Run Like Clockwork: Stage 3

Ok—now that we’d taken 6 months to figure out what the QBR was, I’d actually also been working really hard on all the things in stage 3: protecting & serving the QBR, even though I hadn’t quite nailed it down. (Honestly, I’m not quite sure having the QBR perfectly nailed down is a prerequisite for the rest of this, unless you really have no clue what type of business you’re in. But yes, it does help to know what you’re trying to accomplish with/for your clients)

Before we get into it, I need to be transparent and let you know that some links are affiliate links which means if you buy, I may receive a small commission from the sale. This does not cost you anything. I only recommend products I 100% believe in.

Stage 3: Protect & Serve the QBR

All of the following milestones were Due November 30 to be on track with the 18-month Clockwork plan in the book:

Milestone 1:

While learning to Protect & Serve the QBR, part of the homework is to ultimately cut down on “Doing” to be less than 80% of your time (in this case, it’s me. The owner, CEO, etc.) Since I haven’t completed another time analysis, I can’t confirm this, but I feel like when it comes to the bookkeeping work, I’m definitely doing less than 20%. I’m still handling 100% of the review and the meetings, however. But we’re getting there.

In this milestone, we’re to Trash, Transfer, Trim tasks that are taking up time in my day. For example:

• I’ve been working hard at trimming a lot by creating workflow systems which will then enable me to transfer (delegate) with less friction and hiccups. 
• I've trashed a couple of "ideas" that I've had—or at least put on the back burner until the business is running more clockwork-y
• I've transferred a few client meetings and delegated follow-up items to my Client Manager. Which brings me to...

Milestone 2:

I’m also supposed to commit to substitutes for the QBR. I’m happy to say this is done! I hired a Client Manager & she’s been shadowing all of my client meetings, from onboarding new clients, to monthly meetings with existing clients.

Milestone 3:

Visualize vacation—this is easy! I do this almost every day. In a really lazy, almost cheat-y way. I have a big gorgeous picture of Bora Bora on my computer background. And every so often, I just stare at it and imagine myself lounging on the deck of one of the over-the-water huts, having drinks and massages… 

Alright, back to Earth. 

Milestone 4:

Book the Vacation!—well crap. I have not done this, but I do get weekly emails from Luxury Vacations touting all the special deals. I open all of them, to help with the visualizations. But if I’m being honest, I haven’t booked it because I’m just not sure what the world will look like as far as travel goes in a year. When it’s about 6-8 months out, I’ll update you on this one. Maybe for this first 4 week vacation, we’ll stay in the US and do an RV trip or something. To be continued…

So that’s Stage 3 update. Next Clockwork deadline/update is January: Deeper Cuts to “Doing”—and I feel like we’re well on our way for this one. We’ve just hired another bookkeeper (an intern), which should help serve the QBR even more.

I’ll also be doing another time analysis leading up to that deadline, so stay tuned for the results on that one.

Would you like 1:1 support to implement the Clockwork strategies? Click HERE for an application.