There’s a spreadsheet on somebody’s drive right now doing the job you’re paying for software to do.
You’ve probably even seen it. Someone shared their screen in a meeting, you clocked the random tab, and it didn’t register as a problem, because the work was getting done.
Nobody announces that a system stopped working. There’s no meeting for that. They just silently start building a new system. One nobody knows about.
Whoever needs the work done finds a way to get it done, and the way is almost always a spreadsheet, a group chat, or one person’s memory. None of those have an immediate cost.
That’s what a mid-year check-in actually helps with. Not with what you’re paying for, but for what people are doing instead.
Here are three questions that will help you find those inefficient workarounds
Use twenty minutes, in a meeting you’re already having, to ask three questions to everyone:
1. What do you keep in a spreadsheet that should live somewhere else?
2. What information do you find yourself entering twice (once in the system, once somewhere else)?
3. What do you ask a person about, instead of looking up?
Write down every answer. Don’t fix anything yet. Then take a moment to sort each one into three buckets:
The tool can’t do it. A real gap. This is usually the smallest one.
The tool can do it, but nobody was ever shown how. Training. The most important fix you will ever make, and usually the biggest bucket.
The tool can do it, but the workaround is faster. Your setup is wrong, not your software. Somebody configured it for the kind of company you used to be, and a lot has changed since then.
Fix the middle bucket first. It’s effective, it’s fast, and it’s most of what you’ll find.
And be honest about the third possibility: sometimes the workaround wins. If someone built a spreadsheet that beats the platform you’re paying for, the spreadsheet isn’t the problem. Cancel the platform. Not every workaround needs fixing. Some of them are just telling you the truth about what you should and shouldn’t be spending money on.
Get one thing off the list, before Q4 starts
You have less than 14 days left until Labor Day. We ALL know that once Labor Day passes, two very important things happen:
1. You can no longer wear white.
2. The Fall Rush is upon us.
Conferences, events, Q4 Prep, more meetings than your calendar can handle, and let’s not forget EVERYONE is back at work
The last week of every month, I run a 1-hour Get One Thing Done Workshop. You bring one problem. We work it live. No pitch, no pressure — one thing actually handled before the Labor Day rush.
Space is limited. Only 20 seats per month. August’s session is open now. Register here →
Here’s what past attendees are saying
P.S. — If the workaround hunt brings up more than you expected, your team may have a bigger issue. Watch this video: What is Work Sprawl? How it’s secretly costing your business thousands.
— Georgie-Ann, your Ops Bestie
GSD Solutions works with Owners and Operators to audit, automate, and update the systems they outgrew. If you want a second set of eyes on yours, that’s what the 90-minute evaluation is for. Book yours today at gsdsolutionsinc.com/letstalk
