Benefit from Stop, Start, Continue!
By Kevin Estes
What Is Stop, Start, Continue?
Processes grow stale over time. What worked in the past may not anymore.
The Stop / Start / Continue technique is a good way to prioritize! Current and potential actions are considered and labeled:
Start,
Stop, or
Continue.
Business
It’s a great way to:
end low value activities,
pursue more lucrative ones, and
streamline processes.
Zombies
Every business accumulates processes of little or no value. They drain resources.
Left unchecked, Zombies can overrun an organization. Death by bureaucracy is a terrible way to go!
It’s a good reason to do a zero based budget. Checking everything can unlock massive savings.
Opportunities
Market conditions change. Organizations must adapt to survive.
A “Start” list can lean into growth areas.
It’s easier to come up with ideas when stopping time-consuming tasks. The “Stop” list also frees up resources for new items!
There’s a tendency for businesses to go overboard with new ideas. A whole department might get spun up, products built, and a marketing plan set before the product’s tested.
Entrepreneurs do the opposite. They:
lower the stakes,
test ideas, and
invest in what gets traction.
Core Activities
Businesses add value. If not, they go out of business quickly!
Focus on the bread and butter.
Can any steps be removed?
Are there backups in case of failure?
How can the process be improved?
Job
Stop / Start / Continue also works for careers!
Save
No-one loves every part of their job. It’s especially hard to love low-value tasks. They feel like a waste of time.
Those items are especially important to discuss with your manager! One of three things will likely happen:
you’ll learn how important it is and appreciate it more,
your supervisor will better understand your effort (and may even give it to someone else), or
you’ll be able to stop doing it!
Let’s say 20% of your job is uninspiring.
Maybe 15% of could be “flipped” from negative to neutral:
5% - appreciate the value
5% - reassign to someone else
5% - stop altogether
That might leave only 5% of the job you dislike, which could be a huge boost in job satisfaction!
By the way, a task is more likely to get reassigned with preparation:
Is there someone on the team who could grow by doing that work?
Does somebody else want to do it?
Are there any tools which could make it easier?
Don’t just drop a problem on your manager. Bring a potential solution!
Remember:
Don’t delegate what can be automated and don’t automate what can be cut.
Develop
People - and by extension - organizations are good at solving problems. That’s what we’re trained to do from a very young age in school!
Finding problems is a far bigger opportunity.
The trick is to better understand an existing problem:
What’s causing customers to leave?
Why are those products often shipped late?
Are steps in the wrong order?
Once you find an opportunity:
do some research
calculate the cost (especially time)
draft solutions
Figure out who might benefit from that going well. Mention it to your manager and ask permission to discuss it with that person. Even if it isn’t feasible, your manager will appreciate your initiative!
It’s also important to advocate for your growth. What would you like to get in the way of:
training,
certifications, and
on the job development?
Streamline
Consider the parts of your job you don’t mind which are important.
Quantify your impact:
That which gets measured gets improved.
Also, numbers are critical for your resume!
Even though you generally like the task, consider how it might be done more easily:
Could strengthening your relationship with a coworker help?
Is someone using a tool that might do it faster?
How could you take the process to the next level?
Optimize
These steps might help you mold your job into more of what you like and less of what you don’t!
Focusing on your passions may lead you to develop new skills, have a bigger impact, and enjoy what you’re doing.
Expenses
Stop / Start / Continue also works for personal spending.
Cut
Whenever my wife and I review our expenses, we seem to find a cost we didn’t know we had:
a subscription we forgot about,
an inaccurate (or fraudulent) charge,
something we no longer need…
We stop these undead expenses as soon as we can!
Try
New things are a part of our financial lives. Variety’s the spice of life.
I like to think of a new expense like an experiment:
We hypothesize buying this will improve our lives.
We make the purchase and observe the results!
Did it make our lives materially better?
If so, we’ll continue it!
If not, we’ll scale back or cut it.
Extend
Most of our expenses are recurring and worthwhile. However, they’re still worth reviewing!
Another Way
What is the real benefit we receive from each expense?
Could we achieve the same result another way?
Maybe instead of going out for lunch, we picnic in a beautiful park
Instead of going to a movie, we might watch a show at home
Replay
If something’s totally worth it, would doing it more make sense?
We bought new bicycles so we can ride ride together more when the weather’s nice.
Go Big
Could we add a twist?
We recently traveled to see the eclipse in totality.
On the way there, we:
ate at a restaurant where servers threw us rolls,
checked out the resort town of Branson, Missouri, and
stayed at a retro creek-side lodge.
On the way back, we dined at a wonderful Peruvian restaurant in Springfield, Missouri.
The extra cost was minimal. However, these “extras” made the trip memorable.
Your Turn!
Now, it’s your turn to review expenses with Stop / Start / Continue.
Which expenses will you cut, try, or extend?
I hope this helps!
If you’re interested in a review of your specific situation…
Disclaimer
In addition to the usual disclaimers, neither this post nor these images include any financial, tax, or legal advice.