Operations: Getting the job done
The Introduction to Part 3
Yesterday, I opened the door to Part 3 of The Book and stared at the empty expanse before me. How to talk at a high conceptual level about what are Business Operations and why are Operations so important? What to include in Part 3; what to exclude? How to relate Part 3 to the overall purpose of The Book, The Mechanics of Business?
Here in this article, I want to scope out Part 3. First, my planned progression of chapters: Leadership, Introduction to Operations, People that make it all work, Structure & Reporting, then some specific looks at why Operations focuses on Markets and Sales. Part 3 will wrap up with a discussion about the role of Metrics & Evaluation.
At the highest level, Operations encompasses all of the day-to-day activities and processes that keep a business running smoothly. We start with a chapter on Leadership even though the discussion of Leadership is a precursor to Operations. But it gets us thinking how to manage the execution of the Business Plan.
Operations involves the direction and coordination of people in concert to achieve the objectives of the Business Plan and manifest the strategy. And that direction and coordination forces us to talk about Leadership. After that, I will be able to define and talk about the general scope of Operations.
The important points of concern to Newbiepreneurs is People, Markets, Selling, Metrics, Reporting, and Evaluation. We’ll discuss the strategic aspects of these and how they directly relate to the Business-in-a-Nutshell Model. It is the careful operation of these components that results in a successful plan implementation.
Typical Operations encompasses more than just these areas. Many of you already know there’s I-T, R&D, Product Development, Customer Support, Service, Manufacturing, Purchasing & Inventory, QC, Shipping, Property, HR, and Legal.
We won’t cover these in The Book because they are not direct drivers of the Business System and they have been well discussed in other business books. Finance & Accounting will be covered in Part 4 of The Book. The insights here in Part 3 will relate to the functioning of Business as a System and the Mechanics of these components.
This progression of thought seems to make sense as the follow-on to Part 2, which dealt with the Planning Process Pipeline: Starting a Business Venture.
Your input is welcome as I commence writing the chapters of Part 3. Let me know what you think of this plan!