Good Morning. This is the Method. Every week we share how we’re building bootstrapped 7 figure companies.

This weeks focus is delegation:

• Replacing expensive professionals with ChatGPT⚡ 

• A fool proof delegation framework🗺️ 

• The Andy Grove way🖱️ 

Using AI To Replace Expensive Professionals

As we expand Rugby Brick's retail presence into Europe, we've leaned on the good folk at NZTE for guidance and support.

With some of that support being financial and they being a government org, you can imagine how much i dotting and t-crossing is required to get things moving.

One such requirement that we knew very little about was a business risk management plan.

Three months ago, we would have had to consult a consultant or some other professional'esque person to create one. But that's a long time in 2023; now we can ask our favourite LLM for free.

All we did was convert our Profit n Loss Statement, Balance Sheet and Budget into text files and, along with our 3-year plan, asked ChatGPT to review them and create a risk management plan for us.

Like so:

1. We grabbed our last two years of P&Ls, Balance Sheet and 3-year plans and turned them into text files. Like this:

- Go to Xero or other accounting software and export your P&Ls and Balance sheets in Google Sheets format.

- Convert any other relevant info, like a three-year plan, into a Word doc you can copy and paste.

2. Then we fired up ChatGPT and asked it the following.

"Create a risk management plan for a company called Rugby Bricks that started in New Zealand and is growing into Europe. Here are our last two years' financials and three-year plan; use this information to assist you in creating this plan."

+ We copied and pasted our financials and 3-year plan below the above prompt.

3. Then we re-enforced our financials to ensure these were considered.

"Now take into account the P&Ls and Balance Sheet of this company and edit the plan if needed so that it takes into account these numbers."

4. At this stage, ChatGPT spat out roles the company should have and assigned them to people that didn't exist. So we gave ChatGPT a basic org chart to work with this prompt:

"Rewrite this plan assuming that the company only employs the following people:

- CEO | 5 hours a week

- Head of Operations | 20 hours a week

- Head of Finance | 5 hours a week

- Head of Content | 40 hours a week

- Head of Sales | 40 hours a week."

And with those few pieces of information and prompts, it created a risk management plan for us that met all of NZTE's expectations, which you can view here.

Notes:

One of the more valuable functions of AI is being able to instantly delegate work you're not good at to a free helper. We've never created a risk management plan nor had any idea how to. Yet, in 30 minutes, and for free, we'd made one good enough to satisfy people who spend all day looking at these types of things, i.e. the NZTE.

Another thing, if you're not sure how to get it to do something, ask it - What do you need from me to help me create a risk management plan for my business.

How To Delegate Effectively

On the topic of delegation, one framework rules them all - 360 delegation.

Created by Tim, author of an obscure blog called Profit Factory, we found this gem a few years back and have used it hundreds of times since to great effect.

This is easily the most fool proof way to delegate work to staff.

The framework's core comprises three elements: 1) Vision, 2) Resources, and 3) Definition of Done. Delivering these on a google doc works best.

VISION

Every task needs a vision. This is where you illustrate to your staff member what you'd like done, why it matters and how they might do it. Answering questions like these help.

• What do you want to be done?

• What's your vision for completion?

• Why are we doing this? (especially important for Fact Finders)

• When are we starting this task/project?

• What are the milestones along the way?

• What's the ultimate, final, drop-dead deadline?

• Get buy-in – what are the stakes if this goes well & poorly?

• Show it - can you show a sample of success? A screencast, screenshot, picture, video, sound clip, link to website… something?

RESOURCES

Most tasks require access and tools - give these to your staff member upfront by listing all the resources you think they will need, like:

• Access – online – website passwords

• Access – physical – keys to a building or room, login info for a computer

• Money required, access to credit cards, PayPal accounts

• Expertise – "how to" courses, blog posts, training sessions

• Expertise – consultants available to hire

• Manpower – team members, outside contractors

• Software

• Systems / Checklists

• Decision-Making Guidelines

• Approvals and/or Authority

• Hours allocated to complete

• Equipment / Hardware

• Storage – online or physical

• Itineraries of people or events

• Language/translators

DEFINITION OF DONE

And finally, clearly define for them what 'done' is.

What are the acceptance criteria for this project? What do you, the delegator, need to see to "sign off" on this project? To say, "Wow, this is successful!"

Like:

• Specifications of finished project; e.g.) image exported to JPG, 300 x 300 pixels

• Sign-offs required from management or client

• Storage of files after completion, e.g.) store both working files and exported files to the Dropbox folder: Clients > ABC Corp > Graphic Design > Banner Ads

• Double-check against related contracts.

• Quality-Assurance Checklists created/completed/checked.

• Important Dates highlighted

• Schedule created

Yes, it takes a little up-front work to put all this information into a doc, but the amount of time it saves on the back end, i.e. back-and-forth questions, incomplete work, inaccurate work, and so on, pays itself off ten-fold.

Here's a template you can use.

Notes:

When we were new to management/delegation, we made the mistake of trying to be efficient instead of effective.

We thought the goal was to find someone who could do the job and offload it to them as quickly as possible.

We'd spend 5 minutes writing up shitty instructions, pass it to them in a Slack message, forget about it, and expect a polished and timely result.

It didn't work - it doesn't work.

Creating a comprehensive set of instructions once & walking that person through them takes more time; however, it is a helluva lot more effective.

Personalised Delegation - The Andy Grove Way

Reading through the framework above makes delegation seem simple.

It isn’t.

Show them how to do it - give them the tools necessary to do it, and it'll get done... or so you'd think.

But one size doesn't fit all, and differences in interpretation can produce wacky outcomes.

How effective you are at delegating has as much to do with who you're delegating to as it does with how you do it.

We, for example, are both annoying as shit to manage as we always want to know why we're being asked to do something, why it hasn't been done that other way, and, of course, we think and will try to do it better.

For others, the 360 delegation framework mentioned above goes too far; pointing out the consequences of not doing a job properly is uncomfortable and too much pressure for some. They want to be told what to do, nothing more and nothing less.

Andry Grove, the founder of intel, learned to deal with this difference in person by adding another layer to his delegation style called task-relevant maturity.

He used this concept to determine who he was managing before considering how they should be managed based on what he called their task maturity level.

Low Task-Relevant Maturity: If an employee is inexperienced at a particular task, they have a low TRM. In this case, the appropriate management style is more directive and involves close supervision. The manager should provide specific instructions and closely monitor the employee's performance.

Moderate Task-Relevant Maturity: As the employee gains experience with the task, their TRM increases to a moderate level. Here, the manager's role shifts to a coaching style. The manager still provides direction but also seeks input and ideas from the employee. There's less need for close monitoring, but the manager still provides support and feedback.

High Task-Relevant Maturity: When the employee is highly experienced and comfortable with the task, they have a high TRM. At this stage, the manager can adopt a delegating style. The manager allows the employee to carry out tasks in their own way, stepping in only when needed.

From above, Kale and I might fall into the high task-relevant maturity level and are best left to find our own course of action. In contrast, others of low task-relevant maturity need specific steps.

Getting the hang of this requires reps - the more you delegate to the different types of people and levels of maturity, the better you'll get.