Running the Family Business Better Than It Was Run
A younger family member stepping into a running business — a shop, clinic, coaching centre, workshop, dealership or trading operation — who can see what needs to change and has to do it without insulting the person who built it.
What you will be able to do
- Map how a business actually works, as opposed to how it is described.
- Choose what to change first on evidence rather than on irritation.
- Introduce a measurement where none existed, and keep it running.
- Make one operational change and prove whether it worked.
- Write a handover the current owner will actually read and use.
How this is assessed
An operations diagnosis of a real business, with one change made and measuredSubmit a diagnosis of one real small business: a process map of how it actually runs with the exception paths included, a measured baseline for one thing that matters, one change implemented with before and after figures over at least two weeks, and a written handover of two pages. The business can be your family's, an employer's, or any small business that agrees to be studied. If the change did not improve the number, say so and analyse why — that submission can still earn a distinction. A practitioner reads it against the rubric below and returns a written mark. If it does not pass, you get the reasons and one resubmission. Anonymise the business and any named individuals unless you have their agreement.
| Grade | What earns it |
|---|---|
| Pass | A process map of how the business actually runs, a measured baseline, and one change implemented with honest after-figures. |
| Merit | The change was chosen on evidence from the map and the measurement rather than on preference, and the reasoning is visible. |
| Distinction | A handover a non-technical owner could run from unaided, including what to do when it stops working. A change that did not improve the number, honestly analysed, qualifies. |
Before you submit
- The process map follows real instances, not a description, and includes the exception paths.
- One measure is baselined for at least two weeks before anything changed.
- The change is reversible, small, and aimed at the number you baselined.
- After-figures cover at least two weeks and are measured the same way as the baseline.
- The handover is two pages, in four sections, and says how to put it back.
- Someone else followed the handover unaided and you recorded where they hesitated.
- For merit: the change was chosen from evidence in the map and the leak sizing, not from preference.
- For distinction: an owner could run from the handover unaided, including when it stops working.
Handing it in
Marked by an operations manager, service-design practitioner, or someone who has run or transformed a small family-owned business. You will need an account to submit, so that the mark has somewhere to land. Sign in or create one. The modules are open either way.
Modules
8 modules, self-paced. Nothing is timed and nothing is scored.
- 1Reading a business you did not buildA fortnight of watching before touching anything.
- 2Mapping one process end to endIncluding the exceptions everyone works around.
- 3Where the money leaksStock, waste, unbilled work, discounting, and bad debt.
- 4The measurement that did not existA baseline before the change, or the change proves nothing.
- 5Choosing the first changeReversible, visible, and small.
- 6Digitising without breaking anythingPayments, billing, stock and records — one at a time.
- 7The conversation with the person who built itWhy this one is harder than any of the analysis.
- 8The handover documentWritten for a reader who is not you.