The Operator's Guide to Eliminating Waste: Maximizing Revenue Through Operational Excellence

Greetings Operators!

Here is my weekly deep dive on tactics and strategies to build a better operation!

Let me know if you’d like a question answered, or a deep dive written to target your specific needs!

AI in Business
Automating Level Matrices For Your Team

I like work to be as objective as possible.

Objectivity leads to clarity, and clarity helps everyone operate together.

• Want a raise? - Here is what you need to do.

• Looking to progress to the next level? - Here is an established growth plan to work through.

• Interested in a bonus? - These are the jobs that have bonuses, and here is how they are calculated.

While this is all good in theory, the work to objectify your business can take years. In order to speed it up, and help with the next person who wants more money, use these prompts to create level matrices in your organization.

I would like to create a matrix for various levels of positions in my company

I am going to share my initial thoughts, and from those I would like you to

1. understand my business, my goals, and this position

2. read through what I have shared below

3. suggest new categories and metrics I may have missed

4. create a full matrix to help make the position extremely objective

5. Every level up should create employees that building a strong company, improving the customer experience, raising revenue, and raising margins.

• I would like to start with [position]

• I would like there to be [#] levels for this position

• The “average” level will be level 2

The categories I would like considered are:

• Efficiency

• Training

• Quality

• [area]

• [area]

• [area]

I would also like a few of their key metrics to be included such as

• [key metric 1] with the “average” [position] hitting [goal]

• [key metric 2] with the “average” [position] hitting [goal]

• [key metric 3] with the “average” [position] hitting [goal]

This will create a very good first pass. Feel free to chat with it to fine tune it.

👉 Bonus : After you get your matrix, ask the LLM the following to help create a 100 day plan to help people advance. It won’t be perfect, but it will be a great start to helping your entire team advance and progress.

Ask to include ideas, resources, and training material references.

👉 Bonus : You can also use the matrix to create scorecard ideas as well.

Tool of the Week
Loom

This HAS to be one of my favorite tools for business and life.

Here’s why

1. A quick button or keyboard shortcut loads it up at any point

   

2. I can record an answer, a walk through, or show something I want to get across

3. Send the link to anyone

Plus…

I can:

• Organize my videos into folders and spaces

• Re-use them for documentation

• Build FAQs by grouping frequently answered questions

• Grab screen walk throughs or just videos.

Sharing is seamless, and allows viewers to add comments right in the timeline, creating a single space to share, get feedback, and use the information generated!

Its got other features like

• set backgrounds

• presentation modes

• speaker notes

• … and more.

But, here is where it gets really good… AI

• automatically generate titles, summaries, and transcripts

• use the transcripts to create documentation

• use the transcripts to write up responses

A few of the other features I like

• edit via transcript

• use variables in the videos if sending the same video to multiple companies or people

• Remove silences and trash words automatically

I use this tool at least 5 times a day, and it just keeps increases. Sometimes to share, or sometimes just for the transcript.

THIS WEEK
A Few Things You May Have Missed

AMA
I recently joined an energy efficiency company that has lacked a strong marketing and lead generation strategy. What are your recommendations on where we can focus to get both off the ground to identify warm leads quickly?

In these industries, social proof is huge.

Its not a well known industry or service, so the first question (and thus friction point) in the customer’s mind is “Can I trust this”.

Social Proof solves this.

The best way I’ve seen of collecting?

1. Do your sales cycle and close a deal
2. Right after this, collect a quick video on “Why you are excited to work with us?”

This captures feedback at the point of most excitement!

The engagement has fully gone through, hopes are high, the sale has been made, the commitment has been made - get their thoughts at that point.

Collect these and then
1. Put them on a page on your site
2. Send a newsletter to all prospects that you’ve talk to, but haven’t closed yet, once a month, with any/all videos you’ve collected and talk about the companies you have started helping that month.

This helps prospects see themselves in the shoes of your recent customers (whether it’s similar industries, or problems, or wording of why’s).

Rinse & Repeat

Check out testimonial.to to get this done

If you have a question you’d like answered here, reply to this email and let me know. Your question might be featured next!

MAIN ISSUE
The Operator's Guide to Eliminating Waste

Every dollar spent on tasks your customer won't pay for is a dollar eating into your margins. 

As business operators, our mission is clear: ensure every action, resource, and square foot generates revenue. This isn't just about cost-cutting – it's about intelligent resource allocation and waste elimination.

Let's dive into the key areas where waste commonly lurks in organizations, along with practical strategies to identify and eliminate it.

Here is my list of Operator’s Wastes to look for.

Movement

Physical movement in your operation is pure waste – customers don't pay for items traveling across your facility or paperwork bouncing between departments. In manufacturing, I've seen countless examples where poor layout design forces parts to travel hundreds of unnecessary feet between operations, creating bottlenecks and increasing production time.

For example, a three-step manufacturing process (cutting, drilling, threading) only generates revenue during actual machining. Every foot between these operations adds complexity and time without adding value. Studies show that each additional foot of travel, cross-plant movement, or supplier handoff exponentially increases batching time and inventory loss.

