In the process of building systems, there have been times when it would have been better if I had put my foot down for inputs earlier.

This is a common scenario, where it is difficult to find the required inputs, because everyone is too busy. The owners are too busy owning their business, and the employees are too busy doing their job. No one has time to focus on the creation of a new system, unless they find themselves in a fix (it gets too painful or expensive).

The tendency, as professionals, is to tell the client your requirements, but when they won’t listen, we go ahead and make do with what we have anyway. But that never works.

A simple fix I’ve found is to tell them about this ‘situation’ they will get into at the very first sign you get. Ask what will they do in the situation, before it happens. Ask what are you supposed to do in that situation?

Showing the consequences & slowing them down to think a bit; is an effective method.

As you can imagine, this method works only if you are sure of how things will play out. It establishes your expertise, and insures you against the obvious consequences.

This is why converting experiences into SOPs is a very valuable exercise.