This article is contributed by Sam Carpenter, author of the new book, ‘Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More’.
Sam Carpenter never really understood the old adage, “work smarter, not harder.” Now, the multi-million dollar business owner lives by it.
Eight years ago, Sam was working ridiculously long hours for meager pay, crumbling under stress, and had zero time for himself or his family. The president and CEO of Centratel, a struggling telephone answering service business, Sam might as well have been working a per-hour job. For 15 years, he put in 80- to 100-hour workweeks, simply trying to keep his business afloat. His body was a wreck from the stress, and his doctor, convinced he was depressed, prescribed him Prozac and then Ritalin. On top of all this, he was a single parent of two children for this entire decade and a half.
Five days before he was going to miss a payroll for the first time and ultimately lose his business, Sam had a breakthrough epiphany. He realized that his life and business problems did not require “holistic” solutions. He saw that the primary systems in his life and business are made up of linear “sub-systems” that can be isolated and then perfected one at a time. By perfecting sub-systems, the primary systems would, in turn, function flawlessly. So, at once, he grabbed hold of the reins on his business, health, and relationships. He extracted and optimized each sub-system, then reinserted each back into the mix. Improvement was dramatic on all fronts.
Now, the author of Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More, Sam works two hours a week, runs a multi-million dollar telecommunications company once on the brink of folding, and makes more in a month than he used to make in a year. He is of robust health – climbing, cycling and skiing again. He owns a second home and travels, and recently remarried. On top of that, he also founded and operates an international non-profit organization to aid third world schoolchildren, and is in the process of launching a major internet startup site with his wife, Linda.
Follow Sam’s six steps to “working less and making more,” and watch your own business or corporate management position become more efficient, your workweek lessen, and your income skyrocket. Also, watch your personal life become more efficient and rewarding:
1. Change your fundamental perspective of the mechanics of the world. Take a position “outside and slightly above” your job and your life. See that everything is composed of linear systems and that these systems can be improved, one-by-one. Understand that by perfecting a primary system’s sub-systems, the primary system will in turn be perfected.
2. Know there is a universal propensity for order and efficiency: 99.9% of everything works just fine. Life wants things to work out; you just have to “climb on board.” There’s probably not much that requires repair.
3. Stop playing Whac-a-Mole. End the fire-killing. Instead of repairing problems as they arise, dig down deep, identify the inefficiencies, fix the dysfunctional systems that cause them, and prevent the problems from re-occurring. Climb down into the mole-holes and eliminate those critters altogether.
4. Create simple documentation. It has to happen. Boring, but true: the existence of documented protocols is the single greatest difference between large successful businesses and small struggling businesses. Create a strategic objective, operating principles, and working procedures for your job or your business. It won’t take long and the return will be a thousand-fold.
5. Make sure you’re in a position of advancement. If you look upward and there’s no rung on the ladder for you to reach, consider switching jobs. Or, find a small business that’s struggling, buy it, and fix it. To attain freedom, you must be in a position where upward mobility and hands-on management are possible.
6. Hire people who “get it.” You must surround yourself with people who agree with your philosophy and methodology. If your employees aren’t on the same page, don’t expect to get the results you want.
Sam Carpenter, author and speaker, is president and CEO of Centratel, an elite quality telephone answering service, and author of the new book, Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Working Less and Making More. Success in life, business, and relationships can be yours, too. Sam’s approach is not mystical or esoteric; it’s simple, mechanical, and attainable. Visit http://www.workthesystem.com to purchase your copy of Work the System.