5 stages towards running your business on autopilot

Reading time: 4 minutes

Welcome to the very first issue of Refresh. Rethink. - your weekly Saturday morning cookie next to your steaming cup of black gold.

In this pilot issue, I want to give you my insights into what are the 5 stages a business usually has to pass before it can be run on autopilot.

Why am I sharing this? I believe that strategy, organization, leadership, and productivity are over-complicated and academic. But all of these are necessary ingredients for starting a company and, eventually, having it run on auto-pilot.

That's why I’m on a long-term mission to help 1M entrepreneurs find and switch on the autopilot mode of their business.

How?

I want to make strategy, organization, leadership, and productivity simple and actionable for every business owner, no matter their previous experience.

Thanks for reading this short intro, and now let’s dive in! ____________________________________________________________________________

2023 is here. Yep, that little thunder and flash you’ve heard was 2022, and it’s now over. The good thing is, we’re now 3 years ahead of 2020 - the year that changed it all, for better or for worse.

One of those changes was the infamous remote work revolution. It was the ultimate ping-pong game in the office: in-out - in-out - in-out.

Everyone got confused (except for Elon Musk). Most companies chose the middle way: Hybrid.

To me, hybrid is like standing in the middle of the road. And people who stand in the middle of the road tend to get run over if you ask me.

Not for everyone though! Respect to the companies that took the leap and went all-in on Remote-first. They understood something deeper about their organization. They understood that being remote requires autonomy.

An autonomous organization runs on its own whether the entrepreneur is there or not. It is the ultimate balance between vision, boundaries, plans, and systems in place.

With my clients, I see the level of autonomy in the organization as one of the best predictors of success as a remote company. Whether you are remote-first or not, autonomy in the organization is your ultimate goal as an entrepreneur. Not finding and switching on the autopilot of your organization will make your business nothing more than a glorified job.

I want to help you understand in a very simple way that every organization has several stages of autonomy.

Let me give you the 5 stages of running your business on autopilot with the example of a human pilot and their plane.

5 stage of autonomy: from hands-on-the-stick to autopilot

Stage 1

The first plane, back in 1900-something, required both hands on the flight stick at all times. The pilot used their very own judgment for every jerk on that stick. Ending up death often by one little miscalculation.

This is the autonomous organization 1.0 - most new businesses begin here, taking part in every decision, not just managing but executing a lot as well.

Stage 2

A few decades later planes got dashboards. A few metrics gave the pilot supportive decision-making data. It reduced the risks of his (all pilots were men back then) miscalculations in half. This was a great development! But he was still sitting in the cockpit and if he’d let go of the stick, ciao ciao, the end.

This is the autonomous organization 2.0 - it exhibits early signs of maturity but is still pretty much dependent on the founder. I see some businesses starting at this stage, skipping the previous one altogether.

Stage 3

Then planes got more advanced flight systems. Things like early warning systems were a real breakthrough. The pilots could now steer the plane using data. These early auto-pilot functions brought some autonomy but the pilot was still a must in the cockpit.

This is the autonomous organization 3.0 - I see the vast majority of businesses I work with sitting at this stage. The organization works well, but the founders still must be in the cockpit all the time. Unless you’re already a seasoned entrepreneur, it’s hard to start a business with this level of autonomy. Most businesses have to work their way up to this stage.

Stage 4

Later on, full autopilot became standard. Planes are now able to take off, cruise, and land on autopilot. The human pilots only track the plane’s performance while sipping coffee. They can step out of the cockpit and walk through the plane without the plane losing course.

This is the autonomous organization 4.0 - only a few businesses nail this stage. At this stage, entrepreneurs usually run several businesses, and they have to be efficient and reduce time-in-cockpit to the bare minimum.

Are you still with me?

There’s a final stage.

Stage 5

This is the stage of fully autonomous flying. It is the drone stage. The pilot is not the pilot but an interactive observer who sits somewhere safe and sound on the ground. The plane flies 100% based on data and systems.

This is the autonomous organization 5.0 - this is the realm of the very few successful serial entrepreneurs. They build business after business without ever sitting in the cockpit. To name a few: Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and Steve jobs sit in this category.

But, you do not have to build a huge business to be in stage 5!

There are plenty of serial solopreneurs building drone-stage businesses. Justin Welsh, Matt Gray, and Codie Sanchez are among these drone-building entrepreneurs.

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Those are the 5 stages of an autonomous organization. I hope this analogy gives you some food for thought to think about how your autopilot could work. Look at your level of involvement in your own business, the systems, and the performance metrics in place, and let me ask you:

What autonomy stage are you at with your business?

In future newsletters, I’ll dig deeper into these stages. In next week's issue, I'm sharing 6 unique tips I use to raise energy levels and show up fully charged.

That's it for today. Hope you enjoyed it and see you next week!

Leon

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👋🏻 I reply to all emails myself, so drop me your questions!

I'm holding a free event on the 19th of January on "how to run your business on autopilot". [Go to the event]

When you're ready to dig deeper into your organization, why not book a free call?

Here's the link to my Calendar: