Welcome to Ops and Ends

Every 2 weeks I’ll be dropping a five-minute read filled with insights and actual “how to’s” on managing the chaos that’s going on in your company.

Table of Contents

• What is Operational Debt?

• How much Operational Debt are you actually dealing …

• What is the ONE thing can you do today?

• Putting the Lid on Operational Debt

_{What is Operational Debt?}

Let’s start off with a definition so that we are all on the same page and talking the same language.

A visual take on this is: Operational debt is like that dreaded Tupperware drawer (you know the one I'm talking about, I can't be the only one right?)—overstuffed, chaotic, and somehow missing all the matching lids. You know it’s a mess, but instead of fixing it, you just shove things in deeper and hope nothing comes crashing down.

Operational Debt in your Day to Day Operations

So now I've created this visual of our messy Tupperware drawer, let's see how this looks like in your day-to-day operations.

How many times have you heard the term Operational Debt in a management meeting (or any meeting for that matter)?

The chances are not much. 

Instead, you'll probably hear phrases like:

If this resonates, know that this is common. It's easy to throw these types of vague statements around (because let's face it, they are vague), but how about if we were to phrase it differently, and in the context of Operational Debt.

🖐️ Let's take a step back a second and start off with 2 facts:

1. It's easy to quantify inefficiencies in most departments

2. You realise your operational backbone is failing only when things fall apart

Let's take a few examples:

Finance: If late fees on your invoices are piling up due to your processes, that will show on your P&L.

Marketing: If your campaigns aren't converting, that "wasted" money is easy to track.

How much Operational Debt are you actually dealing with?

Let’s take a quiz and find out shall we?

1. How often do you implement short-term fixes (plasters) instead of scalable solutions?

   • Rarely = 1 point

   • Sometimes = 2 points

   • Too many to count = 3 points

2. How many meetings do you attend with no agenda, clear actions, and too many attendees?

   • 1 per week = 1 point

   • 2 per week = 2 points

   • 3+ per week = 3 points

3. How often do employees struggle to find the right information or documents?

   • Rarely = 1 point

   • Weekly = 2 points

   • All day, err day = 3 points

4. Do processes change frequently without proper documentation or communication?

   • No, changes are well-communicated = 1 point

   • Sometimes, but we get by = 2 points

   • Constantly, I can't keep up = 3 points

5. How often do team members duplicate work due to a lack of visibility or coordination?

   • Is this a thing? = 1 point

   • I should hope not = 2 points

   • I dread to think about this = 3 points

Your Score:

• 👍 5-7 points: Nice one! But keep an eye out before it’s too late.

• 🚨 8-10 points: Your operational debt is starting to build up NOW.

• 🔥 11+ points: Time to take action. Operational inefficiencies are draining revenue.

To note: PLEASE don't be discouraged. Operational debt happens over time, is normal and ISN’T a sign of failure. It's a normal part of growth, where roles shift, priorities change and things fall through the cracks. And, before you know it, no one knows who owns what, people have no idea what's going on, and fire fighting is just the norm.

What is the ONE thing can you do today? 

You can't fix everything all at once, and it's always nice to start with quick wins.

Audit your operations. Take one specific thing that is not working and quantify it in the terms of Operational Debt. How? Lets go through an example together.

Meetings. Effective meetings are needed. Pointless ones are a drain on time, productivity and they’re draining your revenue… No, meetings aren’t free.

Step 1: Define the Problem

Identify meetings that might be unnecessary. Some red flags:

• 🚩 No clear agenda

• 🚩 No actionable takeaways

• 🚩 Too many attendees who don’t need to be there

• 🚩 It’s a recurring meeting that no one questions

Step 2: Quantify the Cost

Gather some basic data:

1. How many of these meetings happen per week?

2. How many people attend each one?

3. What’s the average salary of attendees?

4. What’s the total time spent?

Let’s say you find:

• 2 recurring meetings that provide little value (as per your definition above)

• 4 attendees per meeting

• 1 hour per meeting

• Average salary: £41.6K/year → (~£20/hour per person)

The cost?

• 👉 Time wasted per week: 2 meetings × 4 people × 1 hour = 8 hours 

• 👉 Time wasted per year: 8 hours × 52 weeks = 416 hours 

• 👉 2 meetings x 4 people x 1 hour x £20 = £160 per week

• 👉 Over a year, that’s £8,320 wasted on just two meetings.

This is for illustration purposes. Feel free to juggle the numbers around to working weeks, cost per month etc. whatever suits you best.

Step 3: Take Action

Now that you have numbers, you can choose to act on this specific problem OR identify an even bigger operational inefficiency to tackle.

Is £8K a big deal for your company, or is there a more pressing issue?

Sticking with this example. Here’s what you can do:

1. Cancel meetings that don’t serve a clear purpose. You instantly recover £8,320 per year and free up 8 hours.

2. Reduce attendees - does everyone actually need to be there? Cut from 4 —> 2 and you half the cost, recovering £4,160 per year and 4 hours.

3. Shorten meetings and enforce a structured agenda. Same discussions, but in half the time—you save £4,160 per year and 4 hours per week.

Putting the Lid on Operational Debt

Fixing operational debt isn’t about constantly cleaning out the Tupperware drawer (who enjoys that anyways?) —it’s about getting ahead of the mess so it doesn’t pile up in the first place. Instead of dealing with mismatched lids and containers falling out every time you open it, set up a system to keep things organised.

Start with small wins—clean out a drawer or two, measure the cost and impact, and then turn those quick fixes into something you can repeat across the board. The goal isn’t just to stuff it all back in and hope it doesn’t explode (even though sometimes it's so much easier to do that); it’s about building a process that keeps things under control so you’re not stuck cleaning the same mess over and over.

P.S In writing this, I was today years old when I found out that Tupperware is capitalised because it’s a brand, and the object is plastic containers (or whatever the context is).

Who is Penny Penati?

Queue the Big Brother meme: "Who is she?" (And no, I'm not referring to myself in the third person... for now, anyway 😏).

With over a decade of experience in Operations, here's what I bring to the table:

• Building and fixing is in my nature

• Processes, people and efficiency is how I talk

• Continuously zooming in and out of the business is how I work

• Always learning and being challenged is my ethos

• Automation and tools is where I geek out

I’m here to help other operators and founders build amazing businesses, using the lessons I’ve learned (and the mistakes I’ve made).

🤍 Let me know if you’ve enjoyed this edition, and what other topics you’d love to cover. If you know of anyone that would enjoy this, send them my way!