I’ve noticed a pattern with almost every founder I talk to:

They hire a rockstar, set up the SOPs, and everything is perfect. Then, 6 months later, the quality dips, profit leaks, and the founder starts thinking, "Maybe I just need better people."

It’s usually not a people problem. It’s Operational Drift.

Human biology is wired to find the path of least resistance. Like water running downhill, your team will subconsciously find shortcuts to save energy.

If Tiger Woods needs a swing coach to keep his form from drifting, why do we expect a $15/hr VA to stay elite with zero feedback?

Here is the 3-step system I use to keep my teams on the sidewalk:

The 10-Minute Huddle: A quick daily sync. We don't talk about the weather; we set the "line of play" for the day.
Real-Time Guardrails: We use Slack to catch "micro-mistakes" while they are happening. If you wait until a weekly meeting to fix a bug, you've already lost a week of profit.
The EOD (End of Day) Report: Every team member sends 3 bullet points before they log off:

When the system is strong, average players perform like pros. You stop being a "manager" and start being a "coach."

Is anyone else struggling with "SOP slippage" right now? I’m curious how you guys are keeping your remote teams consistent once the "honeymoon phase" of the hire wears off.

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