There are 2 basic types of people in the world.
People who like to follow checklists — and people who like to make checklists.
The problem is when you expect one to do the other.
I first discovered this years ago when I started growing my team.
I noticed that I could give one person a big picture idea of what I was trying to create, and they would take that and create a simple way to optimize the process and turn it into a system.
But once it was optimized and repeatable they would get bored of doing it.
On the other hand if I gave someone else on my team a big picture idea - they would get frozen by not knowing exactly what to do.
They would ask questions until every step was crystal clear.
Once they knew the exact process they were happy to do it again and again.
They are almost never the same person.
That's when I realized the difference between project people and process people.
The project people love to take a mess and organize it into something coherent and efficient.
These are the people making checklists.
The process people love crystal clear instructions and knowing exactly what they need to do.
Once they know what needs to happen - it's as good as done.
They'll do it perfectly. On time. And stay late until it's done.
They are almost never the same person.
This can be frustrating at first when you only have one assistant and they need a checklist.
Most entrepreneurs, like me, are the kind of people who are used to winging it and making stuff up.
We don't like making OR following checklists.
The best place to start is to admit it.
Then get yourself someone who can help you turn your vision and ideas into a process so it can land in capable hands and happen without you having to think about it.
Start with a list of everything you do that could possibly be done by someone else - and imagine if it just happened.
Have fun...it's the first step to freedom.