If Hail.com’s Joel Knott could offer some advice to his younger self, he might spend less time thinking about Simmons wheels and considerably more time building business systems.
In his latest Hail Column in the July/August edition of Paint & Panel magazine, Knott reflects on a lesson that has taken around 25 years in business to fully appreciate: good systems are not simply administrative processes – they can be fundamental to creating a business capable of operating effectively without depending on one individual.
It wasn’t always a philosophy he embraced.
As a young business owner, Knott admits the idea of spending valuable time developing systems seemed difficult to justify. When there was work to complete and customers to look after, creating processes could appear to deliver little immediate benefit.
As Hail.com grew, however, that thinking began to change.
Knott explains how the need for reliable systems became increasingly apparent as the business expanded, while a recent experience involving an insurer provided a timely reminder of just how important those systems can be.
What initially appeared to be a relatively straightforward request created an unexpected challenge when the insurer’s requirements forced part of Hail.com’s established process through a third-party platform.
The experience demonstrated how seemingly minor changes can create significant disruption – and highlighted another important lesson about what happens when a well-developed system encounters an unexpected bottleneck.
Knott argues that systems don’t necessarily make business challenges disappear. Instead, they can make weaknesses visible before those weaknesses begin affecting customers.
Read Joel Knott’s full Hail Column in the latest digital edition of Paint & Panel.