I am a corporate brick layer. I build and repair enterprise foundations. I specialize in business masonry. A sound business foundation requires three pillars: business systems, business process and business finance. Each pillar has unique requirements and challenges, and each is dependent upon the other two. In order for the foundation to support the near- and long-term needs of a business model, each pillar must be carefully designed and meticulously maintained.

 

Business Systems

          Business systems are the backbone and central nervous system of any company. In a post-tech boom world, every company depends on business systems in order to function at peak performance. In the early stages of a company’s life, that system could be a well-designed and thoroughly vetted Excel workbook. As the business gains momentum, that system often transitions into one of the many Intuit QuickBooks products. As the business continues to grow and gain momentum, a larger scale Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is usually required to meet the ever-changing needs of the business.

​

          Selecting the right system to support a given business model is crucial to the longevity of the system and the business. A clear understanding of how the business operates under the hood and its long-term goals and needs will determine what is required of a well-suited system. Thorough requirement discovery, a rigorous sourcing and vetting process, and clean configuration and implementation are key to both short- and long-term success and a long service life.

 

Business Process

          Business process incorporates the people component of a business into the foundation. People are the soul of any business, and business process is the medium through which those people interact with and within the business. Sound business process has many forms, but can be summarized into two primary categories, Person to Person and Person to System (or Equipment).

​

          Inter-personal process and relations are the primary components of corporate culture. Well-designed, inter-personal process fosters healthy working relationships as well as efficient productivity. Often, however, two or more individuals working together have divergent initiatives, priorities and/or goals. Marketing and Accounting, Logistics and Legal, Finance and IT may all be working within the same mission statement but may have very different priorities on a short-term basis. Developing mutually beneficial business process is key to long term success, productivity and quality corporate culture.

             

          Person to System process is the margin at which the workforce interacts with a business system. In order to achieve a desired result, such as clean financial reporting, a business system requires quality inputs. The phrase ‘Garbage in, Garbage out’ (and its antithesis) are important to keep in mind when people interact with a system. Business systems are often rigid in their requirements for data entry and structure and for good reason. Systems are called upon to store, calculate and report upon countless data points on a continuous basis. This requires well-groomed databases which are only possible with high-quality data input. Processes involving systems and people must serve the people well but must also involve enough compromise and training in order to serve the needs and requirements of the system.

 

Business Finance

          Corporate finance is not only a major pillar within a corporate foundation, but it is also the product of business systems and processes. Well-designed, implemented and maintained systems allow for clean financial reporting, analysis and insight. Any oversight or lack of quality in a system or process will many times be clearly identifiable in financial reporting. Unfortunately, and at times woefully, such mistakes may go unnoticed, and misguided business decisions are made from inaccurate or incomplete financial reporting.

​

          Few business people are unfamiliar with the three traditional financial statements: income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flow. If systems and processes are functioning properly, these statements should be very easily produced with minimal clicks from any system worth the investment. Even a cursory review of financial statements can provide important insight into both the financial and operational health of any business. Additional reporting and analysis are often included in system packages, but typically require additional configuration, process and training. Typically, reporting on data dimensions such as customer, vendor, location and/or product line all provide deeper and valuable insight but can only be relied upon if systems and processes are working properly.

​

Built to Last

          A properly structured business foundation provides the launch pad for any business model regardless of industry. Generally speaking, the three foundational pillars are industry agnostic as well; all three are typically required across all industries while the makeup, structure and details of each pillar must be customized industry to industry and business to business. Designed and built well, each pillar provides the support and foundational strength required for a business to grow, scale and endure for generations.