Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

by Gino Wickman

DOCUMENTING YOUR CORE PROCESSES There are three stages in documenting your Way. First, identify your core processes. Then break down what happens in each one and document it. Finally, compile the information into a single package for everyone in your company. IDENTIFY YOUR CORE PROCESSES To start off, schedule an hour with your leadership team. This is not an assignment to delegate to one person. Take this initial step together so that you’re calling your core processes the same thing. Entrepreneurs tend to claim they already know what the processes are; I frequently get resistance on the need to call this meeting at all. Every time I suggest it, the reaction is, “Oh, we can do that in five minutes.” I’ve yet to see a team do it in less than an hour. Here’s why. Your leadership team needs to identify and agree on what to call your core processes. Once you start the discussion, you’re going to find you have different names for them and lack consensus on how many there are. Your core processes typically include the following: The HR process is the way you search, find, hire, orient, manage, review, promote, retain, and fire people. The marketing process is the way you get your message to your target audience and generate interest in what you do and prospects for your salespeople. The sales process is the way you convert a prospect into a customer.