I love a good model. And when it’s inspired by nature it’s an added bonus. Half a year ago I used the Create-Maintain-Destruct model with all my clients, and it’s overdue to be dusted off again.
Lots of reactions from business owners and individuals are telling me that the dust is settling from the last half-year. A business audit and a mental spring clean could be timely and make good business sense.
The Create-Maintain-Destruct model creates the framework for your audit. Take your business offer and processes through it – as well as your staff, clients, suppliers and your own leadership.
How? Create a matrix with Create, Maintain and Destruct as the column headings and the categories mentioned above as the rows (clients, staff, offer etc). Now for each row, list what and who is worth Maintaining (or restoring), what it is time to Destruct, stop doing or challenge – and which new things you would like to Create, be it through new staff members, new clients or new ideas that are jumping at the bid to add value.
Align it with the long-term vision of your business – and make it clear to yourself who YOU need to be to make it happen. Who would you love to be working and being with every day, what would you love to offer them – and who are YOU being, what are you seeing yourself doing to get there?
If you’re really brave, continue the list and do an audit of your own mindset, beliefs, communication, behaviours and relationships based on the same 3 headings of Create, Maintain and Destruct. Judgement free, with no right or wrong. Just honesty.
This is the ideal time to not hang onto old ways, habits, business models, target groups or processes. We have done lots of adjusting and shifting these recent months, but did you do it with intention and with your long-term outcome in mind?
See this as your business spring clean (ok, Northern Hemisphere – you can call it autumn clean).
Like nature – don’t hang onto the leaves… they’re brown, they are ready to go. “Oh no, I don’t want them to fall off yet, no,… stay…. Can I glue them on please????”. LET THEM wither and use it as mulch for the newly budding leaves to open up. No better time to refocus on the results AND joy you and your teams can create.
Nature rocks and you can, too.