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D**R
The power of systems thinking
When David Jenyns contacted me and asked if I would read and review his book, I was knee-deep in books to read already. Another author referred me to him, so I agreed to review his book, but I couldn’t promise when. With that understanding, I purchased his book and put it in the stack.I did get to reading SYSTEMology, and I am pleased that I did. To begin with, I am a system and process kind of guy. I believe in documenting what we are doing and working to improve it over time. I use checklists and process outlines in my work every day.One difficulty is that my experience with documenting systems is based on my career in large public corporations. The resources at my disposal were significant. I have struggled a bit trying to curb my enthusiasm for documenting systems to match the small to mid-sized private companies that comprise my customer base these past two decades. Enter SYSTEMology. Jenyns has successfully translated the big public company world to the private business world for us. And, of course, he has systematized the systemization.Enthusiastic and GenerousIf I were to criticize Jenyns’ writing, it would be to suggest that his enthusiasm borders on overselling his process and his book. A significant trend in business is to move away from selling and advertising to being found. An unintended consequence of that trend is the acceleration of “content marketing.” I could easily mistake this book for one big selling process through content marketing.Except for one saving grace—Jenyns is very generous with his process, knowledge, and material. He has made this as much of a DIY project as anyone could hope to have. The resources on the SYSTEMology website will be enormously helpful. I referred several clients to this book since they have expressed a desire to scale their businesses while also stepping away from day-to-day involvement. I will also suggest this book to the startup businesses I advise. If an owner starts a business with systems thinking as a value and goal, life will be much easier.Layout and StyleThe book is predominantly organized around the SYSTEMology seven-step process: Define, Assign, Extract, Organise, Integrate, Scale, and Optimise., I enjoyed reading SYSTEMology because Jenyns starts each chapter with a summary of what we’ll be learning. Also, at the start of the chapter is a myth statement such as “Myth: You will need to create hundreds of systems to systemize a business.” At the end of each chapter is a case study of how a client implemented that particular process step. There are also links to online systems resources and a summary of the steps in the process. I spent some time going through the website content and found it to be useful and accessible. It will prove valuable to those who implement the seven-step process.Jenyns writes in a straight forward clear style. It is clear to me that he understands small businesses and the constraints on them. Besides being an excellent process, Jenyns makes it practical and down to earth.The PromiseThe subtitle of this book is, “Create Time, Reduce Errors, and Scale Your Profits with Proven Business Systems.” It will be several months before I will have firsthand knowledge of clients implementing SYSTEMology. However, I believe that when properly implemented, the promise of the subtitle will be kept. Most exciting for the business owners I work with will be the time recovered to work on the business instead of working full-time in the business.RecommendationI recommend this book to any business leader who aspires to a more strategic role and desires to scale their company. I believe SYSTEMology should be required reading for any startup company. This book will be well worth the read, and your business will thrive when you install system thinking as a significant piece of your culture.
K**D
clarity is everything
Systemology provides a clear outline and path for bringing and communicating clarity within a business, from onboarding and training to upskilling and all the way to selling.
H**W
Inconclusive review
Take the review with a grain of salt. I only glanced through this book, from that, it's watered down from the real authoritative books on the subject. I went and got the real books on the subject and it's hard to go back to this from those. but this book is more palatable as some of those authoritative books have formulas that I can't understand. I believe this book is a good starting point. but there are more far advanced books that will take you through their. & you will have an advanced understanding on the subject matter. If this book does it for you, then great. But if you still want more, then use that as your motivation and you will find the authoritative books that will have your mind blown.
J**G
Take E-Myth to its next logical step
I first encountered Michael Gerber's E-Myth over 15 years ago and eagerly tried to apply its principles to our business. However, it wasn't until I read Systemology by David Jenyns that many concepts became truly clear and actionable. One of the most profound takeaways from Systemology was the distinction between a project management system and a process management system. While this seems like an obvious separation now, it was something we had overlooked, and Jenyns does an exceptional job of explaining why it's essential and how to make the shift.The book excels in teaching how to extract processes from the minds of your experts and documenting them efficiently. Jenyns provides a clear, step-by-step guide that anyone looking to systematize their business can follow. The advice on simplifying and systemizing without overcomplicating things is both practical and insightful.One area where I think the book could go even further is in addressing how to transfer those documented processes back into the minds of new hires through training based on these systems. This next step would complete the cycle and ensure that the documented processes not only exist but are actively ingrained in the team for the long term. I hope Jenyns will explore this in future work.Overall, Systemology is an invaluable resource for any business owner looking to streamline operations and achieve more consistent results. It has provided clarity and structure that we missed with other books, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to take their business to the next level.
S**N
Straightforward and practical advice!
I enjoyed reading SYSTEMology by David Jenyns! The book was well organized with the right level of detail to support his 7 stages of SYSTEMology: Define, Assign, Extract, Organize, Integrate, Scale, and Optimize. He has a website that had some additional resources to download which I found very helpful. Some of the key themes that really resonated with me were that the owner of the business is generally the bottleneck to growth and progress, every business has critical client flow and it important to understand yours, and if you can’t master the simple you’ll never be able to master the complex.
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