Case Study: Systems Work So Owners Don't Have to

Client: Stanley Gordon
Business: Cortex Medical Management Systems
Home Office: Seattle, WA
Additional Partners: 2
Employees: 20
Years in Business: 18
Number of Managers: "We're all managers!"
Divisions: 3 Divisions, divided along 3 product lines
Began E-Myth Mastery: June, 2001
Annual Revenue: Exceeds $2.5 million
Increase in Revenue since beginning E-Myth Mastery: $1 million
E-Myth Mastery Coach: Remy Gervais

What brought you to E-Myth Worldwide?

"My partners and I were at an age in our business where we knew intuitively that we needed to systematize, but didn't know how to get there. I've been in this for 30 years, and never fully realized the importance of systematizing until I read E-Myth Revisited."

Notable Quote: "The only good vacation is a minimum of three weeks. At that point, you have to be able to not worry about what's going on at the shop."

How did you first learn about E-Myth?

"My partner found a reference to Michael Gerber's book in another business development book he was reading. He picked up a copy, and called me the next day. I bought a copy and took it on vacation. It immediately changed my way of looking at the world. I remember going into a Krispy Kreme donut shop and seeing dollar bills coming off the conveyor belt! I understood from that moment the secret that made businesses like Starbucks, McDonalds, and H&R Block so successful. In fact, everywhere I looked at successful businesses, I began to see their systems."

What was your next move?

"I signed up for the E-Myth Experience telephone session. On the second day, I understood that at least 40% of my work could be done by someone else making one-fifth my salary. I hired an office assistant the very next day. That one step alone has freed me up for more important tasks; getting systems in place and people thoroughly trained.

My partners went through the sessions the following week. By then, we knew we wanted to move forward as quickly as possible."

"The three of us came down to Santa Rosa (California) for the Leadership Intensive the next month (June, 2001). You have to appreciate this: We are 55, 56, and 60 years old--experienced, skilled, successful business people--and for the first time in our lives, we really understood the power in insisting that our business support our personal goals. It was mind-bending to see it that way! In sharing some of our personal goals with each other, we discovered that we could help each other achieve those goals--quite literally! We started the Mastery program that month."

Can you give me an example of how you've helped each other in your personal goals?

"Well, one of my partner's goals was to own a boat and sail around the world. A short time after we learned about that, the other two of us actually heard about the exact model he was craving--and it was for sale. He bought that boat four months after the Leadership Intensive! Now, we know that he is hoping to do a shakedown cruise this summer. It would mean him taking about twelve weeks off. We both went to him and said: "You deserve a sabbatical. So how do we get the business to operate without you being here?" Since then, we've focused on getting the necessary systems into place so that the staff could take over his work."

As you've refocused your time for system-development, what other changes have you made?

"One of the first things we did was to discover where our real profit center
was--and what that really meant. We focused in on the business area that would be the easiest to systematize, would offer us the greatest profit potential, and support our own personal goals. We completely redesigned our financial reporting to reflect product lines. Now we can clearly track our profits by product.

"This new perspective made it easier for us to sharpen our marketing message, too. We're much better able to pick up the finer details of who our customers really are and how to more effectively communicate our message to them.

"From a management perspective, it's made us look at what the organization should look like in 3 years. This new view has made it possible for us to really fine-tune our organizational structure along product lines, and develop much more comprehensive, well-defined position contracts for our people."

Besides this true change of perspective in your business, is there a particular Mastery process that really stands out for you?

"The Key Frustration Process is great--the wisdom of taking a frustration, evaluating the impact it has on our operation, and discovering a systemic solution."

"I used to spend too much of my time responding to the problems people would bring me. Now, people bring me problems, and the first thing I ask them is: "How often is it occurring? What's it costing us to allow it to continue? What aren't we getting in our business if we allow it to continue?" If it's happening a lot, it goes to the top of our list. If it's reasonably causing a problem, it's worth the time to write a procedure or come to a systemic solution. My original assistant is now the "procedure queen." It's one of her primary accountabilities. We talk about the Key Frustration Process, and train it to our staff."

Give me an example of how it's paid off.

"We do a certain amount of custom work for our clients. We never had a way to agree at the beginning what our accountabilities and limits were with a customer. The unbilled change orders were sapping our time and resources. We instituted a kind of "customization request form" for our clients. We have them sign the estimate and description of the work before we start. Then, we write the system/procedure for doing the work. From this one innovation, we made $20,000 in the first six months!"

Stan, you are accomplishing some stunning changes in your business. Have you talked with other business owners about Mastery?

"Well, what I can tell you is that there is a woman who owns the company we use for our shipping. I gave her a copy of E-Myth Revisited. She read the book, and the next time I saw her, she came around the counter and hugged me! She said: 'Thank God you gave me that book. We have five employees, and we keep asking ourselves what we really want to do with this business. That book laid out everything for us.'"

So Stan, one of your partners is taking off for twelve weeks this summer. What about you?

"Well, he's definitely going to set the new standard! Right now, I'm having too much fun to leave. We've decided to take the technology we've developed in this business and set up another business to apply it differently. I'm going to take that on, and will have it set up and running in 3 years. I have a new perspective on companies that are well run. Now I truly understand the underlying reason--they had their systems in place. Before we started with E-Myth, this business could not have run without us. We're not there yet, but we definitely know which way the ship is turned, and how to get there, and in what order."