A great article by Camilla Cornell from a Canadian Business periodical geared towards growing entrepreneurial organizations.

The context of the article is a small business owner taken seriously ill, and can the company survive without him.

If you have read Michael Gerbers E-Myth Revisited, MR. Gerber points out that to be successful, businesses must ensure that they make themselves Systems Dependent not People Dependent.

It is not to state that the people are not necessary, because people are the ones that apply the system, and use the system to provide more effective service, knowledge, and efficiency.

Systems theory is a behavioral model that demonstrates that nothing proceeds in a vacuum. Inputs must be processed across multiple disciplines that may depend on each other for outputs, or may contribute to a common output.

As an example, you sell widgets, your marketing team does a great advertising campaign - unfortunately your system did not let manufacturing know - or distribution for that matter. So shelves were left without stock.

In writing about IT in the SMB space. Your technology choices (and IT Systems) are parts of your own internal corporate systems. Your IT staff or suppliers can keep the IT systems maintained, but the documentation and processes should be such that;

People can utilize, improve upon, and learn the system

But that people can be replaced and new ones brought in to maintain the IT part of the system

That the system is greater than the knowledge of one single person.

If you, as a small business owner or manager were to be seriously ill tomorrow, would your organization survive?