As Business Owners using the “Stop, Start, Continue” framework, we can regularly evaluate what works and what doesn’t work in our businesses.
Running a profitable business is hard. There is no shortage of things to do and whilst people know what the pain points are, they are often too busy or don’t have the inclination or knowledge to fix them.
To eliminate pain points and gain clarity on opportunities to improve, it is a good idea to have a team meeting where participants can brainstorm what they think the business should Stop, Start or Continue doing. Participants will be able to outline any issues or concerns that they have, and the group can brainstorm new ideas and set priorities.
Some questions to facilitate the discussion of Stop, Start and Continue are as follows.
What do we need to Stop doing?
What do we do that is not taking us towards our goal?
What are the things that cause rework?
What is your, or your customers, biggest frustration?
What takes a lot of time or energy, for little reward?
What do we need to Start doing?
What new ideas do we have that will help us reach our goal?
How can we improve our customer experience?
What can we do to improve our workplace culture?
What systems and processes need implementing?
What do we need to Continue doing?
What do you like doing, that works well?
What activities continue to add value to our staff and customers?
In each team meeting you will need to appoint a facilitator to keep the meeting on track, and a person to take detailed notes under the three headings of Stop, Start and Continue. At the end of each meeting, make sure that you have an implementation plan so that everyone is clear on who is doing what, by when. I suggest that you meet quarterly, focusing on a different area of your business each time.
