Operations

Operations used to be my pet peeve. I hated it from the bottom of my heart. As an entrepreneur, I constantly found myself drowning in the everyday grind—unable to find time to think or do strategic work because ops took over. I was always thankful for anyone who could lift that weight off my shoulders.

But something shifted when I reframed operations through the lens of a systems designer.

Operations, I realised, is the invisible lubricant that makes the machine run effortlessly. Once you understand the systems and subsystems, the interconnections and feedback loops, the relationships between inputs and outputs—you can make operations not just efficient, but elegant. What once felt like a burden became my best friend.

Now, before I touch strategy or execution, I first ask: Is the machine running smoothly? I tinker with the system. I optimize. I set it on autopilot. That’s how I make time for thinking big and doing the work that truly matters.

Here’s the playbook:
Your first hire should not be just an operator, but an operations manager—someone who understands systems and can scale your intent. They won’t make money for you in month one. But over time, they become your force multiplier. They make the work around the work invisible. They show you what’s actually getting done. They create space for flow.

If you’re a manager, start here:
Fix the process first in the people, process and product equation.

Counterintuitive? Yes. But it works—every time.

Operations, approached with a systems mindset, is my secret sauce for superhuman productivity. In fact, I try to fire myself from well-functioning systems. If I’m still heavily involved, something’s off. Once the engine is set, your job is not to overwork it—it’s to step back, monitor, and move on.

That kind of honesty keeps you growing.