Howdy folks!

Today: the 9 best systems I’ve found for small businesses.

If you’re getting deja vu — sometimes I send this as a freebie PDF to new subscribers. But most people don’t read it, and I honestly think this can be super helpful for your business!

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One thing I’ve learned: pretty much all business tastes like chicken.

85% of it is the same everywhere.

Only 15% varies by industry or market.

The result is that most businesses face the same set of issues:

• Hiring
• Strategy/vision
• Good meetings
• Managing
• Culture
• Etc.

The problem: there are a million ways to solve these problems. So every CEO wastes a ton of time reinventing the wheel.

That’s why I’m constantly on the lookout for the best systems I can find. Because someone out there has found the “best” way, and I can stand on their shoulders instead of building from scratch.

I’ve looked at hundreds of systems over the years.

So here are my 9 favorites.

The coolest part? Most of these systems came out of $15 books. Except for two, which are expensive but still worth it.

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SYSTEM 1: EOS

SOLVES FOR: Process, strategy, vision, organizational design

The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) is a practical guide that gives your SMB a roadmap.

Think of it as “business by worksheet”.

This system will guide you all the way from a 10-year vision down to what you’re doing each week.

Buy the book: Traction by Gino Wickman / Read more: eosworldwide.com​
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SYSTEM 2: Storybrand

SOLVES FOR: Marketing

What EOS does for its areas, Storybrand does for marketing.

Think of it as “marketing by worksheet”. (Seeing the pattern here?)

It uses the same Hero’s Journey that resonates with everyone (think Star Wars), then turns that into highly effective marketing.

Buy the book: Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller / Read more: storybrand.com​
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SYSTEM 3: Net Promoter Score (NPS)

SOLVES FOR: Customer Satisfaction Measurement

All the customer satisfaction systems are broken. NPS is just the least broken one.

The good news is that it’s gotten really easy to implement with all the SaaS systems out there. Many are free.

It’s a powerful tool in determining how viable your business is, especially for software.

Plus, once you’ve nailed a high NPS, your customers start doing your marketing for you.

Buy the book: The Ultimate Question 2.0 by Fred Reichheld / Read more: Hubspot’s NPS breakdown​
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SYSTEM 4: The Effective Manager

SOLVES FOR: Management

What EOS is to running your business, The Effective Manager is to managing people.

It delivers a set of principles to be a great manager and follows up with detailed steps on how to live those principles.

This is a must for every first-time manager (and most experienced ones).

Buy the book: The Effective Manager by Mark Horstman / Read more: manager-tools.com​
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SYSTEM 5: Q12

SOLVES FOR: Employee Engagement

If your people are engaged, they get outsized results.

Gallup (the polling people) studied the these high-performing teams and created a 12-statement survey that you should run regularly.

Then leaders can address problem areas directly.

Here’s the survey:

1. I know what is expected of me at work.
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
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Gallup breaks down the science behind each statement, and what the best managers do for each situation.

Read more: gallup.com​

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TOGETHER WITH SCALEPATH

One of the most important things I’ve learned:

Most small businesses are more alike than they are different.

So with all these SMB CEOs tackling the same problems, I realized how valuable it would be to get them in the same room.

That’s why I started Scalepath — to share solutions, open conversations, and teach people what I’ve learned along the way.

If you’re curious, we’re running a promo right now to get 75% off your first month of membership — apply today and use code SPOOKY150 at payment.

Offer ends Monday Nov 4th!

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SYSTEM 6: Culture by Design

SOLVES FOR: Company Culture

There are so many vague books about “let’s build your company culture”.

I wanted a system to follow that defines and spreads the culture I want. This is it, in very concrete terms.

• Defines behaviors, not values.
• Explains a system to roll them out.
• Makes it top-down (a CEO crafting their culture).

Follow this system, and you’ll have a great culture. Simple as that.

Buy the book: Culture by Design by David Friedman / Read more: culturewise.com​

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The last three systems make up my holy trinity for hiring. One’s a book, and the other two are software… which aren’t cheap.

But the cost is nothing compared to the money you’ll waste by hiring the wrong candidate.

Here they are:

SYSTEM 7: Topgrading

SOLVES FOR: Foolproof Hiring Process

This system takes all the common, broken ideas in hiring and does the opposite. You get a process that only high performers get through.

It has a several-hour interview. I’ve learned that bullshit cannot survive more than 2 hours in this format. Most can’t make it an hour.

I use Topgrading interviews for every hire I make.

(Caveat: The book is not good. But the ideas are like finding business religion.)

Buy the book: Topgrading by Bradford Smart​

Read more: topgrading.com​
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SYSTEM 8: Culture Index

SOLVES FOR: Personality Assessments

Culture Index is an assessment that tells you whether a candidate is really “wired” for the job.

And unlike Meyers-Briggs, DISC, and others, CI is scientifically backed.

Read more: cultureindex.com​

Cost: Thousands/year (sorry!)
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SYSTEM 9: Criteria Corp

SOLVES FOR: Skills/Cognitive Assessment

These are my favorite pre-employment assessments. I use these to find out:

• Do they have the job skills?
• Are they quick thinkers?

My most successful hires all scored very high on these assessments, and I’ve seen a correlation to how quickly people can learn new things.

This is a pretty commoditized space now, but of the 20 or so systems I looked at, Criteria Corp did this best.

Read more: criteriacorp.com​

Cost: $1-2k/year

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That’s it!

These 9 systems have been key to growing my businesses. They gave me the “how” so that I could work on what matters (and what interests me).

What systems have you used? I’d love to hear from you.

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TOGETHER WITH HOLDCO CONFERENCE 2025

Things are coming together for HoldCo Conference 2025.

We’ve got an amazing speaker lineup, and the venue is truly spectacular — check out Sundance Resort.

There’s art classes, massage, skiing, and more.

If your better half might be interested, we’re offering discounted spouse & group tickets.

Reach out to Ty at contact@holdcoconference.com and we’ll set you up with a great deal.

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3 things from this week

• Appetizer: My buddy Sieva Kozinsky posted a controversial take on X this week. Read the whole thing here — what do you think?

• Main: Lots of employees have side hustles these days. Some bosses have a problem with it. Here’s my take.​
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• Dessert: Literal dessert this time.

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Thanks for reading!

Michael