A Management Mindset - Maintaining Scalable Systems

Building a successful multi-unit operation is difficult for any entrepreneur. Doing it successfully comes down to having the right management mindset, says Rod Bristol, a former franchise executive and financial expert.

He recently wrote about what he says are the 5 critical capabilities that multi-unit franchisees must master in order to be successful.

Here's the first of his 5 competencies:

Maintaining scalable systems (delivered by franchisor, executed by franchisee)

• Maintaining scalable systems. When I owned my own company, we had 19 locations, served by our corporate office and production center. Adhering to prescribed systems saved us many times. Beyond the obvious (proficiency + consistency = efficiency), our systems revealed when staff were attempting to steal from us, which stores were profitable and growing, which needed a management change, and ultimately enabled me to stay married and sleep at night. You cannot be at all sites every day, so systems, not verbal directives, are the structure for the team. Enterprise managers embrace them, maintain them, and monitor them.