rebooking, virtual events figured out fast issue communication. Software companies figured out how to turn mistakes into data and delivery. Apps figured out how to calm customers down with visibility. Restaurants figured out control generosity. And you can steal all of that because this is how a real scaled CEO thinks. They do not make themselves the answer to every problem. They build a system their team and clients can actually use. If you want help choosing the right system to install first join me for the free self scaling business diagnostic. We will score your CEO system, your team system and your profit system and we'll map out the next 90 days so you can start getting your time back without slowing revenue. The link is below this video and tell me in the comments which boring system you're going to steal first. Rebooking, Goodbye pre written panic button bug backlog, self service status or overflowing fries. I want to see which one your business needs most. All right, that's what I have for you this week. You can keep learning more about the scaled CEO operating system for the next video here. I would look forward to seeing you live inside this self scaling business diagnostic. Until then, bye for now. Thanks again for listening to the Epic Success Best Podcast. If you loved the podcast this week, do me a favor, would you give us a five star review? And over in Instagram please share with me in the dms. What was it that you loved about it? How did it resonate? And I always say for podcasters those reviews are our big warm hug. And of course if you want to go deeper or see this on video, please follow my my YouTube channel at Dr. Shannon Irvin on YouTube. I cannot wait to see you next week on the Epic Success Podcast. Bye for now.