5. Process

This session is about systemising success. Every great business runs on repeatable processes—documented, measured, and continuously improved. You’ll learn how to move from chaos to consistency, freeing up time, reducing errors, and building a business that works without you.

Key Concepts

  1. Without systems, your business relies on memory, luck, and goodwill. With them, you get consistency, scalability, and peace of mind.

  2. What’s not written down doesn’t exist. Start simple—map your key processes, write SOPs, and update them regularly.

  3. Every process should produce a result. Track performance with KPIs so you know what’s working, what’s not, and what to fix.

  4. Processes aren’t just for today—they’re for the business you want in five years. Design them to grow with you, not hold you back.

Okay, well, welcome back. We're up to part five of the Progress Pyramid—our trademark process at Kelly Partners to help you be the best person you can be and build an amazing business that can make a difference to you, your people, and our communities.

So what's process about?

Well, let’s get your business mapped on one page. Right since the beginning of Kelly Partners, I always had a map. I’d literally, geographically, map out where we wanted to have offices.

Now, when I say map your business on one page, I’m not just talking about geography. I’m talking about our core products—our tax returns, tax planning, accounts, and compliance. For each of those processes, we’ve written out what happens when the client comes in. Where do they come from? The mail, the internet, the phone. Then what happens? And then what? It’s a detailed process map—on one page.

If you don’t map your processes:

  • A: You don’t know them.

  • B: You can’t improve them.

You should be able to deliver that cheeseburger in your business the same way every time. Consistent price, consistent experience—most things aren’t bespoke suits. Most are off the rack. And clients want predictable solutions.

Once you’ve documented your processes, read Robert Cialdini’s book Influence. It explains how people are moved through six key principles:

  1. Reciprocity – Give without expectation.

  2. Consistency – Keep your branding consistent.

  3. Social Proof – Use testimonials.

  4. Liking – Be yourself, authentically.

  5. Authority – Show your qualifications and experience.

  6. Scarcity – Don’t accept just anyone. Select the best.

Build those into your processes.

Then implement a meeting process. Use Pat Lencioni’s model—we do at Kelly Partners:

  • Annual offsite (1–2 days)

  • Quarterly offsite (1–2 days)

  • Monthly team reporting

  • Ad-hoc topical meetings

  • Weekly staff meetings

  • Daily check-ins

Not doing daily check-ins? Start. Create a rhythm. Meetings are a process too.

Now, I can’t walk you through all our processes in this video, but I can tell you this—at Kelly Partners, we have a detailed critical activity network. Each activity has a written process. It's all documented. It’s a manual. It’s how we run.

If your business doesn’t look like that, start now. Choose one process that will make a difference and document it.

Then read the Harvard Business Review article Putting the Balanced Scorecard to Work. Build a scorecard that tracks not just finances, but progress in all areas.

We created our own:
People → Process → Clients → Financials → Reputation

If you have the right people running the right processes for the right clients, you'll get the right financial outcome—and that builds reputation.

As Jim Collins says in Good to Great, that’s how you build a flywheel. And that changes everything.

Take control of your financial universe and Be Better Off.

Access an experienced accountant to help you control, grow, and protect your financial universe.

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