This isn’t just for manufacturing though, every company has 4 main “flows” moving through it:

1. Material

2. People

3. Information

4. Money

Reducing the frequency and distance of moves reduces not only time spent on tasks and production, but lowers the risk of dropping the ball or making a mistake. Eliminate movement as much as possible throughout your entire organization!

👉 Tip: Map your current workflow, measuring distances between connected operations. Consider reorganizing your layout to minimize travel distance. In office environments, analyze how information flows – are invoices making unnecessary stops between departments?

Space: Making Every Square Foot Count

Think of space as a revenue-generating asset. A 100,000-square-foot facility generating revenue from only 5,000 square feet is bleeding money through rent and overhead costs. Smart operators measure and maximize revenue per square foot, comparing it against industry benchmarks. Look for opportunities to convert "dead" space into productive areas. That oversized storage closet could become two revenue-generating offices. Large inventory holding areas might be better utilized as production space if you can implement just-in-time delivery systems.

👉 Tip: Calculate your revenue per square foot and compare it to industry standards. 

👉 Tip: Identify areas with low or no revenue generation and develop plans to either utilize them productively or eliminate them.

Time: The Non-Renewable Resource

Time waste is perhaps the most critical form of operational inefficiency. Studies show that in an eight-hour workday, most employees are truly productive for only 3-4 hours. This isn't about working harder – it's about working smarter through process optimization, automation, and strategic outsourcing.

Consider implementing Kanban systems using tools like Trello, ClickUp, or Airtable to visualize workflow and identify bottlenecks. Set clear time standards for key processes – quotes should be completed within three days, legal reviews within one day. 

The healthcare industry, particularly dental practices, excel at time optimization by ensuring highly paid specialists (dentists) focus solely on revenue-generating activities while support staff handles everything else.

👉 Tip: Implement time tracking for key processes and establish standard completion times. Use visual management tools to identify and address bottlenecks quickly.

Complexity: The Friction Creator

Smart people often over-engineer solutions, creating systems far more complex than what customers need. I've seen companies implement 32-step automation processes just to generate a simple invoice – when customers just want their bill. This complexity creates maintenance headaches and constant breakdowns.

👉 Tip: Work backward from customer needs. Ask: "Does this complexity add value the customer will pay for?" If not, simplify.

Maintenance

Every system we build requires upkeep. Purchase orders pile up, inventory counts drift, and data becomes outdated. These maintenance tasks eat into productive time that could be spent growing the business. This becomes even more clear when you have equipment or trucks… maintenance becomes a real expense!

If you're writing 100 vendor orders weekly while managing inventory counts and system updates, edge cases build up and create administrative burden. Focus on automating routine maintenance tasks and implementing systems that maintain themselves. Low complexity and system controls are key for minimizing maintenance.

👉 Tip: Audit your maintenance tasks monthly. Look for opportunities to automate cycle counts, data updates, and routine communications.

Rework: The Margin Eliminator

When your team spends three hours on a quote, then has to redo it due to errors, you've just doubled the cost without increasing revenue. This applies everywhere – from manufacturing to office work. I've seen entire departments stuck in endless revision cycles, preventing them from pursuing new opportunities.

Any rework needs to be identified at the root, and fixed there. This is why quality is such a focus for top-of-industry companies… It’s literally a margin expander. 

👉 Tip: Track rework frequency and implement quality checks at critical points. Create standardized templates and processes to reduce errors.

Search: A Modern Time Sink

With data flooding in faster than ever, finding the right information at the right time becomes crucial. Whether it's locating parts in a warehouse or finding digital files, search time is pure waste.

I've helped companies implement indexed storage systems that cut search time by 80%. The key is making information contextually available – having the right data ready when needed for decision-making.

👉 Tip: Implement a standardized filing system for both physical and digital assets. Use tags and search-friendly naming conventions.

👉 Tip: Create standardized part number systems, and location systems to eliminate physical search of product.

Capacity Utilization: The Revenue Amplifier

If rework reduces margin, under-utilization reduces revenue. An idle $150,000 machine or an underutilized skilled employee represents significant waste. I worked with a manufacturer who ran expensive equipment only six hours daily – leaving four hours of potential revenue on the table.

👉 Tip: Track utilization rates for key resources. Consider adding shifts, finding new markets, or selling excess capacity to maximize return on investment.

👉 Tip: Focus on Capability Matching for all talent.

Skill

Matching skill levels to job requirements is crucial for both efficiency and employee satisfaction. I once consulted with a company whose customer service representatives were over-qualified – technician-licensed CSRs doing basic appointment scheduling. This led to lower booking rates as they often solved problems over the phone instead of scheduling visits. They also weren’t generating the revenue they could have since they overpaid for this talent. For them, the CSRs only job was getting the appointment, and that they could do better, at half the cost.

👉 Tip: Audit your team's capabilities against their daily tasks. Look for opportunities to challenge high-skilled employees with growth projects while ensuring entry-level tasks are handled appropriately.

By systematically addressing these nine areas of waste – movement, space, time, complexity, maintenance, rework, search, capacity utilization, and skill – you'll build a leaner, more profitable operation. Remember, every dollar saved through waste elimination flows directly to your bottom line.

The key is consistency. Start with one area, measure your current state, implement improvements, and track results. Then move to the next. Over time, these incremental improvements compound into significant competitive advantages.