Do you ever get part way through or to the end of a project and wonder why things didn’t work as well as you’d hoped? If so, stick around and I’ll show you what could be in your way.
In February 2005 Google launched Google Video.
They had the best tech and more money than anyone but they tried to build a complex corporate media library before the world even knew how to upload a simple clip and we were still on dial up internet – remember that, they had that great idea but the world didn’t have the tech to support it yet.
They had the right ingredients but the wrong sequence. In November 2006 under 2 years later they had to pay $1.65 billion with a B to buy YouTube just to fix that one instance where they had the right idea but it was the wrong timing.
The problem often isn’t what you are doing , but the order and timing. Just like in the case of Google.
It might not always be that you need to do something different, it might just be a sequencing issue.
Here’s some common places I see recruitment founders do things out of order. If any of these resonate with you, now might be a good time to unpack and rebuild them in the right order for a better result.
I’ve got 10 examples for you –
1 Hiring new people before you have a proper delivery system in place
-This just scales any chaos.
-Optimize your workflow first.
2 Chasing new leads before fixing prospect conversion
-This accelerates waste by pouring money into a leaking bucket.
-Refine your follow-up system first.
3 Adding new tools before you have a strategy around them
-This complicates simple tasks and adds unnecessary cost.
-Define your goals first and then select the right tool/s.
4 Hiring VAs or outsourced talent before designing the process for the outcome
-This creates extra overhead and frustration instead of progress
-Start with the result you want and create an SOP before you hire your VA
5 Trying to scale before proving strategy value
-This just makes expensive mistakes bigger and faster.
-The Solution? Prove the model works at a small scale first.
6 Looking to add more ideas when you’re already stretched
-This leads to total burnout and poor quality across all your tasks.
-Here’s what to do – Ruthlessly cut your current to-do list before adding anything new.
7 Increasing your overhead and spending some moola just because your revenue went up
-This keeps you on a treadmill, never actually getting ahead.
-So before you go on a spending spree, focus on stabilising your profit margin.
8 Adding complexity because it feels like progress
-This creates an illusion of progress while sacrificing your profit.
-Instead strip your processes back to those that actually drive the needle.
9 Solving symptoms of a challenge instead of getting rid of the actual cause
-Creates a whack-a-mole loop and you go sideways.
-What you need to do is Identify the root cause and solve that first.
10 Right training, wrong time
I get it you love to learn, so do I but it can create more overwhelm and confusion when you’re hitting the books on something that’s just not relevant right now.
Why not look at the reasons you’re being held back and get training on that.
If this gets you thinking about some of the projects in your business where things might be out of order it’s a pretty easy fix.
Draw a timeline and add ALL the steps for the project to it and then reshuffle them so everything is in the right order, note where the potential (or actual) sticking points are and work through them one at a time.
If you start with the end in mind this will help you start working on the right things at the right time – Just so happens I have a video on that too so check it out.
3 More To See
- Just started your own agency? Get structured, scalable, and financially solid with the ‘From Running a Desk to Running An Agency’ playbook.
- Catch the latest episode of The Tech Savvy Recruiter podcast with Ez Khan – Episode 38 dives into AI, automation, and what recruiters really should be doing.
Cheers,
BK
